Greenville Women's Club
Historic Property
Alternate Name:
Beattie House
Street Address:
1 Beattie Place, Greenville, South Carolina (Greenville County)
Site Number:
207-020
Date Surveyed:
circa 1974;circa 1981
Category:
Building
Construction Date:
1834
Historic Use:
Residential/Domestic
Current Use:
Recreation & Culture
Architect or Builder:
Fountain Fox Beattie
Number of Stories:
2
Construction Method:
Frame
Foundation Materials:
Brick
Roof Materials:
Asbestos
Signficant Architectural Features:
2 story Italinate structure - heavy bracketing under eaves and beneath central gable on facade. Balastrades w/ chamfered spindles top front gallery and side. Wings. Window hoods with dentils and bracketing. Central window w/ bracket pediment
Description: Enlargement of the original structure was necessary as the size of the Beattie family increased. A specific date for the house's appearance is uncertain, although the style is Italianate of Tuscan villa mode popularized by Alexander Jackson Davis prior to the War. The two storied central portion of the house has one story flanking wings to either side. The bracketed roof of the central section is flat except for a central medium gable. The one story central piazza is supported by six pairs of square columns with one pilaster at each return. The free standing columns are arranged to form three major and two minor semicircular arches across the front with a major arch to either outer end. This motif is repeated with miniature arches between each column in the pair, thus creating a quasi-Palladian effect. The balustrated piazza has a denticulated cornice with modillions, and paired consoles corresponding to the columns below. The central entrance contains double doors in a paneled frame, surmonted by a transom just under an entrablature with modillions and dentils. To either side of the door are 12/12 windows flanked by 6 pane side lights. The entablature motif is repeated here and over the other window as well. The second floor facade features a central pair of windows surmounted by a broken pediment with central ornamental urns supported by decorative consoles.
Significance: The structure, built by Fountain Fox Beattie ca. 1834, was later enlarged and remodeled to its present appearance. It was the center of social, cultural, and religious life of early Greenville. The house was occupied by Beattie decendents until 1940. Now used as the Greenville Women's Club, it is the oldest structure remaining in Greenville.
Altered: This large Italianate dwelling was originally a much smaller, rather plain residence than was begun ca. 1834 by Fountain Fox Beattie for his bride, Emily Edgeworth. It originally stood on East North Street and underwent numerous alterations to suit a large family. Due to the construction of a government building, the structure was relocated ca. 1940. Interior changes were necessitated for adaptive use by the Greenville Woman's Club.
Alterations:
See Alterations on Significant Architectural Features
Survey:
The Historic Resources of Greenville, SC (1981)
Archives Location:
Box 6, Series 108042, Survey of historic resources (county by county data on surface properties), circa 1971-2014
