West Ashley Produce Shed

Wappoo Rd., Charleston, S.C.

For some reason the produce shed was a landmark people, including me, had affection for. We had no investment in it, didn't know who owned it, never chipped in to deserve to have an opinion about what should be done with it but that didn't stop us. To the right of the property is a lush green bike-way trail that ends up on my street. I had fantasies that the property might make a good Farmer's Market for our area and I could skip through the woods to a weekend morning treat.

That all ended when the building was half demolished. Sadness. The more you see of it, there doesn't appear to be much historic or valuable about the building but we liked it. Darn it.

West Ashley’s Dupont produce shed ruled not historic; could be demolished

Robert Behre

The partially demolished produce shed at Savannah Highway and Wappoo Road could vanish if a deal doesn’t ripen soon.

Preservationists — many of whom hope to turn the large shed into a farmers market and community gathering spot — had blocked a demolition permit in August, shortly after a crew began knocking it down.

Their efforts delayed the permit only until Charleston County’s Board of Zoning Appeals could decide if it had enough historic significance to require a special exception. The board voted unanimously Monday that it did not.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said Tuesday the city still wants to find a way to preserve the shed, an open-air structure that spans more than a football field next to the city’s West Ashley Bikeway.