Blooming bottle brush tree

Bottle Brush/Callistemon

The bright colors of the blooming bottle brush tree caught my eye as we wandered the old Navy base this weekend. The bush is thriving next to the historic restored Quarters H-I mansion.

Old Naval Hospital - North Charleston

Old Navy Hospital, North Charleston, SC    

I've brought you to the abandoned Naval Hospital in North Charleston before but this time I walked around the entire property and realized how large the facility was. It's a beautiful old Spanish style building and it is sad to see it falling into disrepair. Many people have memories of working or being inside the building when it was a lively and bustling healthcare facility. Now the lower windows are boarded and the outside is marked with graffiti.

The Charleston Naval Hospital Historic District is nationally significant as an example of the United States effort to mobilize medical support for the Navy during World Wars I and II and the Navy's ability to create a permanent and professional medical service for Navy personnel and their dependents. These healthcare facilities were placed at the Charleston Navy Base and planned in a manner consistent with military protocol to organize medical treatment, support services, and residential units. The district is also architecturally significant for buildings and structures that reflect the time periods in which they were constructed corresponding to large building periods at the Charleston Navy Base during the First and Second World Wars. The majority of buildings have a unifying architectural language which incorporates both Spanish Colonial and Mission style forms with Modern details and materials. Two residential buildings and support structures date from the First World War and exhibit Craftsmen Bungalow features. The Charleston Naval Hospital Historic District is an intact collection of thirty-two buildings located in the northwest corner of the former Charleston Navy Base. There are three groups of buildings that comprise the District: treatment facilities centered on the main hospital complex, service related buildings located to the east of the main hospital, and residential buildings largely located to the west and south of the hospital. The earliest extant structures in the district date from 1917 during construction of hospital facilities to serve an increased labor force at the base during World War I. 

Postcard - U.S. Naval Hospital, Charleston

It appears they left a few patients inside when it closed.

North Charleston Riverfront Park Sculpture Exhibition

Outdoor sculptures, North Charleston Riverfront Park, North Charleston, SC   

I love wandering the old Navy base area in North Charleston and catching up on the latest sculptures added to the exhibition area at the Riverfront Park. We don't have too much modern sculpture in Charleston and this is a treat. I met a few friends this morning for fish and chips at the CODfather on Reynolds Ave. and then enjoyed the park. 

More details on the artists and their award winning work here. You too can submit a piece of art and win prizes! 

Sculptors from across the nation are welcome to submit an application for participation in the National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition. Up to 14 sculptures are juried into the exhibit and compete for cash prizes totaling up to $19,750. The deadline to apply for the 2017/18 exhibition has passed (February 25, 2017). Call the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at 843-740-5854 for more information, or to be added to the application mailing list for 2018/19.

This one is actually the performance stage

Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance - Navy Chapel

Navy Chapel, North Charleston, SC   

This sight makes me so happy. I used to visit the old Navy Chapel on the Navy Base and watch as it fell into ruins. It was heartbreaking. The last time I was there at this time last year the spot was empty. I had heard it had been moved and reconstructed and tracked it down last weekend. What a beautiful job and setting! Thanks to Richard Mark's Restoration Inc. 

The Charleston City Paper has a good article on the project. 

The non-denominational Eternal Father of the Sea chapel has stood in the Navy Yard in North Charleston since 1942. In the chapel's early years during World War II, it was a place where Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish sailors and their families could enjoy services that reflected their faith. Sailors would also often get hitched in the chapel before they were sent off to war.

Original setting

Old Navy Base - Quarters H-I

Charleston Navy Base, North Charleston, SC   

My last post left everyone so sad seeing the fading glory of the building on the old Navy Base that today's photo is intended to be a more positive view. This is the neighbor of yesterday's photo.

Lovely! In my recent visit I noticed that the walkway and driveway at Quarters H-I was all new, the landscaping was fresh and lovely and the building looks in good shape. Happy day!

This particular building was often featured in the series Army Wives. Here is a 2012 article from the Post & Courier by Robert Behr:

Old Navy Base's Best Building Renewed: It may be the finest architectural work on the former Charleston Naval Base, and a $1.5 million renovation is putting Quarters H-I back into use after remaining vacant for more than a decade.
Built in 1905, this Renaissance Revival work is a highly eclectic blend of classical, arts and crafts and Italianate flourishes -- a Beaux Arts beauty built of first-rate materials.
While the old Navy base has industrial buildings far grander in scale, none of them match this for attention to detail, befitting its original use as the offices of the Commandant, his staff and for the Captain of the Yard.
Its grandeur also fits its prominent site. The 8,000-square-foot rectangular building sits atop one of the base's most prominent hilltops and on axis with the Cooper River in Frederick Law Olmsted's Chicora Park design (Charleston briefly created its own equivalent to New York's Central Park here before President Theodore Roosevelt and the U.S. Navy got interested in the land).

Old Navy Base - North Charleston

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Something is different every time I walk at the old Navy Base property in North Charleston. Some buildings are gradually getting fixed up, sidewalks and parking lots pop up and new businesses move it. Other buildings sadly fall into worse and worse shape.

In other and unrelated news, I have been watching an odd but entertaining BBC series called A Young Doctor's Notebook starring John Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe on Netflix about a young doctor in Russia in the early 1900's.

Charleston Navy Base

Old Charleston Navy Base, North Charleston, S.C.

I met my son for brunch at Madra Rau the Irish Pub in North Charleston and took advantage of being in the area to walk through the old Navy Base housing. There are still amazing buildings there in various stages of repair. It's nice to see some of them have been repaired and used for the Army Wives series. Others are still waiting for some love and attention.

Power Plant, Old Navy Base

Power Plant Old Navy Base, Charleston, S.C.

You can tell by my recent postings that I spent some time wandering the old Navy Base in North Charleston and grabbed a few pictures in between the afternoon rain showers.

The Power Plant is one of the largest and most dramatic buildings on the property. This link takes you to an album by someone who got inside to explore some of the buildings. Hmmmm. I wonder.....

Anyone else been inside? I think they had some kind of tour recently but as much as I read the paper I still seem to miss some of these things.

Now, shall I fall to sleep in my corner of the couch like a a perfect old lady? I think so.

Older view with smoke stacks from this site.

Officer's Quarters in the rain

Officer's Quarter, Old Navy Base, Charleston, S.C.

Waaaa....it is Sunday night. The only thing I promised that I would do this weekend was my taxes and I haven't started them yet. Sob. This happens every year. I end up getting a refund but I can't make myself do them.

Sunday night and Army Wives should be on so I'll treat you to another scene that you might spot in the series. They showed a glimpse of this building last week and said something like, "can you imagine the parties you could hold." What a grand mansion!

Constructed in 1905 this is the Officer's Quarters H-I on the old Charleston Navy Base. I am so pleased to see that it has been renovated. It was heart breaking to watch this beautiful building fall to ruin and vandalism. Check this link for Robert Behre's Post & Courier article about the renovation.

Now, would someone please come over and do my taxes?