Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007

21-block garden district about to sprout

The Historic Columbia Foundation today will unveil plans for a 21- block garden district bounded by Taylor, Calhoun, Marion and Barnwell streets and surrounding the city's and county's historic homes.

In the 1800s, the area contained some of the South's most revered gardens, but they fell into disrepair after the Civil War and in the mid-20th century were abandoned and plowed under.

Now, Historic Columbia is resurrecting those gardens with public walks, interpretive signs and docents highlighting a different era of landscaping at each of the five properties. Planners said the project will make Columbia the nation's first city to illustrate and interpret a century of landscaping -- in this case, 1820-1920.

Also, the district's walkways will help connect the downtown areas of USC, Main Street, the proposed Bull Street neighborhood at the site of the State Hospital campus, and the Waverly neighborhood, including Allen University and Benedict College.

"It's a massive project," garden committee co-chairwoman Belinda Gergel said of the estimated 10-year, multimillion-dollar endeavor. "But great cities deserve great projects." The plan has three aspects.

STEP 1

The first step will be to restore the historic gardens at Seibels House, Mann-Simons Cottage, the Hampton- Preston Mansion, the Robert Mills House and the Woodrow Wilson Boyhood Home. Altogether, the projects -- with one already under way -- are estimated at $4.5 million.

The Hampton-Preston Mansion had the most famous of the original gardens. It was a bona fide tourist attraction.

Open to the public, the grounds of Gen. Wade Hampton's father -- one of the richest men in the South -- were stocked with flora from around the globe and included an 8-foot-tall boxwood maze.

John Cullum, co-chairman of the foundation's garden committee along with Gergel, said planners researched the original layout and plants using turn-of-the-century postcards bought on eBay.

"After the Civil War, there was no money to change the garden," he said. "So we know exactly what was originally there."

The first garden to be restored, however, will be at the Seibels House -- a $350,000 project that is under way.

The $150,000 raised so far was boosted by a $75,000 grant from Columbia Green, an organization that pays for the flowers and plants in many of the city's street medians.

STEP 2

Next, the foundation wants to replant the Hampton-Preston and Robert Mills House gardens and improve two blocks of Blanding Street with pavers, lighting and street trees.

That "streetscaping" eventually will be expanded to connect all five of the historic properties. The cost has not been determined.

"I certainly think we should support it financially," Mayor Bob Coble said. "I can't say what or how. I think the tourist impact of this is going to be stunning. And the comeback of the historic gardens will be a sign of Columbia's rebirth."

STEP 3

The third stage is to expand the district to private properties around the historic homes.

"We want this to be an entire district," said the foundation's executive director Robin Waites. "Right now, our house museums are isolated. We have to tie everything in to the area as a whole to provide context for the story we are telling."

The job might be easier than it sounds.

Alejandro Garcia and Britt Hunt recently bought a century-old Columbia Cottage-style home on Richland Street near the Seibels House. They are making plans to spruce up the yard and augment the camellias and azaleas growing there.

To raise money, the foundation plans to offer naming opportunities for different gardens. Already, several prominent families, businesses and organizations have signed on. Many more are needed, planners said.

The challenge, Cullum said, "is not only to re-create the gardens affordably, but to be able to establish an endowment to maintain them. But it seems to be a popular project. We're getting money from people we don't even know."

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