A fire in a storage building in Hampton Park on Tuesday night did not damage nearby historic buildings slated for renovation in the coming years, officials say.
No cause for the fire has been identified, Charleston Fire Department officials say. A police spokesman says dispatchers were first alerted to the incident at Mary Murray Boulevard and Cleveland Street at 5:25 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Within an hour, firefighters had the blaze under control as traffic was diverted away from the busy intersection near Rutledge Avenue and Grove Street and residents continued to play with their dogs in the nearby dog park.
While the shed sustained damage, nearby historic buildings slated for alteration by the Charleston Parks Conservancy were unharmed by the fire. Two years ago, the group was approved to build a new public event space near the corner of Hampton Park.
Under those plans, the shed itself would have been completely demolished and replaced with expanded parking and the nearby horse stable building will be replaced with a new, modern-style building. The barn, which was last used by police and carriage companies, has gone unused in recent year. The small caretaker’s house, which sits next to the horse barn off Mary Murray Boulevard, is slated to be renovated to include a historical exhibit of the park, according to the plans.
College Park, the adjacent baseball stadium that’s only used as a practice field for the Citadel, was also undamaged in the fire.
[content-1] On Wednesday, Parks Conservancy director Harry Lessane said the group is raising money for the Jubilee Hall project, but no timeline has been determined. Phase one of the project, the renovation of the snack bar nearby into the Rose Pavilion, was completed in 2019. [location-1]
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