14 George Street

14 George Street. Middleton-Pinckney House. , This three-story, masonry residence set on a raised basement was begun circa 1796 by Mrs. Frances Motte Middleton, daughter of Jacob and Rebecca Motte. The house was completed by Mrs. Middleton and her second husband and former brother-in-law, Major General Thomas Pinckney, whom she married in 1797. In addition to his military service, Pinckney served as President George Washington’s Minister to the Court of St. James and in 1796 made an unsuccessful bid for vice president of the United States. , When constructed, the Middleton-Pinckney House sat on a bluff beside a large creek to the north that was later filled to accommodate Calhoun Street. Based on the cruciform plan in the Neoclassical style, this stucco over brick house with hipped roof has a polygonal front projection, which provides oval rooms on each floor, and a truncated rear projection that contains a winding staircase. The understated main entrance is in a portal on the basement level and is framed by white marble columns and a simple marble entablature. Marble flat arches top the six-over-six light windows on the George Street facade with fan shaped voussoirs. Two marble belt courses break the vertical lines at the upper stories. , In 1880 the building was sold to the Water Works Company which later became the Charleston Commissioners of Public Works (CPW). The CPW constructed a reservoir at the rear of the site. The reservoir was later converted for use as a public swimming pool until it was closed in the 1960s. A two million-gallon capacity pump and offices occupied the main house. A water tower stood on the west side of the house. , In 1988 the building became the headquarters for the Spoleto Festival U.S.A. In 2002 the City of Charleston donated the Middleton-Pinckney House to the Festival which rehabilitated the building with major support from the William E. Murray family. The garden, designed by Sheila Wertimer, was created with the support of Marion and Wayland Cato.