Abandoned house in South Carolina prior to demolition

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The Prevost House, located in Anderson, South Carolina, was originally constructed in 1877 for Nick Prevost, an Anderson businessman. The house was constructed in the Renaissance revival style along the lines of the German Pavilion at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia.

In 1876, S. H. (Nick) Prevost and his wife, Virginia Palmyra (Pallie), visited the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. They were particularly impressed with the German Pavilion, which had been designed by H. J. Schwarzmann in the Renaissance revival style. Shortly after their return to Anderson, they began construction of the Prevost House, which incorporates Renaissance revival elements after the design of the German Pavilion. It is believed the Prevosts purchased plans or drawings of the Pavilion to follow in their construction.

The house was originally constructed on a large lot with extensive flower, fruit, and vegetable gardens. In addition, the complex included a servants' house, a carriage house, and stables. The design of the Prevost House was very unusual and perhaps unique in the state.

Building Description

The Prevost House, one of the oldest residences in the West End section of Anderson, is a one-story, frame building constructed in 1877 as a residence for Nick Prevost. The building's design reportedly was based on the Renaissance-revival German Pavilion at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia. The Prevost House underwent significant exterior alterations in the 1920s, and again in the 1980s, compromising the integrity of its design and materials.

The Prevost House is a one-story, frame residence, sheathed in weatherboard, with a high brick foundation. The building has a central, rectangular block with flanking wings to the east and west. In its original configuration, the facade (south elevation) was characterized by a central, three-bay, arcaded portico based on Renaissance precedents, with engaged Tuscan colonettes in the piers, semicircular arches with pronounced keystones, and a bracketed cornice. Balustrades with single-urn balusters lined the central stairway leading to the porch, and appeared as well between the piers and along the roofline of the portico.

The central block of the house, behind the portico, has a central doorway with flanking windows. Simulated quoins define the corners of the block. A bracketed cornice similar to the portico cornice lines the eaves of the central block. A low-hipped roof sheathed in standing-seam metal crowns the house. Turned finials originally appeared at the corners of this roof.

Each of the wings has a lower roofline, consistent with the portico's cornice. The wings have single bays with arched two-over-two windows. The wings have quoins at their corners, and originally had roofline balustrades. The details of the facade were originally defined by contrasting paint.

The east and west elevations have two bays each; the details from the facade are continued in windows, cornice, quoins, and foundations. Single stuccoed brick chimneys with octagonal caps rise within each wing.

A one-story, frame wing at the rear (north elevation) has small porches on its east and west flanks. An octagonal brick chimney is centered in this wing. A one-story, frame addition with a gabled roof has been built at the northern end of the house.

The Prevost House has a broad central hallway running the full depth of the central block. Two major reception rooms open through pocket doors at the forward end of the hall. Smaller bedrooms, also opening onto the hall, are located behind the reception rooms. A fifth major room is located on axis at the north end of the hall. Most of the original interior fabric, including floors, woodwork, and hardware, is intact.

The Prevost House has undergone several significant alterations since its construction. The building originally stood on a large estate outside the developed city, with several frame outbuildings on the property. In the early twentieth century, this land was developed as a suburban residential neighborhood. All of the Prevost House outbuildings were destroyed. New streets were laid out and new residences built to the north and south of the Prevost House. The Prevost House now has street frontage to the east, with large houses on either side.

Circa 1920 the original south porch was dismantled and a new arcaded porch built. The new porch had a broad central section and flanking elements, spanning the entire breadth of the south elevation. Some parts of the original porch were reused in this new porch, including several balusters which were installed upside down. A new door was cut in the west wing to give access to the enlarged porch. At some point after 1920, the original roofline balustrades and the rooftop finials were removed.

In the 1980s the house underwent further alterations as part of a long-range rehabilitation scheme. The flanking sections of the 1920s porch were removed, although the porch foundations and floors were kept. The new west wing door was removed and weatherboarding patched. The central section of the 1920s porch now stands without eastern or western arches or balustrades.