Fabulous challenge for historic preservation

Several downtown Charleston restaurants sport Carolopolis medallions, the top local prize for historic preservation. Over the last decade, the Preservation Society of Charleston has honored projects resuscitating the State Bank of South Carolina’s one-time headquarters, a Reconstruction-era warehouse, a dilapidated hardware store, and a Jewish-owned grocery. Today, those buildings are home to a French brasserie, an Irish pub, a Greek diner, and an all-day café serving burgers and breakfast burritos.

As Preservation Society spokesman Sam Spence put it, “Restaurants are a way you can preserve, because all you need is a big space.”