Senator Graham Press Release
Contact: Wes Hickman (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)
Date: 07/18/2006
Charleston’s Dock Street Theater to Receive a $3.6 Million Federal Grant
WASHINGTON– U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham, Jim DeMint, and U.S. Representative Henry Brown today announced the State of South Carolina will receive a $3,655,499 Pre-disaster Mitigation Grant to help the City of Charleston with a seismic and wind retrofit of the historic Dock Street Theatre. The grant represents a federal share of the total project cost of $4,949,940. The remainder will come from non-federal sources.
“I am pleased that the City of Charleston is taking proactive steps to help protect one of the state and nation’s most historic structures,” said Graham. “The preventative repairs are designed to help protect the building in the event of a natural disaster.”
“The historic Dock Street Theatre has been a part of Charleston history for hundreds of years,” said Senator DeMint, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Disaster Prevention and Prediction Subcommittee. “I’m pleased this important part of South Carolina’s culture will be preserved for generations to come.”
"The Dock Street Theater is a jewel in a city that is so richly blessed with historically significant architectural treasures,” said Brown. “I am pleased that FEMA recognizes the importance of preserving this building, the first designed solely for theatrical performances in America. This grant will help ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to appreciate the rich cultural history enjoyed by Charleston's residents and visitors since the 1700s."
The funds will be used for structurally strengthening the walls and roof, compaction grouting, and carbon fiber strengthening of the un-reinforced masonry structure, and installing window shutters. The project is a collaboration with the State of South Carolina’s Department of Archives and History and is in keeping with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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