A weathered, 400-square-foot structure tucked into a corner of Ashley Hall's parking lot on Smith Street could soon be trucked across the peninsula to North Charleston, or it could be torn down within days. The building's fate hinges on whether preservationists can strike a deal before a Nov. 1 deadline to find someone willing to save it.
The Preservation Society of Charleston has proposed moving the one-story wooden building to the Jenkins Orphan Aid Society's North Charleston campus, according to the Post and Courier. The society sent Ashley Hall a relocation proposal dated Oct. 27, outlining a plan to strip the building's drywall and plumbing, use lasers to take precise measurements, catalogue its trim and other features, and then dismantle and relocate the structure. Ashley Hall has received the proposal and is still weighing its next steps, per the same report.
At the center of the dispute is whether this is really a piece of Dash Hall, a Black-owned dance and jazz venue that stood on the site from the 1890s to the early 1950s. The Preservation Society argues that public notices and other evidence indicate the building survives from Dash Hall after its second story was removed in the 1950s, according to postandcourier.com. Ashley Hall disputes that account, maintaining the building was constructed after Dash Hall was completely destroyed in 1950 and was likely another old structure moved to the former hall site in the 1950s, the outlet reported separately.
A Deadline Driven by a City Council Vote
The clock on this dispute started ticking after Charleston City Council voted to allow Ashley Hall to demolish the structure, overturning an earlier denial from the Board of Architectural Review for Small Projects. That reversal set up the current arrangement: the Preservation Society has been working to meet a Nov. 1 deadline to find an owner willing to save the building before demolition becomes an option. A city board agenda from Aug. 28, 2025, had already identified the Smith Street address as a site within the Radcliffeborough and Old & Historic District and listed a request for full demolition approval, according to the City of Charleston Board of Architectural Review.
Preservationists describe the Dash Hall remnant as the last remaining physical structure of the historic hall, a venue where Black Charlestonians gathered for music, culture and community, as scaahc.org has reported. The site is also tied to the Jenkins Orphanage Band, which helped shape the early sounds of jazz, according to live5news.com. Saxophonist St. Julian Dash was part of the Dash family's place in Charleston's African American music community, per the Post and Courier's reporting.
From Orphanage Band to International Stages
The broader story behind the building traces back to Rev. Daniel Jenkins, who founded the Jenkins Orphanage in 1891 as a haven for orphaned and unwanted Black children. The orphanage relied on a traveling band to help pay its bills, and that band went on to gain international acclaim, performing at the presidential inaugurations of Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, according to charlestonmag.com. In July 1914, the band even played the Anglo American Exposition in London, the same publication noted. The Jenkins Orphanage Band's concerts across the United States and Europe helped fund the orphanage's operations, according to greenbookofsc.com.
The orphanage itself moved to North Charleston after a fire and the death of its founder in 1937, having previously operated out of a former mariner's hospital on Franklin Street in downtown Charleston. Its successor organization, the Jenkins Orphan Aid Society, now runs a 54-acre campus that includes a summer literacy camp, after-school music and STEAM programs, affordable housing for some residents, and fresh produce from a community garden.
Jenkins Village Sees a Fit for the Old Structure
Jenkins Youth and Family Village, located at 3923 Azalea Drive, has already completed a clean-out of the building to assess its condition and build a relocation plan, per the Live 5 News report. Executive director Ja'Nister Herring said preserving a Dash Hall remnant at Jenkins could support education about Charleston's African American musical heritage, and said the organization wants to preserve Black culture. The Jenkins Orphan Aid Society has said the building could fit its campus and is weighing possible uses including a tearoom, an art studio, a museum, or a display space for musical instruments and artifacts.
Brian Turner, president and CEO of the Preservation Society of Charleston, said Jenkins Village would be a fitting new home for the building. The Preservation Society is willing to spend up to $40,000 to move and preserve the structure, and the two organizations plan to raise additional money for restoration if the relocation goes forward. Advocates have pointed to the restoration of a 19th-century outbuilding on the Fisher House property as a recent example of similar preservation work, per Live 5 News's earlier coverage.
Inspectors including Russell Rosen examined the ceiling inside the building in August, part of the effort to document its condition before any move. Whether that documentation leads to a new chapter in North Charleston or a final demolition now rests on the days remaining before the Nov. 1 deadline.
