This photo sent in by a reader might be too hard to locate, but there are clues in here. We’ll offer a hint: It’s located in the middle of the state. What is it and where? Send us your guess – as well as your name and hometown – to feedback@statehousereport.com.
Hats off to several eagle-eyed readers who correctly identified “Groovy building” as the old Star of America Motel on Rivers Avenue in North Charleston. It’s being revamped according to the developer (and photographer) Ed Sutton of West Ashley, and will reopen next month.
More people guessed correctly than we thought, including: George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Jay Altman and Elizabeth Jones, both of Columbia; Curtis Joyner of Charleston; Pat Keadle of Wagener; and Elliott Brack of Norcross, Ga.
Keadle told us that there were bunches of these “breeze block” buildings back in the 1960s in South Carolina but many of them have gone away. Jones outlined that the hotel was erected in 1961 and was “the first in Charleston and possibly the country of prefabricated motels that also came fully furnished. The motel was a symbol of the area’s postwar commercial development.”
Sutton said the refurbished hotel is expected to have a soft open in January, followed by a grand opening two months later. It will have 51 rooms, a bar, restaurant and pool club.
>> Send us a mystery picture. If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com and mark it as a photo submission. Thanks.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!