There’s something a little different about this building. It used to be in a different place than it is today. Did it move, or what? Send your best guess of what it is as well as something about it. Send to feedback@statehousereport.com. And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.
Our previous Mystery Photo
Our July 24, “Flags adorn impressive, grand entrance,” shows historic and sumptuous Willcox Hotel in Aiken, which was named the 10th best resort hotel in the South by Travel + Leisure magazine in 2020. “The Willcox has historic southern charm enough to satisfy Scarlett O’Hara,” the magazine says. “Each of the 22 guest quarters are classic but never fussy, with four-poster beds, stitched floral pillows, and double-height paned windows framed by painted wood plantation shutters.
The Willcox must be pretty popular with our readers as 19 people identified it. Hats off to: Mary Greene, Danny Cox and Lynn Stokes-Murray, all of Columbia; Dora Bush, Ken Temples, Charles. E. Davis and Will Williams, all of Aiken; Henry Eldridge of Tega Cay; Randy Herald of Lexington; Frank Bouknight of Summerville; Philip Cromer of Beaufort; Don Clark of Hartsville; Susan Igel of North Augusta; George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Barry Wingard of Florence, Kevin Mertens of Greenville; Layton McCurdy and Montez Martin of Charleston; and Charles Ray Sharpe of Wagener.
Herald noted, “That is the Willcox Inn, my favorite place to fine dine in Aiken. FDR and Winston Churchill met there during WWII and are but two on a list of Who’s Who that have stayed there. The Canadian flag is in respect to the many Canadian guests who stay there during the various steeplechase and fox hunt events. Though I have never had the pleasure of staying there, I would highly recommend the restaurant which features local foods with a decided flair at reasonable prices for such a fine establishment.”
Bouknight and Martin sent in the same quote from Wikipedia: “Willcox’s Hotel, located in Aiken, South Carolina, U.S., was an internationally-known inn during the Aiken Winter Colony heyday. Operated from 1898 to 1957 by members of the Willcox family, the still-magnificent building reflects the influence of both Second Empire and Colonial Revival styles of architecture. The plan of the building is irregular in shape, consisting of a central block with asymmetrical wings. Of Aiken’s once famous resort hostelries, only Willcox’s is still standing. The landmark property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places March 19, 1982.”
Send us a mystery: 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!