Olympia Armory Rehabilitation

South Carolina Army National Guard

The Olympia Armory Rehabilitation project preserves the building’s surviving historic fabric while adapting it to serve the modern needs of the South Carolina State Guard. Constructed in 1937 under President Roosevelt’s New Deal Programs, the building retains many features characteristic of armory buildings constructed throughout South Carolina in the Works Progress Administration era. These include its unpainted masonry construction, barrel-vaulted roof, stylized brickwork, large casement windows, stepped parapet end walls, and expansive drill hall. Minor alterations have enabled the Olympia Armory building to remain in continuous use by the Office of the Adjutant General since its construction. But some of these changes have obscured historic features and no longer serve the South Carolina State Guard. Rehabilitation will enhance the building’s functionality and ensure the continued survival of its historic fabric.

Garvin Design Group assisted the South Carolina State Guard through project reviews by the State Historic Preservation Office, ensuring the Olympia Armory rehabilitation has no adverse effects on the building. This involved extensively researching the building’s history, documenting its evolution, and designing a rehabilitation plan per the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Garvin Design Group’s historic preservation services enabled the South Carolina State Guard to move through the review process expediently and efficiently.

The Olympia Armory Rehabilitation restores the historic steel windows and interior massing, removes late 20th-century additions that obscure window openings, installs replica entry doors, repairs drill hall floors, and reopens the infilled stage. New conference rooms and offices are strategically arranged to honor the building’s historic internal volume. Modernization of the existing bathrooms and kitchen makes the building more functional for large gatherings. New fixtures and finishes are in keeping with the building’s 1937 construction date while adding contemporary warmth and comfort for modern users.

This project is currently under construction. Solid Structures is serving as the General Contractor.