The Main Library at 68 Calhoun Street has been closed since August 1. Starting October 5, downtown's main library service runs from 1142 Morrison Drive, inside the old International Longshoremen's Association Local 1422 union hall. The temporary branch is called Main at Morrison, and Charleston County Public Library expects the renovation on Calhoun Street to take about 18 months.
So for more than a year, returning a book, picking up a hold, or bringing a toddler to storytime means going to the upper peninsula. The building that hosts all of it has a better story than most temporary quarters.
A Building That Was Almost Apartments
The ILA hall opened in 2002. Harvey Gantt designed it. He is a Charleston native and the first African American to graduate from Clemson. The tapered tower and small windows are meant to suggest a ship's smokestack and portholes, a nod to the longshoremen who worked the port. The Preservation Society of Charleston has called the hall one of the first modern investments on Morrison Drive.
It came close to being torn down. Plans filed with the city in late 2021 called for a large apartment complex that would have required demolishing the hall. On March 23, 2022, the city's Board of Architectural Review-Large unanimously denied a 424-unit version of that proposal and cited the building's height, scale, and mass. Two months later, the Post and Courier reported that the buyer's contract had fallen through and that the union had taken the property off the market.
The hall has since sold. The Post and Courier reported the price as $24.5 million. That coverage says the new owner's first job is dealing with water and soil contaminants, and that a state cleanup plan was open for public comment. No plan for the site after the library leaves has been made public. For now, the building that review board kept standing is serving the public directly.
What Fits in 6,300 Square Feet
Main at Morrison has about 6,300 square feet of public space. An earlier Post and Courier report put the temporary space at about 9,000 square feet, so the final footprint is about a third smaller than first described. That smaller space affects the shelves. According to the Post and Courier, the branch mostly carries popular titles chosen from checkout records, and less-borrowed materials sit in an on-site storage room. If you want something that doesn't circulate much, ask at the desk before assuming the library doesn't have it.
What the branch offers:
- Browsing collections for children, teens, and adults
- Holds pickup and an exterior drop for returns
- Interlibrary loan support
- Public computers, internet, printing, and copying
- Staff help
- Limited space for select events and programs
Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. It's closed Sunday. Parking is free. Trident United Way's Center for Strong Families, which used to operate inside Main, is continuing at the Morrison site.
What Didn't Make the Move
Some services needed more room or a different setup than a former union hall can offer. These are the changes most likely to send someone to the wrong door:
| If you used to... | Now go to |
|---|---|
| Research local history or genealogy in the South Carolina Room | 1248 Camp Road on James Island, by appointment only |
| Drop books in the Calhoun Street returns | The exterior return at Main at Morrison or any other CCPL branch, since the Calhoun Street drops closed August 1 |
| Visit a full-service branch farther down King Street | John L. Dart Library, 1067 King Street |
The South Carolina Room closed earlier than the rest of the building, on May 1. The Post and Courier has noted that Dart keeps its regular hours while Main is closed. CCPL hasn't announced a temporary home for the makerspace or for larger events that need more than Morrison's limited program space.
The First Month on the Calendar
The branch's October calendar is fuller than "limited space" might suggest. It starts with a grand opening at 9 a.m. on October 5.
- October 13 and 27, 11 a.m. to noon: Tech Team Help Lab
- October 14, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.: Short Fiction Book Discussion
- October 17, 1 to 4 p.m.: Cinema Saturday, screening Echo in the Canyon
- October 19, 6 to 7:30 p.m.: Creative Writing Group
- October 21, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: Dungeons & Dragons
- October 26, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.: Coffee & Crime
- October 30: Halloween Storytime, after Spooky Buttons on October 28 and Spooky Fun at the Library on October 29
Baby Storytime runs October 19 and 26, Family Storytime October 21 and 28, and Play and Learn Workshops October 22 and 29. Teens get Video Game Tuesday on October 20 and 27 and Teen Thursday on October 22, all from 3 to 4 p.m.
Where a Library Trip Can Lead
On Calhoun Street, a library visit fit into errands around Marion Square. On Morrison Drive, it lands near a different set of places, and several of them are close to the hall.
Huger Street. Huriyali Gardens at 401 Huger St. serves fresh food, smoothies, and coffee. Taco Boy Downtown at 217 Huger St. serves lunch and has outdoor seating.
Morrison Drive and North Nassau. Edmund's Original is a few blocks south at 1081 Morrison Dr. Its courtyard bar and garden is called The Bower. Lewis Barbecue is at 464 North Nassau St.
Upper King Street. The Harbinger Cafe & Bakery at 1107 King St. serves breakfast, lunch, pastries, and coffee. It's a short walk from the Dart branch at 1067 King. Babas, the cafe run by Edward Crouse and Marie Stitt, is moving from 804 Meeting St. to 1011 King St., the address where Rodney Scott's BBQ used to be. The Post and Courier's report on the move did not give an opening date for the new location. Farther north, Edmund's Oast Brewing Co. pours from its taproom at 1505 King St. Munkle Brewing Co. is at 1513 Meeting Street Rd.
Toward Hampton Park. Hampton Park, at 30 Mary Murray Dr., has trails, floral displays, a playground, restrooms, picnic tables, and on-site parking. It's a natural next stop after Baby Storytime. Odd Duck Market opened in July at 637 Rutledge Ave., near the park.
Two newer openings sit between the old library and the new one. Rhett and Haley Anderson opened Two Blokes Brewing Co. at 114 Cannon St. on August 11. KYN, a sushi hand roll bar and cocktail lounge from Tae Woo Lee and Peter Marcus, opened down the street at 61 Cannon St. by early September.
What Comes Back to Calhoun Street
The renovation is the last phase of the library referendum Charleston County voters approved in 2014. CCPL says children's and teen services will share one floor, and that public spaces and programming areas will be updated. The Post and Courier has reported more of the layout. The second floor becomes a dedicated Youth Services floor, adult collections move to the third floor, and the auditorium and meeting rooms get new projectors.
CCPL hasn't set a reopening date. Eighteen months from the August 1 closure lands around February 2028, but that's an estimate based on the library's timeline, not a date the library has announced. Until then, Main at Morrison's hours and its free lot cover the downtown library errand.
A busier Morrison Drive is one of many changes on the upper peninsula that can affect what nearby homes are worth. If you own a home in this part of Charleston and want to know where it stands, Rose Gold Properties will prepare an estimate based on the blocks around you. Request Your Home Estimate when you're ready.
