The Final Years of the Clemson House
Clemson House Remembered Clemson House Residence Hall @ Clemson University - Controlled Demolition, Inc. The Clemson House continued to operate as a residence and dining hall from the 1990s and up until the mid-2010s. Meetings, conferences, and banquets were still held at the Clemson House and renovations were completed in the early 90s to update the public meeting spaces, some of which became the Clemson University Ombuds Offices [1].
Located in the basement of the Clemson House, nestled in a small one-room shop, was the Clemson House Barber Shop. Established in 1950, the Barber Shop was originally created to service Clemson Cadets and their grooming requirements, but over time, evolved to satisfy the haircutting needs of individuals across the city and serve as one of the few, untouched social gatherings on campus [2]. The shop was owned and run by father/son duo, Charles "Shorty" and Dennis Laye. In 2012, the shop was sold to Joe Tankersley, a tenured employee at the Clemson House Barber Shop, until it was eventually demolished in 2017 [2]. Closing in May of 2017, Clemson House Barber Shop patrons were some of the last members of the public to use the building before it was demolished.
With Clemson’s new Campus Core Project being completed in time for the start of the Fall semester in 2016, campus leaders turned their attention to the fate of the Clemson House. The new $85 million Campus Core Project boasted room for 700 beds for incoming freshmen students, a 76,000 square-foot dining and retail space, and would house the relocated Clemson Honors College [3]. Thus, questions arose as to whether or not the Clemson House was needed as a living and dining space on campus anymore. The adored building had served its purpose as a residential community, meeting space, and a staple of Clemson for nearly 70 years, but the building had begun to fall into disrepair that would take a considerable amount of funds to renovate. The building was built using materials that had become outdated by 2016 and a complete remodel of the interior and a reconstruction of the exterior would be needed to even consider the building for future use [4]. In a feasibility study conducted in 2015, it was found that simply renovating and maintaining the Clemson House would cost nearly $100 more per square foot than building an entirely new building [4]. Further, the cost of maintaining the Clemson House exceeded $900,000 annually, which was a large sum of money that could be used elsewhere [4].
During the July 15, 2016, meeting of the Clemson Board of Trustees, the Board unanimously approved the demolition of the Clemson House. In the months following the demolition decision, construction crews prepared the building for its imminent demise. On July 3, 2017, the famous, neon orange Clemson House sign was taken off of the building and placed in storage in hopes of serving a future purpose as a reminder of the building that so members of the Clemson community loved [5]. The demolition was set to be executed in late 2017 by Controlled Demolition, Inc. after months of clean-up and preparation carried out by Neuber Demolition and Environmental Services teams that aimed to clear hazardous materials, like windows and asbestos, from the premises [6]. On December 3, 2017, the trigger was pulled and the Clemson House collapsed in on itself. Hundreds of observers, comprised of past Clemson House residents, workers, patrons, and Clemson community members, watched as the dust cloud settled to reveal an empty skyline [6]. All that was left of the Clemson House was a large pile of rubble and the endless memories that were associated with it.
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Hiott, Susan G. "The Rise and Fall of Clemson House." Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives, Sept. 2017, https://express.adobe.com/page/CiCewCEONOWiz/.
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LaFleur, Elizabeth. “Haircuts, Chats and Memories: Clemson House Barber Shop to Close after 67 Years .” The State, The Greenville News, 15 May 2017, https://www.thestate.com/news/local/article150469682.html.
- “Core Campus Construction.” Core Campus Construction | Clemson University, South Carolina, https://www.clemson.edu/building-futures/where/core-campus.html.
- Clemson University Board of Trustees, "Clemson Trustees Minutes, 2016 July 15" (2016). Minutes. 641.https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/trustees_minutes/641
- Silvarole, Georgie. “Signing off: Clemson House Sign Removed Thursday before Building's Demolition This Fall.” Independent Mail, Anderson Independent Mail, 7 July 2017, https://www.independentmail.com/story/news/2017/07/06/signing-off-clemson-house-sign-removed-thursday-before-buildings-demolition-fall/455563001/.
- Silvarole, Georgie. “Hundreds Gather to Watch Implosion of Iconic Clemson House.” Independent Mail, Anderson Independent Mail, 3 Dec. 2017, https://www.independentmail.com/story/news/2017/12/03/historic-clemson-house-imploded-sunday-morning-make-way-new-development/917221001/.