Let's take a look at Mrs. Mary H. Lanneau and the property at 34 Anson Street.

Mrs. Lanneau was the widow of Peter Lanneau ll, a descendant of a family of French Acadians who settled in Charleston. In 1755 nearly one thousand Acadians were deported to Charleston from what is now Nova Scotia by the British and Peter's father was among those deported. The Lanneau family became prominent in Charleston history by establishing businesses and amassing real estate holdings in both Charleston and Greenville.

Mary H. Johnson Lanneau was born in Charleston in June of 1810. She and Peter Lanneau II had several children. After Peter's passing in August of 1839, Mary acquired the property at 34 Anson in 1848. She passed away in May of 1858 and in 1860 her children sold the property. Mary and Peter are buried together at Second Presbyterian Church Cemetery on Meeting Street.

The Matchless Pleasure of In-Town Living

34 Anson was constructed about 10 years after the fire of 1838 which left over 1000 structures in the center of town in ruins including the structures at 32 Anson Street and 36 Anson Street. Construction loans were backed by South Carolina state issued bonds and Charleston began rebuilding. Things were nice in the borough again for a few years but the Civil War, the Great Earthquake of 1886, the Great Depression and WWII left Ansonborough as a slum.

Historic Charleston Foundation ran an ad in Charleston's News and Courier offering the Mary Lanneau House at a purchase price of $15,000. The ad reads, "Mrs. Mary H Lanneau's house, built in about 1848, 3-story brick, and has been restored on the exterior. Property is 40 x 52 and is a single family residence. This is an excellent home for you to use your best ideas as you restore the interior".

When the Historic Charleston Foundation started the Ansonborough Rehabilitation Fund in 1959 it acquired 7 properties. That number grew to over 100 properties acquired in Ansonborough. Each property received some level of rehabilitation in order to attract private investors to purchase and complete the rehabilitation of the property. By the mid 1960's 34 Anson was one of them and HCF called on H. A DeCosta and Company to do the work.

As with many of his projects in Ansonborough DeCosta’s initial plans for 34 Anson Street focused on the demolition of non-period features. DeCosta removed wooden additions and opened previously enclosed porches. Once stripped down to their original design, the porches were repaired and restored. In addition to his work on the porches, necessary repairs were made to the windows, roof, and brickwork to stabilize and restore the structure. New windows mimicking historic sash configurations on the front and south side of the house and hung paneled shutters on the front of the structure. DeCosta estimated for the installation of new tin roofing over the porch and old masonry wing at the rear of the lot, and he proposed to “repair or furnish gutters where necessary.” Minor pointing and painting was completed. As part of DeCosta’s restoration of 34 Anson Street the front entrance was reconstructed and redesigned with only minor changes to the existing surrounding door frame resulting in the most appropriate doorway for the scale and size of the house.

Herbert DeCosta Jr. and his company provided restoration work on 27 of the properties for HCF and 11 other Ansonborough properties for private investors. How exciting to be involved in the "facelifting" of Ansonborough! From 1959 through 1972 H.A. DeCosta and Company was involved in over 30% of the structures being rehabilitated. Developing a reputation of reliability and quality, the Decosta's (three generations) worked throughout the Charleston area and became one of the first companies to specialize in the restoration of historic property working on some of the finest buildings and for some of the most prominent members of Charleston society.