900 Block of Woodrow Street
Of all of the streets within Old Shandon, Woodrow Street has experienced the greatest change since the suburb's earliest days. In a handful of areas, formerly residential properties have yielded to commercial purposes, resulting in the destruction of historic dwellings or their heavy modification. The enlargement of some neighborhood institutions and the creation of others have erased multiple residential properties in some blocks. However, this street, which has become one of the community's most heavily traveled corridors, nonetheless retains much of its historic character through community involvement in new development.
For example, where Bethel A.M.E. Child Development Center stands today was previously the site of a two-story brick Colonial Revival style house erected by Shandon Baptist Church for its parsonage. However, within this block originally stood a series of wood frame houses. Included among them was the residence of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Dillard at 905 Woodrow Street.
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The residence of Dr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Dillard at 905 Woodrow Street, shown here during a snowfall in 1935. Image courtesy Sandy Dillard
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Joseph Samuel Dillard, seen here in the 1920s, benefits from the efforts of a hearty goat! From this perspective, the photographer also captured some of the porch details of the Dillard home as well as that of their neighbors' house to the south. Image courtesy Sandy Dillard
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In addition to main residences, the neighborhood included structures such as barns, sheds, "auto" garages, and in the case of some larger homes, small dwellings for domestic workers. 900 Block of Woodrow Street, 1919. Image courtesy Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, South Caroliniana Library, University
