MYSTERY PHOTO: This one might not be so easy

Unlike last week’s mystery, the one for this week might not be so easy.  Hint:  This dilapidated building is in Charleston County.  But where?  And can you tell us anything else about the photo?  Send your best guess to editor@charlestoncurrents.com.  And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.  And if you’ve got a clever mystery photo for our readers, send it to the same address (Try to stump us!)

Our previous Mystery Photo

Last week’s mystery, “Orange and blue,” was pretty easy for lots of regular Mystery Photo sleuths.  It showed the tall steeple at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church on King Street in Charleston.

Congrats to these readers who identified it:  George Graf of Palmyra, Va.; Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Jay Altman of Columbia; Don Clark and Bill Segars, both of Hartsville; Chris Brooks of Mount Pleasant; Christel Newton of North Charleston; Carol Ann Smalley of Charleston; Howard Bridgman of Summerville; and Archie Burkel of James Island.

Peel provided some context:  Today’s mystery photo is of the clock and bell tower of St. Matthew’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church, just below (but not visible in the photo) the 297-foot-tall steeple. At the time of its construction, the church was the tallest building in South Carolina. It remained the tallest building in the state until it was surpassed by the “Tower at 1301 Gervais,” a high-rise office building in Columbia, SC. Even today, the church’s steeple remains the tallest spire in Charleston. According to an article in the SC Picture Project here, “In 1965, St. Matthew’s suffered a devastating fire that destroyed the steeple, sending it ‘crashing spectacularly into King Street.’ The church was quickly rebuilt, including the spire, though a section of the spire remains where it landed as a reminder of the event.”

• Send us a mystery:  If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!)   Send it along to  editor@charlestoncurrents.com.