Trolley Barn Restoration

ACBA began restoring the historic Charleston Car Barn in 2014. This structure was used to house the electric trolley cars that formerly traversed Charleston.

As Charleston transitioned away from trolley cars, the "Trolley Barn" evolved into a maintenance depot to care for the new diesel buses.

In the 1980s, Charleston transitioned away from the Trolley Barn completely, leaving the building vacant. After being abandoned, the building fell into disrepair and was left as a relic of Charleston's past.

ACBA took ownership of the building in 2014 and began the extensive renovation process. This involved months of demolition work and completely overhauling the majority of the building. Throughout all of this, ACBA preserved the historic exterior. Examples of this include the use single-pane glass, historic bricks, and tabby concrete. The award-winning transformation can be viewed below. Please use the sliders where applicable to contrast the before and after shots.

Front Facade

Rear Facade

Side of the Building

Carpentry and Timber Framing

Blacksmithing