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Womble Carlyle’s Columbia Office Honored with Historic Preservation AwardCOLUMBIA, S.C.—Womble Carlyle’s Columbia office has been honored by the Historic Columbia Foundation with its 2012 Historic Preservation Award. The award was presented at a May 24th dinner at 701 Whaley. Built in the late 1830s, the Lorick House at 1727 Hampton Street has been home to civic leaders and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Victorian-style house is on the same block as U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s childhood home. But a few years ago, the historic home’s future looked uncertain.Enter attorneys Kevin Hall, Butch Bowers and Todd Carroll of Womble Carlyle who were looking for a new office for their practice. Since so much of their practice involves face-to-face meetings, they wanted something more welcoming and conducive to social gatherings than a traditional commercial office building. In addition, Hall, Bowers and Carroll all have strong ties to Columbia and welcomed the opportunity to preserve one of the city’s most historically important homes. So in late 2010, Hall, Bowers and Carroll set out to restore the Lorick House to its original grandeur.“The Lorick House promotes relationships, not just business transactions,” Hall said. Algernon Sidney Johnson was the first owner of the Lorick House. Johnson was a prominent newspaper editor in the mid-Nineteenth Century and led the effort to create Finlay Park. South Carolina Gov. John Lawrence Manning owned the house during the 1850s. In 1877, the house passed into the hands of the Lorick Family, where it remained until 2009.Hall, Bowers and Carroll purchased the house from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The house required extensive repairs and renovations, all made within the historic character of the home. The roof had to be replaced. Outdated electrical wiring was removed, and the home’s first central heating and air conditioning was installed. Finally, a wheelchair ramp was added. No detail was too small during the restoration project. The oak floors with mahogany inlays were carefully restored. Layers of linoleum were ripped up, revealing beautiful pine floors. The Victorian trimwork on the outside of the home was replaced with boards from the same era, using old trimwork as a pattern. Decorative chimney pots were repainted to highlight the unique design of each pot. The work was completed late in 2011.In all, the attorneys invested approximately $800,000 in the renovation. While renovating a nearly 200-year-old house was more expensive and time-consuming than renting a conventional office, Hall said he, his colleagues and their clients couldn’t be happier with their decision. The Lorick House provides the warm, hospitable environment they were looking for, and many of their clients have expressed their appreciation for the historic renovation project.“This is a great place to come to work,” Hall said.