PADGETT-THOMAS BARRACKS
From Knob Knowledge
Barracks Number 2. Home of the 2nd Battalion and also Band Company. Built in 1922 and refurbished in 1977. The dominant feature of this barracks is the tower which displays a clock and formerly contained a water tank. It was the landmark of The Citadel. R. M. Walker was the Contractor, and Construction was by Lockwood, Greene & Co., Atlanta, G.A. The building was called Main Barracks until at least March 24, 1934.
The Board of Visitors, at their June 1, 1934 meeting, officially named the building in honor of two famous Citadel graduates: (1) James G. Padgett, Citadel Class of 1892, who was instrumental in moving The Citadel from its cramped quarters in downtown Charleston to its current location adjacent to Hampton Park; and (2) John Pulaski Thomas, Citadel Class of 1893, Chairman of the Board of Visitors, 1925-1949.
Cadets lived in the barracks until the end of the 1999-2000 academic year. It was demolished in 2001. The new barracks, which opened in August 2004, has almost exactly the same dimensions, but is a modern building with up-to-date electrical wiring, computer cabling, plumbing and air-conditioning. On the surface it looks almost the same as the old building, but is almost 300 feet long, about 20 feet longer than before. The extra length added about 10,000 square feet that are used for new latrines and other rooms. The old Padgett-Thomas was built of stucco over terra cotta bricks, while the new structure is made from reinforced concrete. In the barracks tower some walls are covered with wood from an old cistern from the previous barracks. The wood panels carry graffiti inscribed by cadets over many years.
(Sources: Oliver J. Bond, The Story of The Citadel, pp. 200-201. U430 .C5 S57 1989; Robert Behre, "New Citadel Barracks Like an Old Friend: Padgett-Thomas Facility is Almost Identical to Former Building," Post and Courier, July 19, 2004, p. 1B; information furnished by Citadel Office of Public Affairs) (HN & DH)
See also Padgett-Thomas Barracks.
