CCPL to Open Renovated Poe/Sullivan’s Island Library on Tuesday, March 25

The branch closed in August 2024 to receive an interior refresh

CHARLESTON, SC – Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) will open the renovated Edgar Allan Poe/Sullivan’s Island Library (Poe Library), located at 1921 Ion Ave., on Tuesday, March 25. The public is invited to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony beginning at 9 a.m. at the branch. 

The Poe Library closed in August of 2024 to undergo renovations as part of the ongoing $108.5 million referendum-funded project passed by Charleston County voters in 2014 to build five new libraries and renovate all existing branches. Updates included new paint and furniture, refreshed restrooms with new flooring, upgraded IT systems, and infrastructure improvements to HVAC and electrical. Designs for the renovations were created by Liollio Architecture.

The ribbon cutting ceremony will include speakers from the library and Charleston County Government, as well as elected officials. In addition to the ribbon cutting, patrons will have the opportunity to meet the branch staff, take pictures with CCPL’s mascot Owlbert, explore the branch, and more.  

For more information about the Poe Library and other library branches around Charleston County, visit ccpl.org/branches.

About the Edgar Allan Poe/Sullivan’s Island Library

Since March 1977, the Edgar Allan Poe/Sullivan's Island Library has been uniquely housed in renovated Battery Gadsden, a former Spanish-American War four-gun battery. Previously, the library had been in the Sullivan's Island Elementary School building and then in the Township Building. The library is named for author Edgar Allan Poe, who was stationed on Sullivan's Island as a private in the United States Army in 1827 and 1828, and who used the island setting as the background for his famous story, "The Gold Bug."

Battery Gadsden was named for Colonel James Gadsden of South Carolina, who had served as an engineer officer during the War of 1812 and later as inspector general. The walls of the Battery are two feet thick, a solid protection for the 15,000 books in the 2,000 sq. ft. library. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in July 1974