Albert Simons (1890 – 1980), had a sixty-year career as an architect and preservationist in Charleston, South Carolina, where he is known for his preservation work and architectural design. He played a key role in the Charleston Renaissance. Simons helped to create many nationally prominent preservation functions such as the zoning ordinance for the historic district, the first such ordinance in America, with municipal austerity, and the first Board of Architectural Review. As a professor at the College of Charleston for over 20 years, he started the School of the Arts whose building is named after him and is honored yearly through the Simons Medal of Excellence.