Glimpses of Charleston

A local's eye view

Houses/Buildings/Gates

This cool door is actually the side entrance to a grand house built in 1792 on Meeting Street. It originally opened on to what was then called "Ladson Court" -- now Ladson Street, which is a full street connecting Meeting and King Streets. 
Built in 1761-1771, the Old Exchange Building on East Bay Street is one of the most important colonial era buildings in Charleston, and the United States. Many important things have happened in its halls over time, but one of the most significant is that it is where the first local reading of the Declaration of Independence took place.
Located across from Colonial Lake on Beaufain Street, this c. 1840 house built for one family once served as a home for "Presbyterian and Huguenot woman of gentle birth and small means." In 1971 it was converted back to a single family house.
This unusual building is the only house in Charleston on top of the harbor. A former degaussing station once owned by the Navy, it was converted into a private home in 2010. Almost 6000 square feet with a 240 foot private dock, it has pretty nice views too!
A beautiful gate and piazza on a Rutledge Avenue house built in 1852. The piazza was actually a later addition.
This cool glass fronted house is on Murray Boulevard, behind the gardens of the C. Bissell Jenkins House. The modern design is a nice counterpoint to its grand neighbor, which was the first house built on Murray Boulevard after the land was reclaimed creating the peninsula as we know it today.
This handsome house on Anson Street was built c. 1800. The beautiful curving staircase was added 44 years later -- the same time a third story was added to the house. In a renovation in 1969, the third story was removed and the house returned to its original profile.
The Old Marine Hospital on Franklin Street was designed by the famed architect Robert Mills. Now a National Historic Landmark, it not only served as a hospital, but later became an important orphanage for African-American children in 1891. It now serves as offices for the Housing Authority of the City of Charleston.
The Historic Rice Mill on Lockwood Boulevard is now used as offices and event space (they squeezed in this reception right before the COVID-19 social distancing rules went into place). Built in the 1860's, the West Point Rice Mill was one of three rice mills built to handle the rice production in the area. The most successful rice crop was an aptly named "Carolina Gold."
This beautiful gate/house combo is on Gibbes Street. The current owners used to let roosters roam the property. They honored those birds by placing statues of roosters on top of the gate posts. 
Built in 1802, the Old City Jail is one of the most haunted buildings in Charleston. In addition to serving as a jail and current ghost home, it has served other purposes. For example, during the Civil War the famed 54th Massachusetts Regiment (which was the focus of the movie Glory) was quartered there. 
This beautiful piazza can be found on Meeting Street. On the right side is a very Lowcountry item... a joggling board. 
This cool bowed piazza house on Chapel Street was built c. 1840. It was the first house in Charleston to use linoleum as a floor covering, which they imported from England.
This is the entryway to the Calhoun Mansion on Meeting Street, which was once declared to be "the handsomest and most complete private residence in the South.” It is still the largest single family home in Charleston.
This incredible house on Tradd Street was built around 1765 by Humphrey Sommers, the chief subcontractor for the construction of St. Michael's Church.  
This Broad Street house is the second house on this site. Built in 1870, it replaced a prior one that was destroyed in the great fire of 1861. 
The entrance to the Church Street end of Stolls Alley is framed on one side by this incredible wall. The alley is named after a blacksmith (Justinus Stoll) who lived there in mid-1700's.
The dogs that live here are clearly well-mannered and can read!! Their house on South Battery was built on land reclaimed from the Ashley River and marshes, as part of the project that defined the Charleston peninsula as it exists today.
This impressive house (Isaac Jenkins Mikell House, c. 1854) at the corner of Ashley Avenue and Montagu Street was once used as the Charleston library. Now it's the home to one of the Southern Charm reality TV cast members.
The side of this building in St. Michael's Alley has always reminded me of a face with dimples. The "dimples" are not, however, purely decorative. They are the end of earthquake bolts (or rods), which were used to strengthen the structural integrity of the building.
This antebellum beauty on Legare Street, built in 1857, is actually situated on land that used to be part of the Miles Brewton House -- one of the most significant pre-Revolutionary War houses in the United States.
The Wentworth Mansion, built c. 1886 as a private house on Wentworth Street, was once known as “the finest home in all of Charleston.” With about 24,000 square feet of space, it's an amazing building. You can stay there, as it is now a spectacular 5 Star hotel.
This beautiful pink house on East Battery (c. 1848) is reaching the end of a long restoration, converting it from a B&B back to a single family house. Once owned by a dentist, the popular story about the pink color is that it represents healthy gums. It is not the original color of the house, but has become iconic and the new owners decided to keep it that way.
St. Michael's steeple being bathed in the light of the setting sun. The iconic white steeple wasn't always that way. During the Revolutionary and Civil Wars it was painted black, to make it a tougher target during the bombardment of the city.
The Young-Johnson House on Church Street was built around 1770 and is an imposing presence. Home to Joseph Johnson in the 19th century. Johnson (among other things) led the SC Unionist Party during the Nullification Crisis in 1832-33.
This relatively unassuming door on Rutledge Avenue is the entrance to a house (c. 1850)  that boasts some of the grandest Tower of Wind (a.k.a. Corinthian) columns in Charleston. 
The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Calhoun Street, more familiarly called Mother Emanuel. Founded in 1816, it is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in the Southern US. 
A different view of the Joseph Manigault House through the door of the garden "folly."
The Second Presbyterian Church building (c. 1811), as seen from Elizabeth Street. The fourth oldest congregation in Charleston, the full name of the church is "the Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston and Its Suburbs." Instead of that mouthful, it is commonly referred to as "Second Pres."
This handsome house on Laurens Street was built in 1807-08. In the antebellum period a number of additions were made, including adding the incredible fence/gates and the entire third floor of the house.
The Joseph Manigault House on Meeting Street was built in 1803, and designed by Joseph's brother Gabriel.  In 1920, after a number of owners and uses, it was slated to be demolished. Susan Pringle Frost, who is best know for founding the Preservation Society of Charleston, created the Society for Preservation of Old Dwellings (which later became the Preservation Society) to save it. 
In 1838 this imposing brick house on Laurens Street (c.1818) had its basement loaded with kegs of gunpowder in case the fire of 1838 spread in its direction. The thought was that they would blow up the house to help stop the spread of the fire. Fortunately, for the house, the fire never reached it and they never had to ignite the kegs. 
These steeples, which help contribute to Charleston's Holy City moniker, can be found on Archdale Street. St. John's Lutheran Church is on the left, and on the right is the Unitarian Church -- which was occupied and used as barracks by both the American and British forces during the Revolutionary War.
This simple Federal style house was built around 1809 on Chapel Street. Just another Charleston house.
This spooky scene on South Battery certainly brings to mind how haunted Charleston is. A couple of doors down from here is the Battery Carriage House Inn, home to the Gentleman Ghost -- who is very polite and deferential to woman -- and the less charmingly named headless torso ghost. If you are so inclined, you can request the rooms that they are known to frequent. (It's currently undergoing renovations, but should reopen soon.)
The West Point Rice Mill (aka the Historic Rice Mill), c. 1861, sits on the banks of the Ashley River (right next to the Marina Variety Store Restaurant, the best breakfast place in Charleston.) The rice (known as Carolina Gold) once made Charleston the richest city in North America. 
This house on Water Street has been sitting in the same spot since 1857. Now, because of flooding and rising sea levels, it and other houses around Charleston are being raised to make them safer from water. This is one of the most impressive I've seen so far.
This beautiful house on Meeting Street, c.1740, is known for the original woodwork in its interior. The mantle is believed to have been created by Thomas Elfe, a famous Charleston cabinet maker.
Built before 1810, the house behind this beautiful wall on Legare Street is known as the Sword Gate House -- named after its iconic gate made by the master ironworker Christopher Werner. 
Built in 1865 on Legare Street, this house is a great example of the Charleston single house. The main entrance is in the middle of the porch. The blue door facing the street is a "hospitality door" -- which when left open indicated that the resident was receiving guests. If it was closed, you should get the message.