Rainbow Row is the name for a series of thirteen colorful historic houses in Charleston, South Carolina. The houses are located north of Tradd St. and south of Elliott St. on East Bay Street, that is, 79 to 107 East Bay Street. The name Rainbow Row was coined after the pastel colors they were painted as they were restored in the 1930s and 1940s. It is a popular tourist attraction and is one of the most photographed parts of Charleston.
St. Mary of the Annunciation Roman Catholic Church is the first Roman Catholic parish in the Carolinas and Georgia. The current building at 93 Hasell St. in Charleston, South Carolina, is the third structure to house the congregation on this site.
The Patrick O'Donnell House is the largest example of Italianate architecture in Charleston, South Carolina. It was built for Patrick O'Donnell (1806-1882), perhaps in 1856 or 1857. Other research has suggested a construction date of 1865. Local lore has it that the three-and-a-half-story house was built for his would-be bride who later refused to marry him, giving rise to the house's popular name, "O'Donnell's Folly." Between 1907 and 1937, it was home to Josephine Pinckney; both the Charleston Poetry Society and the Society for the Preservation of Spirituals were formed at the house during her ownership.
The John McKee House is a c. 1796 house at 44 King St., Charleston, South Carolina. The house follows a traditional Charleston single house layout with a small stair hall separating two main rooms per floor, one toward the street and one toward the rear of the property. The brickwork suggests that a door originally entered the house from King St., but it was replaced with a window at some point. Its first known owner was John McKee who died without heirs, leaving the house to the Methodist Episcopal Church. When the church divided in 1845, the house became the joint property of three black churches: Centenary, Wesley, and Old Bethel. The Methodist Episcopal Church rented the property out until 1915. In 1929, Mrs. Victor Morawetz of Fenwick Hall, Johns Island, bought the house.
The Williams Mansion is a Victorian house at 16 Meeting St., Charleston, South Carolina. The mansion is open for public tours.
The James Ferguson House at 442 King St., Charleston, South Carolina, is an antebellum house dating to at least 1840. As of 2000 it was being used as a restaurant.
The John Cordes Prioleau House is a historic residence in Charleston, South Carolina.
The William Harvey House in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of three tenement houses near the southeast corner of Meeting and Tradd Streets that were described in the local newspaper as "newly built" on April 19, 1770.
Vanderhorst Row in Charleston, South Carolina is a three-unit residential building built in 1800 by Arnoldus Vanderhorst, a governor of South Carolina (1792-1794). Each unit is four floors. The units at the north and south end of the range have doors along East Bay Street on the front in addition to doors on the sides of the unified building and exits to the rear. After the Civil War, the use of the building changed, and commercial purposes were installed. The building fell into disrepair before it was bought in 1935 by Josiah E. Smith for a restoration which cost $30,000. The architect for the restoration of the building was Stephen Thomas. The three units rented for $1500 to $1800 a year after the work was completed. As restored, each unit had a living room, dining room, kitchen, breakfast room, and pantry on the first floor; a drawing room, bedroom, and bath on the second; two more bedrooms on the third; and servants' rooms in the attic. For many years after the restoration of the building, the central unit was rented by the Charleston Club for its headquarters; the club relocated to 53 East Bay Street in 1958.
The Col. John A.S. Ashe House is a historic home in Charleston, South Carolina along Charleston's Battery. Col. John A.S. Ashe, Jr. received the property upon which 26 South Battery is built upon his father's death in 1828 along with $10,000 for the construction of a house. Col. John A.S. Ashe, Jr.'s father had built the nearby Col. John Ashe House at 32 South Battery in the 1780s.
The George Eveleigh House is a pre-Revolutionary house in Charleston, South Carolina. The house was built about 1743 for trader George Eveleigh. Eventually, Eveleigh returned to England and sold his house to John Bull in 1759. John Bull or one of his heirs subsequently built the house at 34 Meeting Street on the rear of the property; the parcel had originally run from Church Street through the block to Meeting Street on the west. The house retains much of its original cypress woodwork although many of the fireplace mantels were replaced in the Adam period.
Cabbage Row is a set of pre-Revolutionary buildings at 89 and 91 Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina. The buildings are most notable for having been the inspiration for "Catfish Row" in the DuBose Heyward novel Porgy and later the opera Porgy and Bess by Gershwin. DuBose Heyward had lived nearby on Church Street.
The William Vanderhorst House was used as the first post office in Charleston, South Carolina before 1753. Eleazer Philips was the first postmaster of Charleston to have a dedicated office for the handling of the mail, and he used 54 Tradd Street for that purpose. Earlier postmasters handled the mail in their own houses. The house was used as a post office until after 1791 when Peter Bacot relocated the operation to 84 Broad Street.
The Daniel Legare House is the oldest surviving house in the historic Ansonborough area of Charleston, South Carolina. The land upon which the house was built was sold to Daniel Crawford in May 1745 for a price that was much lower than expected for a house at the time, thereby suggesting a construction date after that time.
The James Vanderhorst House is a pre-revolutionary house in Charleston, South Carolina. It is notable for its connection to American artist Alfred Hutty.
The George Mathews House is an 18th-century house at 37 Church Street, Charleston, South Carolina. George Mathews had purchased the lot in 1743; by 1768 when the executors of his estate sold the property, the sales price strongly suggest that Mathews had the house built during his ownership. The floor plan of the house is an asymmetrical variation of a Charleston double house that is similar to the nearby George Eveleigh House. The entrance to the house was moved from its Church Street facade to the southern facade when the piazzas were added. A separate kitchen house exists in the rear.
The Dr. Henry Frost Office at 98 Broad Street is composed of a front portion that appears to date from the mid-19th century and a rear portion that appears to be much older. The land upon which 98 Broad Street was built was owned by famous loyalist and horticulturalist Alexander Garden when he was forced to abandon the property when Charleston fell to the colonial forces in 1782.
The Charles Elliott House is a pre-Revolutionary house in Charleston, South Carolina. Charles Elliott paid 2,500 pounds "current currency" for the property in 1764. Charles Elliott and his wife, Anne, were patriots during the Colonial period who maintained their family seat at Sandy Hill.
The Louis Gourd House is a Victorian house in Charleston, South Carolina which was once the carriage house of the Calhoun Mansion. The house, built in the 1870s, once included eight stalls, space for carriages, and servants' quarters, but the interior was entirely removed as part of the building's conversion into a residence. The Church Street portion of the lot was divided off from the Calhoun Mansion and sold separately for the first time in 1932. When the building was acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Louis Gourd in 1939, they quickly hired Charleston architect Albert Simons to plan to remodeling of the building. The house he designed includes a main hall, living room, dining room, kitchen, gun room, and maid's quarters on the first floor with additional bedrooms and baths upstairs. Ironwork on the front and rear of the house was designed by Mr. Simons and includes his initials in the corners.
The William Bull House is built on property acquired by Stephen Bull in 1694. The piazzas on the south side are a later addition.
