Interestingly, that settlement was the only English walled city in North America. In the late 17th and early 18th century, the Spanish, the French as well as Native Americans posed a threat to the fledgling colony. The fort-like wall was built in 1690 and ran along what are now Meeting, Cumberland, East Bay, and Water streets. The north, west, and south walls were dismantled by 1730s but the harbor-side fortifications remained mostly intact until after the American Revolution. Not much remains today: eight bastion markers and a portion of the wall discovered during renovations of the Provost Dungeon in a cellar of the Old Exchange, the British customs office built 1767-1771 where Half Moon battery of the city’s fortifications used to stand.
East Bay Street was once Charleston’s shoreline. It makes for a delightful walk with a chance to enjoy rows of colorful houses, including the famous Rainbow Row on the one side and green Waterfront Park on the other. Land reclamation has since extended the banks of the Cooper river as visible in this photo where a brick line in the pavement illustrates where the wall once stood. Now you can see the water only in a distance:
View of the Cooper river from the Battery, Charleston’s old defensive seawall and today a charming promenade
It’s not for nothing that Charleston is known as the Holy City. Magnificent steeples line its skyline and each of the churches has a special story to tell. Most are surrounded by tiny, peaceful cemeteries hidden behind wrought iron gates. Leaning headstones, worn inscriptions – some in French – and adorable squirrels playing hide-and seek… My favorite cemetery is the one next to St. Michaels Episcopal Church (71 Broad St), the oldest church in Charleston built between 1752 and 1761. With its white 186-foot high steeple rising above historic downtown it is a true landmark of the city.
My other favorite is St. Philip’s Episcopal Church (142 Church St), the first Anglican church established south of Virginia. The current structure is the third building of the congregation – the first church, built in 1681, was at the present site of St. Michael’s Church. The imposing building we know today was built in the 1830s. Many prominent people are buried in the nearby cemetery, including colonial governors and Episcopal bishops, as well as John C. Calhoun, former Vice President of the United States, and Dubose Heyward, author and playwright whose work Porgy and Bess – set in Charleston – was made world-famous by George Gershwin who composed an opera based on it.
These are several other stunning churches I stumbled upon by just wandering without a particular destination:

Circular Congregational Church (150 Meeting St) – its graveyard is the city’s oldest burial grounds with monuments dating from 1695

St John’s Reformed Episcopal Church (91 Anson St) with a famous iron gate by Charleston’s late master blacksmith Philip Simmons
I mentioned Porgy and Bess earlier so I would be remiss not to visit its setting, Cabbage Row, which was renamed Catfish Row by Dubose Heyward in his 1925 novel. This fictional name was further popularized by Gershwin’s opera. Cabbage Row, located on 89-91 Church Street, consists of twin three-story houses that date back to the Revolutionary War era. They used to house up to ten families, mostly African American, who sold cabbage on the spot. Today the ground floors are still commercial although the nature of sold goods has changed to gifts and stationary.
I hope I didn’t attract too much attention by humming Summertime to myself in front of the Cabbage/Catfish Row houses. In my head I sounded just like Audra McDonald, brilliant in her Broadway role of Bess =)I was also fascinated by a common feature of many Charleston houses: their unusual orientation with the narrow side facing the street and the front door leading to an open porch running along the wide side of the house. Here is what that looks like…
I would have guessed that just like with New Orleans shotgun houses the reason for this architectural style had something to do with taxation being dependent on how much street-facing space the house claimed. But I was wrong. Apparently, colonial houses situated sideways to the street had to do more with South Carolina’s summer heat before the advent of air conditioning and the area’s prevailing southwest winds. As this fellow blogger points out, a breeze from the ocean not only kept houses cool but also kept flying insects away.
And then there are the houses of the super rich of yore… I visited one such stunning place, Nathaniel Russell House Museum at 51 Meeting Street. Russell, originally from Rhode Island, settled in Charleston in 1765 and made his fortune as a shipping merchant drawn to the city by the fact that in the late 18th century Charleston had per capita wealth nearly four times that of all the American colonies. He traded in Carolina Gold rice, indigo, tobacco, cotton – and yes, slaves. The house was built in 1809 and remained in the Russell family until 1857. Its hallmark feature is the beautifully preserved elliptical spiral staircase ascending three floors. I also much enjoyed the quiet charm of the surrounding garden.

Visiting the nearby Old Slave Mart is a good reminder of where a lot of Charleston’s early wealth came from
It is impossible to talk about Charleston without talking about its culinary riches. For enthusiasts of southern fare and foodies of all other stripes this is, simply put, heaven. A great place to start is Charleston’s famed City Market where you can enjoy treats like dried okra chips and sesame seed benne wafers.

Gourmet specialty foods at the City Market’s Caviar & Bananas
Breakfast and brunch: Virginia’s on King, located at 412 King Street (which happened to be super conveniently near the historic Francis Marion hotel where I stayed), with a great selection of upscale Southern cuisine.
Lunch: Husk at 76 Queen St – Award-winning Chef Sean Brock lives by a strict rule regarding his food “if it doesn’t come from the South, it’s not coming through the door.” The menu changes daily and all ingredients come south of the Mason-Dixon line like this delicious Carolina catfish.
Dinner: Options are truly limitless but let me just mention two exceptional places. Hank’s Seafood Restaurant at 10 Hayne Street is a great destination for oysters on a half shell or seared swordfish. Coast, located at 39 John Street in a former indigo warehouse, brings perfection to every dish, from fried greed tomatoes and she-crab soup to mouth-watering ceviche and the best shrimp and grits ever. And the ambiance is awesome! Coffee break (and more): Hands-down winner for me was Kudu Coffee and Craft Beer at 4 Vanderhorst Street – cosy space, delicious drinks.Nightcap: Closed for Business (453 King St), a perfect place to kick back and relax after a long day of sightseeing. Great selection of beer on tap, including the local classic, Holy City beer.
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Beautiful photos, love the row of colorful houses 🙂 I love looking at old churches. In my hometown (York, England) there is a saying that there are 365 pubs, one for every day of the year, and 52 churches, one for every Sunday!
Thank you, Catherine! York sounds like a great place =)