One Of The Oldest Buildings In South Carolina Was A Tavern Designed By A Famous Landscape Architect And Frequented By Sailors And Pirates
By AnneMarie|Published August 07, 2023
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AnneMarie
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South Carolina has been home for AnneMarie since 2001. Her favorite part of the state is Lake Jocassee. An App State alumna, it's always the mountains; the lake bonus makes it heavenly. When not writing about the state, she may be spending time with family, relaxing by the pool, or out somewhere enjoying nature.
Older buildings add so much character to an area and often come with fascinating backstories, such as the old building in Blackville that now houses a delicious pizza place. The Pink House in Charleston is another building with quite a history. It’s one of the oldest buildings in South Carolina, quintessentially Charleston, but it wasn’t always so charming!
It's actually unclear the exact year The Pink House was built, but it's estimated to have been sometime between the late 1600s and 1712. It was designed by Loutrel Briggs, a landscape architect who became known as the individual most directly responsible for the development of Charleston's distinctive garden style.
The Pink House and the homes adjacent are not to be confused with the infamous Rainbow Row in Charleston, which is found on East Bay Street – although, these homes certainly could pass for Rainbow Row. The pink color when the home was originally built came from the natural coral hue of the 18-inch thick Bermuda stone material with which it was built. Through the years when it was renovated, it was stuccoed and painted pink to preserve its structure and so that it could continue to live up to its nickname.
The house is located on Chalmers Street, which is inside the French Quarter area of Charleston and one of only eight remaining cobblestone streets left in the city. Prior to being named after Dr. Lionel Chalmers whose apothecary was located at the corner of Church Street, this street was known as Beresford's Alley and a bad part of town. The Pink House served for many years as a tavern, rumored to have had a brothel upstairs, frequented by sailors and pirates who came into town through Charleston’s port.
After its tavern days, The Pink House has served as a studio for artists, a law firm, and an art gallery. In 2017, it was put on the market and purchased by a New Yorker with plans to retire to Charleston.
Do you know of another old building in South Carolina with a great story? Send in an attraction nomination, and we’ll consider it for a future feature.
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