Charleston Quotes

Chalmers St., Charleston, SC    

Charleston is one of the best built, handsomest,

and most agreeable cities that I have ever seen.” 

Marquis de Lafayette

Chalmers St.

Pink House, Charleston, SC    

I frequently pass this darling home on Chalmers St. that is often described as the oldest home on the peninsula but rarely find it without a car parked right in front of it. No car blocking the view and crepe myrtle trees in bloom - my lucky day!

A short walk down the street I always stop to admire my initials in the author Josephine Pinckney's home. JP! How considerate.

Beaufain St. pinkie

Beaufain St., Charleston, SC  

Pink!

The funny thing is, I had this image in my camera and then happened to be talking to a gentleman who mentioned painting his house pink. Yep. It was this one. He wanted it to have a New Orleans mood. I imagine like the other houses in pink, they have to be painted brighter to allow for the quick fading in the sun. Click here to see every other time I have mentioned the word pink in this blog. 

Oldest House in Charleston

17 Chalmers St., Charleston, SC 

I often walk by the Pink House on Chalmers St. hoping to catch it without a car parked in front.

The July 4th traffic was lighter than usual and I got lucky. I was torn about moving

the blue trash barrel down the street but nudged it far enough to possibly crop out. 

Oldest house in Charleston and can be yours for an easy $995,000. 

While I have your attention here is a fun video of Stephen Colbert and Sturgill Simpson 

in the Charleston Waffle House. 

Stay cool kids! Luckily I walked over 8,000 steps at work today so a light evening

stroll this evening should take care of it.  

Pink House - large scale version

Charleston, S.C.

It isn't raining at this very moment in time so let's celebrate with another bright sunny photo of one of the fine mansions on the battery. I imagine this one is in many tourist albums.I recently featured the little pink house on Chalmers St. so we will call this the larger version of beautiful pink homes.

The Post & Courier has been inviting readers to submit photos featuring a different topic each week. This week's album is on Spanish moss. Can't go wrong there. You have to answer an annoying question to view the gallery but there are some pretty lowcountry scenes: Post & Courier Reader Gallery. My friend Larry's is #9 and in my happily biased opinion one of the best shots.

I missed restaurant week in Charleston but luckily West Ashley continues on through this week. I walked down and joined a friend at Al Di La. On the other hand, scratch that link. Their web site is too annoying to bother with.

Move the darn car out of my picture

Pink House, Chalmers St., Charleston, S.C.

Okay, I'll say it out loud - we all want to take pictures of the little pink house on Chalmers St. and we want YOU to quit parking your car in front of it. The last thing I'd like Mayor Riley to rule on before and if he leaves the Mayor's office after his record breaking forty year term would be to put up a "No Parking" sign in front of the quaint cottage. I wouldn't even mind a sign restricting parking to vintage or cute car parking that would be an asset to a photo.

The distinctive little pink building at 17 Chalmers Street is said to be the oldest standing tavern building in the South. Built within the walled city of Charles Towne in the mid 1690s by John Breton, this oldest stone house in the city was constructed of 'Bermuda stone'. The West Indian coral stone had a natural pink cast, so the building was known as the Pink House from the beginning. Tradition holds that the Bermuda stone was brought in ships as ballast, as the cobblestones on Chalmers Street were, but it is more likely that it was cut in Bermuda and imported as a building material. The stone is soft enough to be cut into blocks and then when exposed to weather, it gradually hardens and becomes stronger. Its elasticity was proved in the great earthquake on 1886 when nearby brick structures suffered damage. The tiled roof is original terra cotta tile of an ancient vintage. The curved shape of the tiles was said to be formed over the workmen's thighs. The Pink House also was one of the few buildings in Charleston to survive 1989's Hurricane Hugo virutally unscathed.

In the building's early days, as a 'groggerie' and coffee house for sailors visiting the port from all over the world, this area was a red light district called Mulatto Alley and the street was lined with many small houses, most of which were bordellos. The Pink House was not a fashionable bistro for Charleston gentry, but rather a simple tavern, where the seamen found their 'three Ws'......whiskey, wenches, and wittles. Around 1800 the area was cleaned up after many citizens petitioned the City Council. Thomas Elfe, the famous furniture maker, wrote a letter complaining about the noisy parties at night.