“When you walk the streets of Charleston, S.C., you’re walking through living history,” says Owen Tyler, ABR, CRS, senior vice president at William Raveis Real Estate and a member of the Charleston Trident Association of REALTORS®.
“The cobblestones, Rainbow Row pastel facades. The church steeples reaching toward the sky—none of this exists by accident. It exists because people chose to own it and preserve it,” Tyler says.
The effort to save Charleston’s historic character didn’t happen until the early 1920s, 250 years after its founding in 1670, first on the Ashley River and 10 years later on a narrow peninsula by Charleston Harbor.
“So, Charleston was originally founded as the center of the Carolina colony and really people were sent here from England to explore trade and commerce opportunities,” says architect Winslow Hastie, President and CEO of the nonprofit Historic Charleston Foundation.
“Charleston, after the Civil War, was famously a sort of quiet, economically stagnant place,” Hastie says. The area incurred physical damage and lacked investment capital. As in other Southern cities, wealthy plantation owners no longer had enslaved people to labor and grow crops. Without funds, many historic buildings couldn’t be maintained—but also weren’t demolished.
With the end of World War I, the economy started to rebound, and the Charleston Renaissance began. “In the 1920s, there was a growing interest in industrial development. And buildings were starting to be torn down,” Hastie says. “And so that created a great fear in Charleston. And so, they really wanted to make sure to protect it moving forward.”
20th Century Preservationist
“One of the first real estate professionals in Charleston was a woman named Susan Pringle Frost,” Hastie says. “And she was investing in real estate in Charleston and trying to attract people from around the country to move here. The historic buildings were what attracted people, and so she would fix them up and then sell them.” Frost, a member of the Charleston Real Estate Alliance, helped inspire the founding of The Preservation Society of Charleston in 1920.
“She was a pioneering preservationist who sought to protect the city’s architectural legacy,” Tyler says. “In 1931, Charleston became the nation’s first municipally protected historic district. Her tireless advocacy laid the groundwork for the zoning laws and protections that we have in place today.”
“The formation of Charleston as the first historic district in America was a very key revolutionary concept at the time, because no one had ever done this before,” Hastie says.
The historic district encompassed 1.2 square miles, a large swath of the city’s peninsula, and initiated efforts to protect buildings, streetscapes and gardens, Tyler says.
The houses presented a distinct display. In 1931, Dorothy Porcher Legge and her husband Judge Lionel K. Legge bought six buildings on East Bay Street and rehabilitated them as houses. Dorothy painted their house a vibrant pastel based on a Caribbean palette. Others followed, which led to a rainbow of 13 pastel homes on what became known as iconic Rainbow Row.
Many houses also exhibited a unique Charleston style termed the Charleston Single House. The design is inspired by Caribbean homes, with a sideways orientation due to narrow deep lots; double-tiered porches or “piazzas” facing south or west with operable windows to bring in cooling breezes; upper-level outdoor steps down to the street; and hinged wooden shutters for weather protection.
Charleston’s preservation efforts spurred a ripple effect. “It engendered an interest in preserving historic districts around the country,” Hastie says. Shortly thereafter, New Orleans designated a historic district, followed by such cities as Alexandria, Va., Savannah, Ga., Philadelphia and Boston.
“The preservation of our neighborhoods is really what has created the incredible global tourism economy that Charleston has,” Hastie says. “Our unique architectural fabric, the beautiful streets, the sidewalks and the parks have been a major economic driver for many decades. But really, the backbone of the preservation movement are the citizens and the homeowners, and there’s a fierce pride in homeownership.”
Owners, Stewards and Curators
Part of that involves knowing the history of a house. Anne Blessing is the third of four generations to live in a 1740 brick house near the harbor. Blessing’s house has been a stop on a historic home tour for years. “We have people coming in and out of this house all the time and very often those people are children or grandchildren of people who’ve spent time in this house. So, it helps you be part of something that’s bigger.”
By maintaining that historical connection, Blessing and other historic district owners carry out almost a curatorial role. “I mean, we don’t think of ourselves as necessarily owning the house,” she says. “We think of ourselves as sort of being part of the house and really taking care of it.”
Residing in a historic district house also gives Blessing hope for the future. “I definitely feel a sense of responsibility to preserve it for future generations. I want people to understand what’s special about these houses.”
Tyler says it’s important that potential buyers and current owners understand the role that preservation plays in maintaining and increasing property values. “Homeownership in Charleston is a commitment to preservation,” he says.
Blessing in turn credits real estate professionals with fostering love and care for the community. “They bring people who want to live here and raise children here and help support the schools, the nonprofits—and think of it as a living, breathing place, not just a museum or a trophy,” she says.
Both local real estate professionals and homeowners coordinate efforts with others, from the city of Charleston and its Board of Architectural Review to the historical foundations, architects, contractors and artisans who work in the city, Tyler says.
“Every piece of the city is history—every brick, every house. You’re not going to have a hard time finding it everywhere you look,” Blessing says.
“When people walk through Charleston today, what they’re seeing is a result of decades of hard work, people fighting for this place and for protecting the unique character and fabric of the community,” Hastie says. “And it’s amazing to see how it resonates with people and why they want to continue to come back and visit here.”
Having lived away in what she describes as other wonderful places, Blessing says, “Charleston people are like homing pigeons and always come back.” Hastie, also a native, returned after working in San Francisco.
“As a lifelong resident in Charleston and a REALTOR® [member of NAR], I can tell you it’s one of the most simple and comfortable places to live in the country,” Tyler says. “Homeownership built Charleston, and the right guidance makes sure that it endures for generations to come.”
