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French Quarter - Historic Downtown Charleston South Carolina
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DOWNTOWN CHARLESTON
MOUNT
PLEASANT
SULLIVAN'S ISLAND
DANIEL ISLAND
JAMES ISLAND
WATERFRONT
Discover French Quarter homes for sale in
downtown Charleston, SC.
Click here to view
a complete list of properties in the
French Quarter Charleston neighborhood area
Ansonborough, Harleston Village, Mazyck-Wraggsborough, Radcliffborough, South of Broad
Cannonborough, Elliottborough, Midtown, Wagener Terrace, Hampton Park
Terrace
Graced with quaint
theaters and art galleries, historic church steeples, cobblestone
streets, and an atmosphere of relaxed luxury,  Charleston French
Quarter is an island of bohemian delights within America’s most
historic city.
A quiet residential
area of graceful homes and gardens, the quarter is surrounded by
cozy restaurants, fashionable retail shops and lively entertainment
venues. Featuring property that comprised much of the original
walled city dating back too 1704, French Quarter eccentricities
include old pirate taverns and tunnels dating to colonial days, the
nation’s only and most famous French Anglican church, and the old
theater where Planter’s punch was first concocted, and
centuries-old graveyards where ghost tours are still the rage.
Part of the
National Historic Register for its concentration of 18th and 19th
century architecture, the French Quarter boasts some of the city’s
best examples of early Georgian single houses, airy piazzas and
verdant courtyard gardens.
French Quarter MLS Listing Quick Search:
Popular French Quarter Condominiums and Townhomes: Vendue Range, The People's Building
Among
Charlestonians, the French Quarter retains a reputation as an
artistic and cultural haven for the many exclusive galleries,
sidewalk artists, and breathtaking scenes along its fabled streets.
Just north of Broad
Street and bounded by the old city market and vibrant Meeting and
East Bay streets, the French Quarter is both a fashionable and
convenient address for the active and
culturally involved Charleston resident.
Highlights: St. Philip's Church, French Huguenot Church, Dock Street Theater, Old Powder Magazine, Trott's Cottage, Old Slave Mart Museum, Pink House Gallery
Have a few minutes? Take a walking tour of the French Quarter.
Notable Homes and Buildings and fun facts:
Picturesque scenes can be found on every
corner of the French Quarter, and in the street as well.
St. Philip’s Episcopal Church
stands prominently in Church Street, the pavement actually bending
around the impressive triple-portico of Doric Columns, topped by a
190-foot steeple of brick and stucco. Down the street, the
Dock Street Theater
dazzles with an exterior façade of Brownstone columns beneath a
decorative second-story wrought iron balcony. Around the corner on
Chalmers Street, a bright pastel exterior and a classic clay-tile
Gambrel roof highlights the stunning
Pink House Gallery, while down
Cumberland Street, three-foot thick walls, colonial cannons and
cast-iron bracing bolts distinguish the Old Powder Magazine Museum.
The house at
141-3 Church Street
is unusual in several ways. It is one of only a handful of houses
built with Bermuda Stone, a soft coral stone mined from the
Caribbean in the early 1700’s. The façade is covered with a layer of
painted stucco, but the large blocks of Bermuda Stone are visible
looking down its south side. Used as a tavern in the colonial
period, the house is legendary for its “Pirates’ Courtyard” area in
the back, entered by a narrow wrought iron gate. The classic story
is that pirates, who had prices on their heads in old Charleston,
would sneak into the courtyard to enjoy drinks and wenches from
ships that lay anchored offshore. Skulking through the streets in
the dark from rowboats, the pirates did not dare enter the tavern
from the front, but from the dark passageway on its north side. The
tavern became a residence by the 19th century, and ironically was
remodeled in the early 20th century by using parts of a former
tavern to restore its handsome features.
Neighborhood Restaurants and Shopping:
Quaint alleys add to the old-world feel of the
neighborhood, and a quiet stroll down Philadelphia Alley or Lodge
Alley feels like wandering back through time. Down Unity Alley,
there’s a flavorful stop at historic McCrady’s Restaurant, and the
French Quarter’s East Bay Street corridor features some of the
city’s most popular restaurants, with delightful menus and
atmosphere at notable establishments such as Magnolia’s, Slightly
North of Broad, High Cotton, Grill 225, and Blossom Café.
Click here to view
properties in the
French Quarter Charleston neighborhood area
More Notable Buildings and Homes:
French Huguenot Church -
Charleston’s many historic architectural styles include the unusual
Gothic Revival look of the French Huguenot Church. Designed by
Charleston native Edward Brickell White and completed in 1845, the
structure at the corner of Church and Queen streets displays a pious
grandeur. The Huguenots were Calvinists, and believed in simplicity
and restraint in their symbols worship. The church’s arched design
in ceiling, windows and doorways replicates hands clasped in prayer,
pointing to heaven, and instead of the glitter of a towering
steeple, features a series of cast-iron finials projecting from a
more modest height. White was a West Point graduate who enjoyed an
engineering challenge, and to create his vaulted interior ceiling,
he designed exterior buttresses to produce a cantilevering stress
outward and upward. No stained glass adorns the prudent church, but
the Huguenots do have inside the chancel one of the most incredible
musical instruments ever made. The 1845 pipe organ was made by the
New York’s famous Henry Erben company, and is the oldest church
organ in Charleston. Standing majestically above the chancel in a
carved cedar case, its massive rows of pipes were initially filled
by a bellows pumper, accompanying the organist who played the
instrument.
More Restaurants:
Amen Street Fish and Raw Bar - A comfortable
setting in an historic location with traditionally popular fare has
made the new Amen Street Fish and Rawbar Restaurant aqt 205 East Bay
Street an instant hit in Charleston’s French Quarter. The
beautifully-appointed antebellum exterior features a Greek Revival
motif of cast-iron Corinthian columns that have welcomed patrons
along busy East Bay Street since sailing ships were docked on
wharves nearby, and for many years was adorned by the “sign of the
whale” that indicated paints and oils were sold. The restaurant,
located at the corner of East Bay and Cumberland streets, takes its
name from the thoroughfare called Amen Street that was changed to
Cumberland in 1839 to honor the Duke of Cumberland. Prior to that,
legend says, the old street got its name by running under the shadow
of old St. Philip’s Church, where passersby offered salutation on
their way to the fish market. Today, steaming aroma of oysters,
clams, shrimp and fresh fish is revived in a relaxing setting of
comfortable booths and tables, overlooking the historic East Bay
Street area.
Ansonborough, Harleston Village, Mazyck-Wraggsborough, French Quarter, Radcliffborough
Cannonborough, Elliottborough, Midtown, Wagener Terrace, Hampton Park
Terrace, South of Broad
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