Fort Sumter House Condominiums | downtown Charleston SC Condos for sale

It was 1923, and Charleston was nearly three centuries old before the first true waterfront inn was built in the city - the Fort Sumter Hotel. The early 20th century had brought an economic resurgence to the historic city, and with it one of the grandest buildings of its day at the foot of old King Street, overlooking the Ashley River and White Point Garden.

This area of the city was originally known as South Bay, and was a waterfront area lined by marshes and commercial wharves until an ambitious project was commenced in 1911 to fill the area and create scenic Murray Boulevard as a promenade around the southern tip of the Charleston peninsula. As business boomed in the “roaring twenties”, the Fort Sumter Hotel took its place as a new landmark in a changing old city, and for decades, the dazzling white Art Deco structure basked in sunny skies above rows of rustling palmetto trees as a grand welcome to Charleston.

Guests at the 7-story structure through the years included Henry Ford and John F. Kennedy, and local families enjoyed debutante parties and wedding receptions in the first-floor ballroom that is now a relaxing waterfront lobby area. Converted to condominiums in the 1980’s, the Sumter House is still holds a unique and favorable position in charming Charleston. No other building in all the city lies so close to the southern tip of the peninsula or so high above the famed South of Broad district, which enhances the Sumter House properties with dazzling views of Charleston Harbor and the Ashley and Cooper rivers, as well as the captivating architecture of an area filled with grand 18th and 19th century mansions.

Many of the condominiums have private open-air terraces, and are ideally situated in one of the quietest and most picturesque areas in a very pedestrian and bike friendly city.