Visit Charleston’s Rainbow Row, 13 pastel-hued homes along the Cooper River waterfront. The line of homes has become one of the city’s most recognizable and most often photographed historic sites. These picturesque Georgian homes tell tales, from their auspicious beginnings to their revival by Charleston resident Dorothy Porcher Legge.
Learn the area’s history. The homes were first constructed around 1740 for merchants running businesses on the ground floor and living on the top floor. In 1931 Legge and her husband, Judge Lionel Legge, purchased several houses, from 99 to 107 along East Bay Street. She painted the houses pink and neighbors followed suit. Ultimately the row reflected a range of colors. Numerous theories exist for the pastel colors, including making it easier for drunken sailors to find their homes, representing the type of items sold by each merchant and using lighter colors for welcome cooling during hot, humid summers.
Today, the homes are privately owned, with city rules in place to maintain the exterior pastel paint. While you cannot enter the homes, note their history and original ownership. Number 83 is the 1784 William Stone House, built by a Tory merchant who ultimately escaped America during the Revolutionary War. This home is largely as it was in the 18th century. The four-story blue house, Number 89, the Deas-Tunno House, was built around 1770 and has a small side garden and outbuildings originally used for slave quarters. The bright-yellow James Cook House, Number 93, was built around 1778 and features a ground-floor kitchen and dining room and library and drawing room on the second floor.
From Rainbow Row, walk east to Charleston’s Waterfront Park, overlooking Charleston Harbor and the Cooper River. Wander along palmetto-shaded paths, have picnics on the lawns, let kids wade in the Pineapple Fountain and watch sunsets from family-sized porch swings on the pier.
Find Rainbow Row on the west side of East Bay Street between Tradd and Elliot streets not far from the Charleston Battery. This area, known as South of Broad Street, is a short walk from Waterfront Park. Use the nearby parking garage.
