Churches
First Baptist Church
ROBERT MILLS, architect of First Baptist Church, described it as, “the best specimen of correct taste in architecture of the modern buildings in this city. It is purely Greek in its style, simply grand in its proportions, and beautiful in its detail.” He was mistaken only in its being purely Greek in style, but... Read »
Huguenot Church
GOTHIC WAS ONE of the latest styles introduced in antebellum Charleston, and decorative details of the Gothic style pervade the Huguenot Church at 136 Church Street. The highlights include pointed windows, pier buttresses (the extending supports on the outside of the church) with pinnacles, and simulated vaulting. Even the cast iron fence has Gothic... Read »
St. Philip’s Protestant Episcopal Church
THE CURRENT BUILDING at 146 Church Street is the third St. Philip’s Church. It is from an 1836 design by Joseph Hyde which partly replicates the second St. Philip’s that was constructed c. 1721–1733, but which burned in 1835. The exterior of the building closely follows the c. 1721 design, although the interior was... Read »
The Churches of Charleston
WHILE CHARLESTON’S historical homes and buildings continue to enchant residents and dazzle tourists, the city’s churches merit special attention and study. You can easily gaze at their designs and details for hours at a time and not see everything. Which is why repeat visits for repeated gazing always yield new treasures. But how is... Read »
