Charleston Single House

Our day started by driving to Daniel Island in search of the Queen Anne's Revenge restaurant. The name is derived from the pirate Blackbeard's pirate ship. We were hoping to find a place similar to the Pirate's House in Savannah but to our surprise, we arrived at a new structure with some pirate artifacts and cute pirate decorations. The food made the ride worth it but we were in search of history.

Our day's plan was to visit Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, but by the time that we arrived, it had begun to rain and since the gardens were a walking tour, we decided to opt out of the plantation tour.

So, we returned to downtown Charleston for a tour of the Charleston Museum. Besides the colonial and civil war memorabilia, they were having a display of 1920 flapper clothing. When we came out of the museum, the sky was cloudy and rain was threatening so we decided to head back to James Island. Once there, we continued on to Folly Island, one of the area's barrier islands. The architecture was interesting with the houses on stilts at least 10 feet high, then a regular house built on top of the stilts, clearly they are responding to hurricane preparation but it looked funny to see big houses up in the air.

The photo is of the Charleston Single House architecture. The house is the Calhoun mansion. The single house style features piazzas (verandas), main entry doors with rooms on either side of the center hallway. This style allowed for ventilation in the sultry humid Charleston weather. Even today, new homes are built in this style in respect of the history of the area.