A Brief History of The Pink House

While the Mean Girls of North Shore High wear pink on Wednesday, in Charleston, SC, pink means something completely different.  Driving (more like bouncing) down one of the few cobblestone streets left in the city, when you arrive at 17 Chalmers Street, you’ll notice that it has a very distinctive glow from the surrounding buildings. Due to its rosy tint, the house at this address has lovingly been labeled The Pink House. But why?

While its close neighbors on Rainbow Row chose their colors through paint and primer, the Pink House’s hue was a structural choice. Bermuda Stone. This limestone comes from – you guessed it – Bermuda. Shipped with salt and other products from the area to Charleston, many structures of the time were built from this material which was more commonly whitewashed post-construction. The coral from which is it’s formed gives it its blush tone. Topped off with a terracotta tile (or pantile), gambrel-style roof, the House is something right out of the history books.

When was it built? That’s a great question that no one today seems able to answer. While some note the 1680s as the superstructure's construction date, the most common year in which the Pink was supposedly built is 1712 by John Brenton. Others think it might have been built in the mid-18th century, yet this seems less likely.

It’s the oldest house in Charleston, right? Well, in short, no. The oldest residence in Charleston is an elegant 18th-century abode named for its owner, Colonel William Rhett. This is the oldest house in Charleston simply due to the fact that it was originally constructed as just that – a house. The Pink was originally a tavern. So, while the Pink House may be considered a home today, it will have to settle for only being the oldest remaining structure in the Lowcountry.

The color would skew more maroon more than pink in a ´red-light ´district of sorts. Located in the part of Charleston known now as the French Quarter, the Pink House was rumored to be a brothel. If you’re unsure what that is, ask your mom or dad. Just don’t Google it at work. Lodge Alley – or the less PC – Mulatto Alley was the location for those sailors looking for food, drink, and women. Women of color, free and slave alike would work as housekeepers during the day and women of ill repute in the evening. Using the upper floor for all kinds of activities that cannot be outlined here…

As the ladies of the night disappeared from the tavern and its surrounding streets, so did the entire enterprise of the area.  Around 1750, the Pink House would become dormant and fall in disrepair. By the late 1800s, it had been abandoned altogether. That is until the 1930s…

The structure would transfer from one owner to another; transform from one business into another. A personal entertainment space, an art studio (to the famous Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, no less), a publishing house, a law firm. Then in 1987, the daughter of the lawyer who had owned the building since the mid-50s decided that art was where her heart lay as well.

Owner after owner, artist after artist, renovation after renovation, the gallery would turn over for almost the next thirty years until its closure in 2013. The lights wouldn’t be off for that long, however. The Gaye Sanders Fisher Gallery would occupy the space for the next few years until its closure in 2016. The question of whether this is a business or a residence has now been answered. As late as 2017, the house was purchased again as a personal home that is currently still in the process of being restored.

Where will history find the Pink House? It may be too soon to tell. But one thing has been made perfectly clear. Weathering time and tide, the future is definitely a colorful one for this living piece of Charleston history. All in all, if you decide to take a dive off the Carolina coast and while wading through the shallow shoals you feel something skitter across your toes, smile. If you move fast enough you might just be able to catch that night’s supper.

~ Brandon L. Joyner