Market Hall and Sheds
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Market Hall
Location	188 Meeting St., Charleston, South Carolina
Area	.33 acres (1,300 m2)[1]
Built	1840
Architect	Edward B. White
Architectural style	Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.	73001689
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	June 4, 1973[2]
Designated NHL	November 7, 1973[3]

The City Market, or Centre Market, is a historic market complex in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. Established in the 1790s, the market stretches for four city blocks from the architecturally-significant Market Hall, which faces Meeting Street, through a continuous series of one-story market sheds, the last of which terminates at East Bay Street. The Market Hall has been described as a building of the "highest architectural design quality."^[1] The entire complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Market Hall and Sheds and was further designated a National Historic Landmark.^[1][4]

Initially known as the Centre Market, Charleston's City Market was developed as a replacement for the city's Beef Market building, which burned in 1796. Market Hall, designed by Charleston architect Edward B. White, was added in the early 1840s. Throughout the 19th century, the market provided a convenient place for area farms and plantations to sell beef and produce, and also acted as a place for locals to gather and socialize.^[5] Today, the City Market's vendors sell souvenirs and other items ranging from jewelry to Gullah sweetgrass baskets.

Design

Market Hall is a Greek Revival-style building consisting of one raised story resting atop a rusticated open ground-level arcade. The building's high base and frontal portico were inspired by Greek and Roman temples such as the Temple of Portunus and Temple of Athena Nike.^[1] The portico contains four Doric columns that support the entablature and pediment, and is accessed by a double flight of stairs with elaborate iron work. The upper floor is scored in an ashlar pattern. The cornice, portico, and Doric capitals are red sandstone, while the triglyphs and moldings are cement.^[6] The metopes in the entablature are decorated with alternating bucrania and rams' heads, which are symbols for a meat market. The hall's exterior brick walls are covered with brownstone stucco.^[6]

The City Market stretches for 1,240 feet (380 m) through a continuous series of sheds oriented east-to-west, and flanked by North Market Street on the north side and South Market Street on the south.^[6] Market stalls occupy the first story of Market Hall, and continue through a one-story shed that stretches from the rear of the hall to Church Street. The second shed stretches from Church to Anson Street, the third from Anson to State Street, and the fourth from State Street to East Bay. The sheds are simple rectangular structures with open stalls and center walkways. Since their completion in the early 19th century, the sheds have been renovated and rebuilt numerous times due to damage from earthquakes, fire, and other disasters.^[6]

History

Charleston's first public market was established in 1692 at the corner of Broad and Meeting streets, although a formal brick building wasn't built at the site until 1739. This first "Beef Market" was replaced by a more appealing structure in 1760, and within a short period, new markets for fish and general merchandise were established along Vendue (Queen) and Tradd streets.^[5] In 1788, Revolutionary War general Charles Cotesworth Pinckney donated a strip of recovered marshland for the establishment of the "Centre Market," which would stretch from the docks of Charleston Harbor all the way to Meeting Street.^[6]

The first market sheds were erected around 1790, and gradually expanded to occupy most of the strip from the harbor to Meeting Street by 1806.^[6] After the Beef Market building burned in 1796, Charleston's beef market was shifted to the Centre Market. In its early days, the market was primarily a place to sell foodstuffs, and was subdivided into sections for beef, fish, and farm produce. The market was also a social center, where the city's lower and middle class residents could gather for drinking and playing games.^[5] Vultures, which helped keep the market clean by eating discarded meat scraps, were a common sight at the market into the 20th century.^[7]

In 1838, a fire destroyed the market's head-house, and the city enlisted local architect Edward B. White (1806–1882) to design the current head-house, Market Hall, which was completed in 1841. The upper room of the hall initially served as a large assembly room, and later as a military recruiting office at the outbreak of the Civil War.^[6]

In 1899, the United Daughters of the Confederacy began using Market Hall to house the Confederate Museum, which displayed Confederate artifacts and other items from the city's Civil War period. The museum closed in 1989, however, after Market Hall suffered substantial damage during Hurricane Hugo (including the partial removal of its roof).

By the early days of the twentieth century, the number of food merchants using the Market had dropped dramatically. In January 1901, City Council took up the matter, and a report was endorsed to demolish the market sheds between East Bay (to the east) and Anson St. (to the west). The property was to be redeveloped with a small park to reinvigorate the area.^[8]

On the morning of 29 September 1938, a series of tornadoes swept through Charleston, killing 32, injuring 100, and destroying $2 million in property. One tornado extensively damaged the City Market.^[9]

On July 30, 1954, a plane spotting tower (complete with telephone) was opened atop one of the Market sheds for use by the Charleston Ground Observers Corps.^[10]

Following Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the building was restored by the City of Charleston and received a Carolopolis Award from the Preservation Society in January 2003. The building was repainted in its original colors, which included strong ochre coloring and bright green ironwork, much to the displeasure of many locals, including the mayor of Charleston.^[6]