People are often surprised to find out, considering how close Charleston is to the sea, that many downtown houses have full cellars. The historic peninsula has several distinct low ridges that provide ample space from the water table, and along these are underground spaces with a colorful past. Under the Old Exchange, for example, is a vaulted brick cellar built before the Revolution as a storage area for imported goods unloaded from nearby wharves. During the Revolution, the British captured Charleston, and used the Exchange cellar to “store” more than sixty patriots, including two signers of the Declaration of Independence.
At the corner of Church and Tradd streets, the cellar beneath that statuesque building was filled with casks of wine, whiskey and ale in the early 1800’s, as part of a liquor store. Beneath the old longshoremen’s hall on the corner of Chalmers and State streets, a trap door leads to a substantial underground space that legend says was a hideout for privateers before the Civil War.
Many historic houses built in areas closer to the water have substantial above-ground spaces called “raised basements”. Originally intended to give the houses better views and circulation, many raised basements were built lofty enough to be redesigned as separate rooms. Today, quite a few old basements areas have been converted to family rooms, guest bedrooms, and rental units.
