31. Nathaniel Russell House   
51 Meeting Street
circa 1808-1811

A wealthy merchant from Rhode island, Nathaniel Russell, started construction of this house in the first decade of the 18th Century. Architectural historians consider it one of the best examples of Adamesque houses in America. Connecting all three floors of the house is a marvel of engineering, a free-flying staircase with no visible means of support. The Historic Charleston Foundation, one of the city’s leading preservation groups, purchased and restored the house in 1955.

32. South Carolina Society Hall   
72 Meeting Street
circa 1804

Gabriel Manigault designed this Adam-style hall for the South Carolina Society. The portico, designed by Frederick Wesner, was added in the early 1800s. French Huguenots founded the South Carolina Society in 1737 as a benevolence society to assist the newly arriving French Protestants in establishing themselves in Carolina. Also known as ”The Two Bit Club,” in reference to its dues, the Society today hosts social events from cotillions to wedding receptions to black tie affairs for local organizations.

33. Charleston Library Society   
164 King Street

The Charleston Library Society is thought to be the third library established in the United States. It was organized in 1748 by a group of young men who wished to keep up with the scientific and philosophical issues of the day, and hoped to ”save their descendants from sinking into savagery.” To promote education in the 1770s, it funded the establishment of the College of Charleston. The Society purchased scientific instruments and appointed a committee to collect materials that promoted the study of the natural history of the area. These collections became the foundation of the Charleston Museum.

34. Unitarian Church   
4 Archdale Street
circa 1772

The Unitarian Church, a National Historic Landmark, is the oldest Unitarian church in the South. In colonial Charleston, members of the Circular Congregational Church (then known as the Independent Church) were so numerous the need arose to build a second church. Construction began at this site in 1772, but was temporarily interrupted by the Revolutionary War. The small rectangular brick church was finally completed in 1787. In 1817, the Archdale congregation was chartered as the Second Independent Church.

35. St. John's Lutheran Church   
5 Clifford Street
circa 1817

St. John’s is home to Charleston’s oldest Lutheran congregation and is considered the mother church of Lutherans in South Carolina. This structure was built from 1816 to 1818, however the congregation’s original wooden building was dedicated by 1764, and it stood behind the current site. The structure combines Federal and Baroque styles, and the Italianate steeple with a bell-shaped roof was not added until 1859. The building was damaged but restored in the earthquake of 1886, the 1891 hurricane, and by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

36. Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue   
90 Hasell Strett
circa 1840

Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue, a National Historic Landmark, is the country’s second oldest synagogue and the oldest in continuous use. The American Reform Judaism movement originated at this site in 1824. The congregation of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim was established in colonial Charleston in 1749. By the end of the 18th century the Beth Elohim congregation had become the largest Jewish community in the nation and is now the nation’s fourth oldest Jewish community.