Historic Charleston City
Market
- Indoor and Semi-Outdoor Day Market, Night Market
on Weekends
My spouse and I visited the Historic Charleston City Market
twice during our 3-night holiday in the city in mid-November 2016. We stayed
one block away at the DoubleTree; we were so close that we could see into the
market from one of our windows that overlooked Church and Market Streets. The
market is open from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm daily, with an
additional night market on Friday and Saturday evenings from 6:30 pm to 10:30
pm.
The Charleston City
Market began operating in 1804; however, the night market has only been open
for the last three years. Initially
known as “Centre Market”, Charleston's City Market began as a place for area
farms and plantations to sell beef, fish, and produce, as well as a spot for
locals to gather and socialize. Today, the City Market's vendors sell
souvenirs, jewelry, sweetgrass baskets, and other unique
local and handcrafted items. The market complex spans four city blocks from
the grand Market Hall on Meeting Street through a series of one-story indoor
and semi-outdoor market sheds all the way to East Bay Street. The entire complex is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places and is designated as a National Historic
Landmark. The market begins with Market Hall, an impressive Greek Revival-style
building that consists of a second story (which houses the Confederacy Museum) resting
on top of a ground-level enclosed arcade. The building has a high base, front
portico, columns, and a double flight of stairs that features elaborate
ironwork. Sheep and bull skulls decorate the stucco frieze of the hall,
symbolizing its original purpose as a meat market. The series of open-air sheds
behind Market Hall feature brick columns, tile roofs, latticework, and louvered
panels.
Be sure to visit the Historic Charleston City Market; even
if you do not like shopping, the building itself (particularly Market Hall)
exhibits valuable history.
