The Edmondston-Alston House is built on the foundation ruins of Fort Mechanic that was at this location in the later part of the 18th century. Shipping merchant Charles Edmondston, a Scottish immigrant from the Shetland Islands, had purchased the low sandy lot in 1817. The unstable soggy land was unfit for residential construction until a sea wall was built in 1820, and Edmondston then constructed the house, in the English Regency style, between 1820 and 1828.
Charles Alston, a successful South Carolina Lowcountry rice planter and rice producer, bought the property in 1838, and remodeled the house in the Greek Revival style and added a third story. General P. T. Beauregard, Confederate commander who gave the order to fire cannons on Fort Sumter that started the American Civil War, watched the bombardment from the house porch on April 12, 1861. Also General Robert E. Lee stayed overnight at the house later in 1861 due to a city fire.
The east facing three-story house has a panoramic view of the harbor as well as a view of the High Battery, the city's waterfront promenade. It is made of brick and stucco faced. The property is mostly surrounded by a wrought-iron railing fence which is built on top of a three foot brick wall. The house has an open floor plan of basically two large rooms on each floor with smaller adjacent areas. There are large window and door openings for good air flow circulation to act as a type of air-conditioner.
References
Edmondston-Alston House - Wikipedia
Sender: Deborah Breza (direct swap)
Sent from Charleston (South Carolina / United States), on 09.02.2015
Photo: Bryan Riggs
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