Free previewStop 6 of Charleston Walking Tour: Rainbow Row to the Battery
The Monogram on the Balcony
You're on Meeting Street, a short walk up from the Battery, standing outside number 51. Behind the iron fence is a tall, three-story house of gray Carolina brick. Look at the iron balcony that spans the second floor, just above the front door. Woven into the ironwork are two letters: N and R. The man who put his initials on this house wanted you to know whose it was.
Nathaniel Russell came to Charleston from Bristol, Rhode Island, in 1765. Thanks to extensive contacts back in his home colony, he established himself as a successful merchant, and part of that business was buying and selling captive Africans. He prospered in it.
He married Sarah Hopton, the daughter of an affluent Charleston family, when he was about 50. As one of the city's more prominent citizens, the thinking went, he required a residence to match his status.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 6 of Charleston Walking Tour: Rainbow Row to the Battery (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
