Rainbow Row

East Bay Street, Charleston, South Carolina

Hear stop 1 free Charleston Walking Tour · $4.99

Rainbow Row is the name for a series of thirteen colorful historic houses in Charleston, South Carolina.

1 story
On 1 tour

The story of Rainbow Row

Free previewStop 5 of Charleston Walking Tour: Rainbow Row to the Battery

The Slum That Painted Itself Pink

You're on East Bay Street, looking at the stretch Charleston calls Rainbow Row: thirteen old houses shoulder to shoulder, most of them sharing walls, each painted its own pastel. Find the wide pink one. That's 99 to 101 East Bay, and the whole rainbow started with that single coat of paint.

First, picture this street without the color. These buildings originally fronted directly onto the Cooper River, and the land in front of them was filled in later. Merchants built them as commercial buildings, with stores on the ground floor and living quarters upstairs. In most of them you couldn't even get from the shop to the bedroom without going outside, because the stairs were out back in the yard. This was a working waterfront in one of the busiest ports in the colonies, a port whose trade, as you saw at the Old Slave Mart, included human beings.

That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 5 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.

Hear stop 1 free See the tour · $4.99

Visiting

Admission

Free to see from the street. The houses are private homes.

Tip

79 to 107 East Bay Street, between Tradd and Elliott streets, a few blocks north of the Battery. The light is softest, and the sidewalk emptiest, early in the morning.

Checked November 2026. Check the official site before you go.

Rainbow Row: questions people ask

Why are the Rainbow Row houses different colors?

Because of their restoration. In 1931 Dorothy Porcher Legge bought 99–101 East Bay and painted them pink after a colonial Caribbean palette; other owners followed, and by 1945 most of the row was restored. The tales of drunk sailors or shoppers who couldn't read are myths.

Where is Rainbow Row?

On East Bay Street, numbers 79 to 107, between Tradd and Elliott streets in downtown Charleston, a few blocks north of the Battery.

Can you go inside the Rainbow Row houses?

No. They're private homes. You see them from the sidewalk, which is free.

How old are the Rainbow Row houses?

Most date from the 1700s, built as merchants' stores with living quarters above. A fire in 1778 destroyed much of the block, and the newest house dates from about 1845.