Dock Street Theatre - A Stage Since 1736

Photo: ProfReader, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Charleston Historic District Walk, a free self-guided tour.

On February 12, 1736, a new theatre on this corner of Church Street and Dock Street, today's Queen Street, opened with George Farquhar's comedy The Recruiting Officer. It is described as the first building in America built specifically for theatrical performances. That original playhouse is long gone.

The building you see began in 1809 as the Planter's Hotel, one of the city's fine hotels. Its guests included the actor Junius Brutus Booth, and Robert Smalls worked as a waiter in its dining room while he was enslaved. In 1862 Smalls escaped to freedom by steering a Confederate ship out of Charleston Harbor with his family aboard, and he later served in Congress.

During the Depression, the city and the Works Progress Administration rebuilt the old hotel into a theatre, and architect Albert Simons modeled the auditorium on 18th-century London playhouses. It reopened in 1937 and again in 2010 after a major renovation. Look up at the iron balcony over the sidewalk, and peek into the lobby if it is open.

Getting here: Walk back west on Chalmers Street to Church Street, turn right and go one block north to the corner of Queen Street.

Did you know?: Local tradition says the rum drink called Planter's Punch was first served at the Planter's Hotel, though the story is hard to prove.

Photo op: Cross to the far side of Church Street to fit the whole facade and its balcony, with St. Philip's steeple rising just up the street.

More on Wikipedia: Dock Street Theatre · Robert Smalls · The Recruiting Officer · Works Progress Administration

Dock Street Theatre - A Stage Since 1736

Stops on this tour