“D” is for Dock Street Theatre (Charleston)

“D” is for Dock Street Theatre (Charleston). Incorporating the nineteenth-century façade of the Planters’ Hotel, the Dock Street Theatre is a fine example of New Deal Construction and illustrates a key tenet of historic preservation: retaining streetscapes. By 1736 Charleston boasted a theater—fronting on Queen Street (then called Dock Street) that had been lost by the nineteenth century. In 1809 the Planters’ Hotel opened and was a popular residence for visitors. However, by the 1930s it was vacant and in ruinous condition. In 1935 the city purchased the property and with funding from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration a theater was created behind the historic brownstone façade. Under the management of the city of Charleston, Dock Street Theatre has expanded its audience to become a fixture in the cultural affairs of the lowcountry.