Market Hall and Sheds, also known as The City Market, The Centre Market stretches for several blocks behind 188 Meeting St., Charleston, South Carolina. The land upon which they are built was given to the City of Charleston in 1788 by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney for use as a market. Following a fire in 1838, the City undertook the construction of a more substantive market hall. Local architect Edward Brickell White was selected.

The building uses a temple form. The hall was built on a high foundation with pedimented portico supported by four Roman Doric columns. The ground level is rusticated, and the upper floor is scored in an ashlar pattern. The cornice, portico, and Doric capitals are red sandstone, while the triglyphs and moldings are cement. The building employs brucania and ram's heads to signify its use as a meat market.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973.

The South Carolina Department of Archives and History summary is here.

For most of the twentieth century, the uppoer floor has been used by the United Daughters of the Confederacy's Confederate Museum. The museum closed in 1989, after suffering substantial damage during Hurricane Hugo. The hurricane partially removed its roof.

The building was restored by the City of Charleston and received a Carolopolis Award from the Preservation Society in January 2003. The building was restored to its original appearance with strong ochre coloring and bright green ironwork, much to the displeasure of many locals including, it is reported, the mayor of Charleston.

References

External links

• Market Hall and Sheds, Charleston County (188 Meeting St., Charleston), including 8 photos, at South Carolina Department of Archives and History
• Historic Charleston's Religious and Community Buildings, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary