One of Charleston’s most familiar steeples has a detail that is easy to miss from the sidewalk: according to St. Michael’s own history, the entire 186-foot tower sank eight inches during the earthquake of 1886.
The church at Meeting and Broad streets is drawing renewed attention after marking its parish’s 275th anniversary with an October 7 gathering. For residents who usually pass it at the Four Corners of Law, the anniversary offers a reason to step inside and connect that familiar skyline to the building’s longer story.
The dates need a little care. The parish was authorized in 1751, but the cornerstone was laid in 1752 and the building opened for services in 1761. The 275-year milestone refers to the parish’s founding, not 275 years since the completed church opened. Those dates appear in the church’s official historical account.
Charleston City Paper reported October 7 that the anniversary effort includes monthly displays and plans to expand visitor experiences, including audio tours, a welcome video and weekday docent-led tours. St. Michael’s remains an active place of worship as well as a historic landmark.
What to look for inside
The church’s history identifies pew No. 43 as the place where President George Washington worshipped on May 8, 1791. Its London-made chandelier, ordered in 1803, moved from candles to gas and eventually electricity. Those are tangible details visitors can connect to objects in the room, rather than dates on a timeline.
The building also needed extensive repairs after a 1938 tornado, with services moved into the parish house for months. Survival here has involved repeated maintenance and restoration, not simply an old building standing untouched.
The anniversary page lists October’s narthex exhibition as a look at Pierce Butler. Earlier monthly displays focused on the founding of the parish, the building’s construction and its architectural significance. The narthex is the entrance area, making the exhibition a starting point for understanding what lies beyond the doors.
For another way to explore, the church’s history page now links to an audio history guide. Visitors should check current arrangements before expecting a staffed tour; plans described in anniversary coverage are not a guarantee of a guide at every visit.
Plan a weekday visit
The church lists its address as 71 Broad St. and church-and-churchyard visiting hours as Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Friday and Saturday closures. Weddings, funerals or other church events can close the spaces without notice. Check the current church website before going.
Readers following how Charleston treats its historic places can also find GlobalFlare’s reporting on the College of Charleston’s Coming Street proposal. At St. Michael’s, this week’s invitation is simpler: look again at a building many residents know from the outside.
File photograph (2012-08-03). Brian Stansberry / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0. License. St. Michael’s Church and its white steeple at Meeting and Broad streets in Charleston, photographed at sunset in August 2012.
