City Directories and History: WILLIAM GATEWOOD HOUSE
Constructed circa 1863
“Virginia-born William G. Gatewood, an important factor or export agent of sea-island cotton and rice, built this imposing structure. Ornamented by brownstone details on the ground story and marble belt coursing and window architraves on the second, this brick facade with red-dyed mortar utilizes elements of Classical Revival and Greek Revival design. Piazzas, masked from the street by a fenestrated brick wall, present an imposing facade to the public way, thereby ensuring privacy to the inhabitants as well as balancing the recessed stair tower on the other side. Large Tuscan columns support the piazzas, with paneled plinth bases on the second story matching the marble plinths under the window architraves. The drive to the north, formerly known as Sass’s Alley, provided access to the brick kitchen as well as to the substantial house at 23 Legare Street, owned in the 1840s by the well-to-do German craftsman Jacob Sass.”
Information from: The Buildings of Charleston – J.H. Poston for the Historic Charleston Foundation, 1997
Other sources: Charleston Tax Payers of Charleston, SC in 1860-61, Dwelling Houses of Charleston by Alice R.H. Smith – 1917, Charleston 1861 Census Schedule, and a 1872 Bird’s Eye View of Charleston, S.C. The Hist. Charleston Foundation may also have additional data at: Past Perfect
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