What did Charleston do the last time the country had a round-number birthday? In 1976, city officials and tourism representatives asked the Preservation Society of Charleston for a way to mark the Bicentennial. The Society answered with its first series of Fall Candlelight Tours. That season ran six evenings and took in about 50 houses and gardens, and the money went to the Society's preservation work.
This October is the 50th annual Fall Tours, and it falls during America's 250th anniversary. A program started for one national anniversary is celebrating its own milestone during the next one. For anyone on the peninsula holding an open weekend this month, the timing matters for a practical reason. The Revolutionary programming filled up first. The tours still selling, as of October 5, cover the parts of downtown that come up less often on a postcard.
From six evenings to a full month
The tours have grown steadily. A Society newsletter from 2005 looked back at the early years. It says receipts from the 1976 tours came to a bit over $8,000, the 1980 tours netted $23,000, and by 2005 annual receipts were close to $300,000. That 2005 season ran nineteen days and covered more than 175 properties. Helga Vogel was a longtime volunteer who organized many of those early seasons. She remembered the first year as modest:
"The 1976 Fall Tours started small. There were only six evenings to plan with some 50 houses and gardens. Still, that seemed an awesome task."
The 2026 season runs the whole month, October 1 through 31. It mixes self-guided House & Garden Tours, 2.5-hour Insider's Tours led by professional historians and architects, and walking tours with certified guides. The 2026 brochure says one House & Garden Tour focuses on Revolutionary-era properties and their ties to the nation's founding, as part of the 250th. ABC News 4's Lowcountry Live covered the anniversary on September 25.
What sold out, and what that leaves
The Society's event pages mark every date sold out for four tours:
- Residences and Sites of the Revolution: 18th Century Downtown, the October 30 House & Garden Tour of 18th-century homes and sites that saw Charleston go from colonial port to a center of Revolutionary political and military activity.
- Well Preserved for 50 Years, led by Lee Ann Bain on October 15. It covers the Society's grassroots beginnings and early advocates including Susan Pringle Frost and Thomas Mayhem Pinckney.
- Exploring Charleston's Alleyways, Kay Abrams's walk through the historic district's brick and cobblestone alleys.
- Forging Ahead: The Ironwork of Charleston, about ironwork and blacksmithing traditions in the city going back to the early 1700s.
So the Revolution tour and the tour about the Society's own history are both gone. The Society's "Tours with availability" list on October 5 named six dates: Beyond the Bricks on October 8, the West Ashley Byrnes Downs walk on October 9, the North Central House & Garden Tour on October 10, the Broad Street Commercial Insider's Tour on October 16, Charles Town: The Old Walled City on October 21, and the Behind the Big House Insider's Tour on October 22. Three of those stay on the peninsula and approach it from less familiar angles. One covers the early 20th century, one the business side of Broad, and one the city's first boundary. Together they make a good October plan, and each one has something newly opened nearby.
October 10: The tree streets of North Central
20th Century Streetcar Suburb: Exploring North Central is a self-guided afternoon, 2 to 5 PM, through six to eight properties with volunteer docents. The Society's description is far from South of Broad. It lists kit homes, Craftsman bungalows, vernacular cottages and American Foursquare houses. It describes North Central as an early 20th-century neighborhood that was mixed-use and walkable from the start, and it names the "tree streets": Poplar, Maple, Peachtree and Cypress. Tickets are $75 for Society members and $100 for non-members. The Society does not post a public meeting point for this tour. It emails ticket holders the details at least seven days beforehand.
Both new spots for this day are on the upper peninsula. Odd Duck Market opened in July at 637 Rutledge Ave., steps from Hampton Park, in a former bank branch. The old drive-through is now a walk-up window, there's a large patio, and a mural by Cara Fischer covers the gabled ceiling. It serves coffee, pastries and sandwiches, which makes it a good stop before a 2 PM start. Later in the day, Babas on King opened on October 2 at 1011 King St. It moved from Meeting Street into a bigger space with outdoor seating, parking, and beer and wine.
October 16: The east side of Broad Street
The Insider's Tours open Charleston buildings that are seldom open to the public. They are led by professional historians and architects over about 2.5 hours, and they cost $125 for members and $150 for non-members. Insider's Tour: Broad Street Commercial starts at 3 PM. It covers four blocks on the east side of Broad Street, which was originally called Cooper Street. The Society's description names the Four Corners of Law and the Old Exchange Building, and it describes the street as a mix of legal, real estate and finance offices, local shops and restaurants, with residences upstairs. The sources disagree slightly on scope. The event page says three to four properties, and the brochure's general description of Insider's Tours says four to five.
A 3 PM start lines up with dinner at Cheeky, a few blocks up at 151 Meeting St. Charleston City Paper reported that Cheeky opened the week of October 2. It comes from the Neighborhood Dining Group, the team behind Husk, Delaney Oyster House and Minero. Kenny Lyons, NDG's president, told City Paper the company picked the block partly for being close to the Four Seasons, the Gibbes Art Museum and Husk, and he called the area "the cultural hub of Charleston." Executive Chef Gabriel Lindsey's menu has a raw bar, a "Roll Your Own" hand roll section, and a "Big Fish for Two" bluefin tuna chop. October 16 is a Friday. Cheeky is serving dinner Wednesday through Sunday from 5 PM for now, and it plans to add earlier bar hours, daily dinner and lunch later this fall.
October 21: Walking the line of the first wall
The North Central tour shows the newest part of the old city. Charles Town: The Old Walled City goes back to the start. The Society tells it this way: Charles Town was founded at Albemarle Point in 1670 and moved to the peninsula ten years later. The walk traces where the town's wall stood and covers why it was built. It starts at 10 AM at the Henry Timrod statue in Washington Park, next to City Hall at 80 Broad Street, by the Broad Street entrance. It runs two to 2.5 hours over six or more blocks, with no interiors. Walking tours are $40 per person, and the brochure caps specialty walking tours at 15 people.
When it ends around midday, you're close to the harbor. CurrentBurger opened in August inside The Cooper at 176 Concord St. A door opens straight onto Waterfront Park, and menu items are under $15, according to the Post and Courier.
The fine print for a sold-out month
The Society's tour policies affect how far ahead you can plan:
- Check-in is by name. You check in at the meeting point under the purchaser's first and last name. No printed ticket or confirmation is needed.
- Tours run rain or shine. The Society may cancel for dangerous or threatening conditions and says refunds will be available if it does.
- All sales are final. After September 1, a ticket holder who gives advance notice can exchange into another tour if there's space, or turn the ticket into a tax-deductible donation.
- Wear real shoes. The walking-tour pages warn of six or more blocks, often on uneven streets and sidewalks, and suggest bringing water.
- Join the waitlist. For the sold-out tours, the Society takes questions and waitlist requests at [email protected].
Availability can change. The October 5 list is a snapshot, and the Society's Fall Tours page has the current count.
North Central's tree streets, the offices and upstairs residences on Broad, and the outline of the old wall are all on the same peninsula, and this October each has its own tour date. If you'd like to talk through which part of the peninsula fits how you spend an October afternoon, Mary Catherine Masi would be glad to host you for a lifestyle consultation, at a table near one of these tour routes.
