Powder Magazine

Built in 1713, the Powder Magazine at 79 Cumberland Street is South Carolina's oldest surviving public building — constructed to store gunpowder against Spanish, French, and pirate threats, with 32-inch brick walls and a sand-filled roof designed to smother any explosion from within. It served through the American Revolution, then passed through civilian hands before the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America acquired it in 1902 and opened it as a museum within a year. The City of Charleston struck a deal to operate it with expanded hours in May 2026.