Surroundings

Magnificent crown moldings frame ceilings that soar to twelve feet. Stone hearths apron masonry fireplaces of hand-fired brick. Six-over-six windows gather a skyline of steeples. And the signature plantation architecture that distinguishes Charleston makes you heir to the Rutledges and Pinckneys and Moultries.

The Frederick Shaffer House.

An historic landmark with scandalous secrets and subtle sophistications ready to be revealed anew. The home where a visiting governor dined in its splendor. Where unbridled passions led to the unsolved murder of a young daughter’s lover deep in its shadows. Where babies blessed by lineage were birthed in its chambers. And weddings of scions were celebrated by society on its columned piazzas.

At the corner of Calhoun and Pitt where the Village of Harleston meets Radcliffeborough. Where at the top of its sweeping grand stair, above a foyer of hand-inlaid parquet, in the hushed privacy of its vaulted center hall, behind an imposing paneled door on the penthouse level is Unit 5. One of just seven condominium residences this extraordinary property embraces.

Inside Unit 5 sunlight floods through eight-foot double-hung windows set in a classic plan of successive corners — designed to capture the cross breezes of soft summer nights— through openings reflected like an impressionist painting in the satin glow of century-old heart pine floors.

Throughout some 600 square feet of living space, timeless luxuries of the past. Baseboards that reach to the knee. Wainscot panels beneath window openings. French doors denying the eye privacies of the bedroom. Hand-turned casings displaying the woodcarver’s art. All complimented by every modern convenience. A chef’s kitchen of paneled cherry wood and glass-front cabinets jeweled with brushed nickel hardware. The charm of open pantry shelves and the cool of gleaming granite countertops. A double vitreous enamel sink on a breakfast peninsula supported by an array of modern appliances — including a cleverly-hidden en suite stacked laundry.

Pewter chandeliers and oil rubbed ceiling fans serve from above. The bedroom and its closet are convenient to the full bath with its Spanish ceramic tiles, vanity-lighted mirror, and hand-held bath fixtures. Secreted away in the ceiling are double attics for storage. A modern, unit-controlled heating and cooling system. An ever-vigilant (even if never-needed) motion-sensitive security system. And central wiring for in-wall cable and telephone communications.

The center hall is an elegant escort to the second-story front piazza where a set of Charleston green rockers (which convey with the property) await. In outdoor space reserved for owners, they seem to silently share 175 years of seasons and stories witnessed between the massive pillars, evoking echoes of lives honored in the ancient burying grounds of Bethel Methodist Church across Calhoun.

Returning downstairs and downstairs again to the owners’-only back entrance, through the recessed glass-windowed door, and out past the post boxes, is a most-desired downtown amenity: Private deeded parking secure behind an electronic gate that opens on Pitt with a click of the remote.

But let’s walk—since everything Charleston is but steps away.

The Medical University of South Carolina is three blocks west. Charleston School of Law is two blocks north and three more east. The College of Charleston just two blocks east. And Marion Square but two blocks more. There, turn left for the trend restaurants and vibrant nightlife in the exciting new design district of Upper King Street. Or turn right to indulge in the fashions and finds, arts and antiques, boutiques and ateliers of classic King Street shopping. Which irresistibly leads to tea at Charleston Place. A visit to the galleries which cross at Queen and line Broad below. Or the open-air barter and bustle of City Market.

Each spring, Spoleto too is an equally enjoyable walk to the Gaillard in Ansonborough, the Memminger on Beaufain, and the Dock Street Theatre on Church. Later? Dining – in any and every direction from traditional to fusion. Choices as distinctive as your taste. As numerous as your appetites. And as near as the Frederick Shaffer House.

In the center of Charleston and centuries beyond ordinary. A place like no other. A property of the heart.

Principal photography by Jennifer Bearden