The Nathaniel Russell House

Built in 1808, the Nathaniel Russell House was occupied by Mr. Russell, his wife, and two daughters, and approximately 18 slaves. He was an elite merchant in the area which afforded him this beautiful mansion complete with free-flying staircase. What? You don't believe me? Well, you'll just have to go check it out for yourself. The Historic Charleston Foundation does not allow pictures to be taken inside of any of it's historical homes. As you can see from the balcony Mr. Russell was very fond of himself and proud of his accomplishments, so he had his initials put in the railing of his balcony.

A front view of the mansion.Charleston homes are built with their side to the street. No one is really sure why this is. Some think this helped to cool the house down by putting the front (or wider side) facing the wind coming off of the water, or it could have been for tax purposes. In England there was a "frontage tax" which meant that the more of your home facing the street the more money you owed the government. Nathaniel Russell although rich was all about cutting corners...he has faux everything in his home. Faux mahogany doors (they're painted to look like the grain of mahogany) and tromp lois crown molding. His house is very neat from the side though. The mansion is broken into thirds. The front third of the house is rectangular in shape, the middle third circular, and the back square. He also has beautiful gardens.