Dock Street Theatre

The original Dock Street Theatre opened on February 12, 1736 with a production of George Farquhar's 'The Recruiting Officer.' It was the first building in the British North American colonies built exclusively for theatrical performances. The structure was probably destroyed in the Great Fire of 1740, and the lot lay reconfigured for decades.

In 1809 Alexander Calder and his wife built the Planters Hotel on the site, using earlier structures on the lot. The Planters became one of antebellum Charleston's premier inns; its Church Street facade was upgraded in 1835 with the distinctive wrought-iron balcony and sandstone columns that still front the building today. The hotel hosted prominent guests including the actor Junius Brutus Booth, father of Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth; an oft-repeated Charleston anecdote holds that Junius Brutus tried to attack the hotel manager in 1838 during a fit of rage.

The Planters declined after the Civil War, and the building suffered through the 1886 earthquake. By the 1930s, the City of Charleston owned the structure and faced a choice between demolition and renovation. As a Works Progress Administration project led by architect Albert Simons, the hotel's interior was reconfigured into a theater incorporating elements of the Royal Theatre, Bristol, England (an 18th-century model). The new Dock Street Theatre opened on November 26, 1937 with a production of 'The Recruiting Officer' — closing the loop with the 1736 inaugural performance.

The building underwent a major preservation and seismic-strengthening project from 2007 to 2010 and reopened in March 2010. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a contributing structure to the Charleston Historic District National Historic Landmark, and serves as the principal home of Charleston Stage and a key venue for Spoleto Festival USA.