Across the street from Dock Street Theatre is the gleaming, gothic French Huguenot Church. By 1680, the first French immigrants were coming into the Carolina colony and settling in Charleston, and they started the congregation. In 1685, they got a flood of new members when Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes. This Edict, which promised tolerance of the protestant faith, was all that was keeping the Huguenots safe in France. After its revocation, French immigrants poured out of France seeking asylum. Many came to Charleston.
The first building on this site was started in 1687. It stood for over 100 years, but in 1796, during a great fire, the church was blown up to provide a fire break. It didn't work, and most of the neighborhood was burned anyway.
The congregation quickly rebuilt, and a second church was raised in 1800. It is said that the services at the church were timed with the tides so that the many planters who worshiped here could sail in from their plantations on the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. In 1823, the church was closed due to declining membership.
In 1844, Hugenot descendents who wanted to return to the faith of their fathers revived the congregation. They tore down the old structure and built the one that you see today. This building was designed by noted Charleston architect Edward Brickell White, who departed from his traditional Greek-inspired designs to build Charleston's first gothic-revival building. The iron features are unusual but reflects the fact that it was very difficult to get carved stone in Charleston during the antebellum period.
For the majority of the 20th century, the church was only used occasionally for special events like organ recitals and weddings. In 1983, and active congregation was revived. Today, it is the only French Calvinist congregation in the U.S. The church is open to the public and very beautiful on the inside. Make sure to take a look at the cemetery, too.