Dock Street Theatre is easily recognizable by its unusual facade. Cast-iron columns hold up an elaborate wrought-iron balcony painted a unique shade of blue. It gets it name from the fact that it used to face the Queen Street side of the property, once called Dock Street

The building that you see today is a replica of America's first theatre building built in 1735. The theatre was christened with a performance of The Recruiting Officer in 1736. Sadly, in 1740, most of the historic French Quarter was destroyed in a great fire. Dock Street Theatre was most likely lost in that fire.

In 1809, a new building was built on this site to house the new Planter's Hotel. In its heyday, before the Civil War, the hotel was a mecca for the wealthy, elite, and powerful who visited Charleston. It was famous for its food, and Planter's Punch was invented here. One of the famous guests was Junius Booth, a travelling actor and father to the notorious John Wilkes Booth. After the Civil War, the hotel fell into ruin.

In 1935, the city made a move to restore the original theatre, and they rebuilt the building using plaster and woodwork for historic buildings that were being torn down. In 1937, the theatre reopened with a revival of The Recruiting Officer. Make sure that you go into the theatre. The people who work there are very nice about letting people who wander in off the street look around. The interior is beautiful, and my picture is too dark to do it justice. Make sure you look at the drawing room above the stairs to see the salvaged architectural features of the building. On the first level to your left there is a small gallery. When I was there, it had very beautiful hand-blown glass. Make sure to peek in and check it out.

Today, Dock Street is home to the Charleston Stage Company. Seeing a performance here is a really good nighttime activity. If you can't get a dinner reservation until late, think about seeing a show first. There performances are always excellent, and you will feel very pampered sitting in the beautiful, historic theatre. You can check out their season at the Charleston Stage Website. Tickets run about $20 to $35 depending on the show.

I saw two plays, one aimed at children and parents, and A Christmas Carol while in Charleston and found them to be good in quality. The theatre itself is the oldest in America and could use some updating of seats and amenities, but was acceptable in my opinion. One of the few things open in the evenings downtown other than bars, so a good option for late in the day

The Dock Street Theater is part early Georgian playhouse and part preservation of the old Planters hotel. It is often featured in watercolor prints of Charleston as the performing arts have been a large part of Charleston Southern Society since the founding of the city. It is a beautiful theater with 1800s architecture, and plays are performed there quite regularly. We saw a play called 'She Stoops to Conquer,' a raucous comedy of errors that we greatly enjoyed. Of course to enjoy going to the theater you must enjoy the play that is being performed. I would highly suggest calling the box office for the season's schedule and base a decision about going to the theater upon whether or not the running play sounds appealing. We had no problem getting tickets same-day, but I would try to call ahead rather than trust to our good fortune.