The Battery
See all Charleston Attractions
Staff Editor, Charleston Harbor Tours
October 10, 2007
The Battery, otherwise known as “Battery Park”, is a popular park located in downtown Charleston where the Cooper and Ashley Rivers meet. With great views of Fort Sumter, Castle Pinckney, and Sullivan’s Island Lighthouse, the park is a great place to come to see the sights of Charleston from a distance. It is also a wonderful place to learn more about Charleston’s history, with its statues, monuments, and old cannons and cannonballs that children love to climb on.
In the 18th century, heavy rocks were used to fortify the shores of the Cooper River. That fortification became the famous promenade known as the High Battery, one of the best places to stroll in the park. The Battery first became a public park in 1837, and was also used as a place for artillery storage during the American Civil War.
Now the Battery hosts a variety of attractions. White Point Gardens, named because of the piles of bleached oyster shells that comprise its grounds, is a luscious park with large oak trees, a bandstand, and various memorials.
The park also is home to some of the most lavish houses in all of Charleston, including the Edmonston-Alston House, the Calhoun Mansion, and the Palmer Home (Pink Palace).
