Two Meeting Street

At the intersection of Meeting and South Battery Streets, on the edge of White Point Gardens, sits 2 Meeting Street, an outstanding Queen Anne style house was built in 1892 for Waring P. Carrington and his wife, Martha, a daughter of George W. Williams, a wealthy banker who lived at 16 Meeting St. Tradition says Williams placed $75,000 on a satin pillow as a wedding present for the couple, and the Carringtons built the house with the money. Carrington himself was a wealthy jeweler on King Street.

For Carrington, it was love at first sight when he saw Martha Williams in the late 1800s. The two were married in 1890, in a wedding for which a reported 2,500 invitations were sent. As it is today, the corner of Meeting and South Battery Street was a very desirable neighborhood and the couple used the wedding gift to build a their home on the corner.

To celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Carrington “hired” Lewis Tiffany to produce 2 stained-glass windows, which were added on the front of the house. They are difficult to see from outside the house, but lovely inside.

In 1946, the mansion at 2 Meeting Street was purchased by Minnie Spell Carr, aunt (and great aunt) of the current owners, who established a guesthouse. The guesthouse eventually became Two Meeting Street Inn, now known worldwide as a top destination for newlyweds or anyone seeking a romantic getaway. Today the historic Charleston Bed and Breakfast is owned by Mrs. Carr’s youngest nephew, Pete Spell, along with his wife and two daughters.