Robert William Roper House, Greek Revival residence at East Battery, Charleston, US
The Robert William Roper House is a single-family home on East Battery in Charleston, South Carolina, fronted by five tall Ionic columns that carry a two-story portico. The facade faces Charleston Harbor, with Fort Sumter visible across the water.
Robert William Roper, a cotton planter, built the house in 1838, shortly after Charleston began selling waterfront lots to private buyers. It was the first private residence to go up on East Battery, and other wealthy families followed over the decades that came after.
The house sits on East Battery, a waterfront promenade that locals and visitors still walk along today. Its tall columned porch faces the harbor and is one of the most photographed facades along this stretch of the street.
The property is managed by the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust and opens for scheduled visits that include the interior rooms and period furnishings. The location on East Battery makes it easy to walk along the waterfront and see other historic houses nearby on the same outing.
The roof of the main structure and the roof of the portico are built as one continuous element rather than two separate parts. This gives the facade an unusually flat, horizontal outline that stands apart from most other Greek Revival houses in Charleston.
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