Few streets are as instantly recognizable as Charleston’s Rainbow Row. Stretching along East Bay Street, the 13 historic Georgian houses form a seemingly perfect progression of soft pinks, blues, greens, yellows, and creams. The palette feels so harmonious, you might assume each shade has been carefully chosen—but there is actually no official Rainbow Row paint palette.
The houses can (and do!) change colors over time. So how has the street maintained its signature pastel harmony for nearly a century? It all goes back to Charleston’s approach to historic preservation—and one pink house that started it all.
According to Explore Charleston, by the 1920s, the East Bay Street houses had fallen into disrepair. That changed in 1931, when preservationist Dorothy Porcher Legge and her husband, Judge Lionel Legge, purchased and restored 99–101 East Bay Street—and painted it pink. This was a shade borrowed from Colonial buildings in the Caribbean—and quite the departure from the muted colors that were popular for Charleston’s homes at the time.
Soon, neighboring homeowners followed suit, restoring their properties in complementary pastel shades. By 1945, most of the 13 houses had been restored and repainted, creating the colorful streetscape we recognize today.
The Paint Colors of Rainbow Row
While there isn’t an exact Rainbow Row palette, records from Charleston’s Board of Architectural Review, or BAR, offer a fascinating glimpse at the colors that have actually been approved for individual houses over the years:
- 99–101 East Bay: Martin Senour Heritage Rose 316-3, approved in 1992; Burnt Peach, attributed in BAR records to Ben Wilson/David Houski, approved in 2004.
- 91 East Bay: A custom Sherwin-Williams color identified in BAR records as “Rainbow Row Pink,” approved in 2006.
- 89 East Bay: Benjamin Moore Newborn’s Eyes 1163, approved in 2007.
- 87 East Bay: Records list Benjamin Moore Montgomery White and Benjamin Moore Hathaway Peach HC-53, with the latter approved in 2010.
- 105 East Bay: Records identify Sea Glass DCR077 by Duron and reference a 2002 approved match to Duron Gibbes Wharf DCR001.
These archival shades aren’t necessarily the colors you’ll see on East Bay Street today. Instead, they offer snapshots of Rainbow Row at different moments throughout its history. Homeowners can propose a new exterior color, but any change must undergo historic review. The BAR considers paint colors on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the building’s architecture, neighboring properties, and the character of the surrounding historic district. In other words, there’s no master list of Rainbow Row-approved colors…