The city’s Gateway Walk is a walking tour through the heart of the Charleston Historic District.
In 1930 Mrs. Clelia Peronneau McGowan, President of the Garden Club of Charleston, approached her fellow members with an idea for a walkway that would connect the areas between Archdale Street and Philadelphia Alley. She had been inspired by a visit to Paris, where in the midst of a busy city she found respite in meandering through pleasant gardens. The Gateway Walk opened April 10, 1930 to help celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of Charleston on its peninsular site.
St. John’s Lutheran Church is the first of six stops on this tour of gardens and historic grounds.