Broad Street in Charleston has long been a commercial thoroughfare, but those businesses have changed over the years.

Some of the first retail locations in Charleston were on Church Street, just South of Broad. The street was where much of the decisions made in Charleston happened—the Four Corners of Law and the Exchange

Building set the tone for the business district. Broad Street divided the more residential area from the hospitality district. The area from Meeting Street to East Bay and Tradd St. to Queen St. encompasses what we call the Exchange District. Taking the name from the prominent building at the end of Broad St.

During the pandemic Carolyn Fraser, director of Helena Fox Fine Art, noticed that there were several new galleries, makers studios, retail businesses, and a few new restaurants that had opened in the area. After dealing with the unknowns of the pandemic she thought it would be great to get the business owners in the area together to figure out ways to bring people to our side of the street.

King Street has long been the retail hub of downtown Charleston, but there is so much more. The first event as The Exchange District took place in February of 2022, a traditionally quiet time in our area. Valentine’s Bingo encouraged visitors to stop into as many establishments as they had time for and gave the business owners a needed injection of activity to help shake off the blues of the previous two years.

In 2024 we celebrated our third Valentine’s Bingo and began talking more about the importance of gathering together as business owners and celebrating the unique qualities of the The District.

What to know:

Over half of the businesses in the Exchange District are woman owned All are independent, not chain stores. Since 2022 the group has grown from thirteen businesses to this years twenty two!