This wooden pier in Mount Pleasant, which extends towards Cove Inlet, was built in 1898 as a trolley bridge allowing passage to and from Sullivan’s Island. During the Revolutionary War, another bridge existed here, made of wooden planks on floating barrels. It was over that same primitive bridge that the crew of the H.L. Hunley passed on its way to Breach Inlet to test the storied submarine during the Civil War.
In 1923 the wooden trolley bridge was widened to allow vehicular traffic alongside the trolley. A steel drawbridge was also added in the twenties, which in turn became part of the nearby Ben Sawyer Bridge when it was constructed in 1945. Cars quickly rendered the trolley unnecessary, and it ceased operating in 1927.
The Pitt Street Bridge – also known as the Cove Inlet Bridge and the Cove Inlet Causeway – was once the only means of crossing the water from Mount Pleasant to the beaches. Now the Isle of Palms connector bridge, completed in 1993, and the Ben Sawyer Bridge allow motorists access to the beaches from Mount Pleasant.
The Pitt Street Bridge closed when the Ben Sawyer Bridge opened in 1945. In 1950 Charleston County, which owned the bridge, deeded it to Mount Pleasant. After being converted into a fishing pier, most of the old bridge burned, though a section is still extant. Now a modern greenway called Pickett Park takes pedestrians and bicyclists across the former bridge site and actually leads into the remaining part of the old bridge, offering a view of the pilings that allowed people to cross the inlet more than a century ago.
More Pictures of the Pitt Street Bridge
Ms Fowler,
Your photographs are beautiful. My father went to the Pitt Street bridge to propose to my Mom 50 years ago this August & he forgot the ring on the first attempt, so he brought her back to the same place the very next night & proposed.
Yes, she was wondering why he brought he to the same spot the very next night. I am looking for a print to give them as a gift, can you recommend a store that may have them?
Hello Lori! Would you be interested in the photo that Ms. Fowler took? If so, we can reach out to her on your behalf!
I lived in Mt. Pleasant for many years before I discovered Pitt St. Bridge and immediately fell in love with the area. The historical significance is only surpassed by the environmental significance.
You can view the surrounding area of Sullivan’s Island, City of Charleston, Charleston Harbor, Intracoastal Waterway, and The Cove, that are full of history and beauty. The Salt Marshes provide clear air and water for marine life and thousands of birds that is constantly threatened but so critical to the area. You can watch the most amazing sun sets and the moon rising over our little patch of heaven.
I love visiting the Pitt Street bridge.