Gas Lanterns on Charleston Homes: History, Makers and What It Takes to Add One
Walk the older blocks of the Charleston peninsula after sunset and you will often catch a small flame moving inside a copper lantern beside a front door or under a piazza ceiling. That soft, uneven light has become one of the details people picture when they think of a downtown Charleston house.
That flame has a long backstory, since gas once lit the city's streets. This guide covers that history, the makers tied to the look, the choice between open flame, mantle and electric, and what adding a lantern involves, from the gas line and permits to the Board of Architectural Review and upkeep.
How Gas Came to Charleston's Streets
Before gas: oil lamps and the moon
According to historian Nic Butler's Charleston Time Machine series at the Charleston County Public Library, Charleston had no public street lighting during its first century. After private citizens set up nearly a hundred lamps in front of their houses in the winter of 1769 to 1770, the Commons House ordered at least two dozen oil lamps at public expense in late March 1770.
Those lamps followed the moon, staying dark on full moon nights. By August 1840 the city maintained 1,981 oil lamps spaced less than one hundred feet apart, and the nightly work of lighting them was done by enslaved men working under white contractors.
The Charleston Gas Light Company
The Charleston Gas Light Company organized in the winter of 1846 to 1847 and built its gas plant near Cumberland and Church Streets. The city signed a contract with the young company in June 1847, and the first gas street lamps were lit in late March 1848, drawing crowds of curious residents. Over the following year, nearly 2,000 cedar lamp posts gave way to roughly 600 cast iron replacements, with the work running through the summer of 1849.
The company's later headquarters is still a landmark. As the South Carolina Picture Project notes, the firm was chartered in 1846, started on Church Street and moved in 1878 into a Palladian style building at 141 Meeting Street designed by architect E.B. White, bringing along the iron gates from its first site. The company later became part of the South Carolina Power Company, which South Carolina Electric and Gas acquired in 1948.
Electric light takes over
Electricity arrived in fits and starts. The library's history records the first public electric display in Charleston on May 11, 1882, at the offices of the News and Courier, but cost was a problem and the first electric company stopped operating by June 1885. A new Charleston Electric Light Company was chartered in 1886, and from 1888 through 1925 the city gradually swapped gas lamps for electric ones. In the spring of 1926, City Council dropped the last 300 gas lamps from its budget, ending manufactured gas street lighting in Charleston.
So the flames on downtown houses today are private fixtures that owners have chosen to install, borrowing the look of that earlier era.
The Gas Lantern as a Downtown Charleston Look
On a single house or a double house, the common arrangements are a pair of wall lanterns flanking the street door, a single lantern at the piazza door, a hanging lantern under a piazza or carriage house ceiling, and a post or pier lantern at a garden gate. You will see versions of all of these across South of Broad, the French Quarter and Ansonborough.
It helps to know the two kinds of gas light. A Knoxville Utilities Board feature on gas lighting explains that the gas mantle, invented by Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach in the 1880s, is a mesh bag treated with chemical and metal solutions that glows bright white when heated. A single mantle gives about as much light as a 50 watt bulb while using roughly the energy of a pilot light. Open flame lanterns skip the mantle and give the warm, flickering light most people associate with Charleston, more ambiance than illumination.
Makers associated with the look
The name most often linked to the open flame copper lantern is Bevolo, a New Orleans company. The Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans reports that Andrew Bevolo Sr., an Italian immigrant who came to New Orleans during World War II to work at Higgins Industries, founded the business in 1945. In 1959 he and Louisiana architect A. Hays Town sketched the 21 inch French Quarter lantern on a napkin. Bevolo joins its copper with hand riveting, which lets the metal expand and contract with temperature changes, and its lights now hang in all 50 states. The showrooms listed on the company's own site are in New Orleans and Mandeville, Louisiana.
Closer to home, Carolina Lanterns & Lighting describes itself as a Charleston landmark for over a quarter of a century, with a showroom at 1362 Chuck Dawley Boulevard in Mount Pleasant and an outlet in Charleston. The company says its lanterns are handmade by USA based coppersmiths, come in natural copper, antique bronze or powder coated black, and can be equipped for electric, natural gas or liquid propane. Seeing fixtures in person helps, since scale is hard to judge from a photo.
Open Flame, Mantle or Electric
Open flame gas. The classic look. Expect atmosphere more than brightness, so plan other lighting for steps.
Mantle gas. A steadier, whiter and brighter light from the same gas supply, with mantles to replace over time.
Electric. Bevolo's FAQ notes that its electric lanterns take any medium base socket bulb, including LED, so you keep the copper and glass without running gas.
Settle the choice before you buy. The FAQ from Gulf Coast Lanterns, another copper lantern maker, explains that gas lanterns must be built to a higher standard than standard electric lanterns to withstand the heat of an open flame, and the company does not sell kits to turn electric lanterns into gas ones. If your house has no natural gas service, propane is the other gas option.
What It Takes to Add a Gas Lantern
A licensed professional and a gas line
Gas lanterns are a job for a licensed professional. The Knoxville Utilities Board piece says gas lines for outdoor lighting should be installed by licensed gas specialists, plumbers or HVAC providers following local and national fuel gas codes and the manufacturer's recommendations. Bevolo's FAQ likewise says its lanterns must be installed by qualified professionals according to the manufacturer's instructions and local codes, and Gulf Coast Lanterns notes that each fixture needs a dedicated gas supply with properly regulated gas pressure.
On an older house, the practical questions are about routing: where the meter sits, if natural gas already serves the house, and how much piping will show on the facade. The KUB article notes that gas lines go in most easily during construction or renovation, so a piazza or wall project is a good moment to plan for lanterns.
Permits and inspections
Gas piping is permitted work. The City of Charleston's residential Certificate of Construction Completion checklist lists a Fuel Gas Permit alongside the electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits, with rough, pre-service and final inspections. City permit applications also ask for the contractor's South Carolina LLR license number. Confirm the exact permit path for your project with the City's permitting staff, or with the town or county office if your house sits outside city limits.
Energy use and running cost
Bevolo's FAQ estimates that one of its natural gas lanterns burns 800 to 1,200 BTUs per hour and costs approximately $6 to $9 a month to run around the clock, while a propane lantern burns 1,200 to 1,500 BTUs per hour, uses about 9 gallons of propane a month and costs approximately $29 to $36 a month at full time use. These are manufacturer estimates, and your actual cost depends on your utility rates, the number of fixtures, flame height and hours of operation, so ask your installer and gas provider for figures for your setup.
How the BAR Treats Lanterns on Historic Facades
If your house is in one of Charleston's historic districts, the Board of Architectural Review is part of the plan. The City's BAR page explains that the board, established in 1931, reviews all new construction, alterations and renovations visible from the public right-of-way within the historic districts, with most minor alterations such as sitework and repairs typically reviewed by staff.
The BAR's policy statement for staff reviews, approved in January 2024, lists lighting among the landscape and hardscape elements staff may process, along with HVAC and service meters, which can matter if a new gas meter is involved. The same policy states that all applications for alterations to Category 1 and 2 structures go to the board itself, apart from a short list of exceptions that includes repairs and signage. The BAR's preliminary review requirements also ask that elevation drawings show the location and type of outdoor lighting fixtures. The City documents we reviewed did not publish a fixture specific standard for facade lanterns, so call Preservation staff with your fixture cut sheet and a facade photo before you order. Our guide to what Charleston's BAR reviews walks through the broader process.
Maintenance: Mantles, Glass and Copper
Mantles. The KUB article says mantle lamps need periodic relighting and mantles changed about once a year or when damaged.
Glass and debris. The same source recommends cleaning the glass and clearing debris twice a year.
Burner tips. Gulf Coast Lanterns recommends cleaning burner tips once a year by running dental floss through the slot to clear carbon buildup.
Paint. Bevolo's care guidance covers everything from removing paint to shining the glass, so protect your lanterns when the house is being painted.
Copper patina
Copper changes color over time, and in Charleston that change tends to come early. Bevolo's FAQ says copper ages with the house, reaching full patina in about 12 months in some places and up to 50 years in others, with humid, salty coastal settings moving fastest toward the green tone of the Statue of Liberty. If you prefer a different look, ask the maker about factory finishes before you order.
FAQ
When did Charleston first light its streets with gas?
The first gas street lamps were lit in late March 1848. The city removed the last 300 gas lamps from its budget in the spring of 1926.
Do I need a permit to add a gas lantern in the City of Charleston?
Gas piping falls under a Fuel Gas Permit with inspections, and a lantern visible from the street in a historic district also goes through BAR review. Confirm both with the City before work starts.
How much does a gas lantern cost to run?
Bevolo estimates about $6 to $9 a month for one of its natural gas lanterns burning around the clock and about $29 to $36 for propane. Local rates and flame size change the figure.
Can I convert my electric lantern to gas?
Usually not. Gulf Coast Lanterns explains that gas lanterns are built to a higher standard to handle an open flame and does not sell conversion kits, so buy a lantern made for gas.
Conclusion
A gas lantern is a small fixture with a long local story, from the gas lamps lit in 1848 to the copper lanterns at front doors today. Adding one comes down to a few steps: choose open flame, mantle or electric, pick a maker and a scale that suit the facade, bring in a licensed professional for the gas line and permits, check with BAR staff if your house is in a historic district, and plan for some yearly upkeep.
If details like these draw you to older Charleston homes, take a look at our current listings and browse our neighborhood guides. When you are ready to talk through a house, reach out to our team.