This past march, we moved into our new office in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. This will be G&G’s third space in the last nineteen years. The first was a four-story building that had housed an apothecary for more than 120 years. There were heart pine floors, eleven-foot-high ceilings, and even fireplaces and private balconies in a few of the offices. If you lifted your feet while sitting in a wheeled desk chair, chances were you’d roll until you encountered a wall. And toward the end of our stay, as the team grew, if you peeked into any office, you might find three or four staffers stuffed shoulder to shoulder.
Space was no longer an issue at our second headquarters. A onetime cigar factory, the building had sat unused and dilapidated. I joked after visiting it for the first time that if you listened closely, you could hear the termites chewing. But any readers who visited us during our ten-year stay know that space was transformed. Glorious light soaked its vast interior throughout the day (our fiddle-leaf figs were legendary), and details such as walls paneled with reclaimed wood from a barn at Churchill Downs gave it the perfect G&G touch.
We now call another historic building home, appropriately located at 21 Magazine Street. Known as the Old City Jail, our latest space has been a part of the downtown landscape since 1802. For more than a century, it housed criminals and pirates but was also used to detain enslaved people. Without a doubt, its walls have borne witness to a dark history. As the building enters this new phase, we’re hopeful that a site once known for confinement can become a hub for expansive ideas and creativity. While a major renovation brought the building into the modern era, many of its historic features remain, and today it stands as a place where the past is not erased but serves as a reminder to always work toward a better future.
To foster that spirit of creativity, we enlisted the eye of interior designer and Kentucky native Martha Mulholland, who has a background in art history and historic preservation. Her touches can be seen throughout, and many of the staff have already found their favorite nooks. As for me, you might find me holed up either by the bourbon bar or in the library. Like all good Southerners, we’re looking forward to hosting guests at our numerous events each year. We hope you’ll come visit.
David DiBenedetto is the senior vice president and editor in chief of Garden & Gun. He is the author of On the Run: An Angler’s Journey Down the Striper Coast and the cohost of The Wild South podcast. A native of Savannah, DiBenedetto now resides in Charleston, South Carolina, with his wife, Jenny, their two children, and their Labrador retriever, Story. Follow him on Instagram and X.
