"Lodge Alley" Paved in Belgian blocks,The alley was created by adjacent landowners to allow access from their homes on State Street to their ships and docks one block away on East Bay Street. It takes it's name from the lodge of Freemasons, First established in the building on left in 1773.
It was at marine lodge no. 38 that Charlestonians openly defied the British government before the Revolutionary war, On November 17th 1774 as a means of protesting the harsh treatment shown to Boston. Charlestons Liberty Boys met in the Masonic lodge-room and constructed a "rolling stage" or parade float.Upon it effigies of the Pope, the Devil,Lord North,and Governor Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts were displayed.The appearance of the float marked the end of a three- day period in which Charleston's Tea Party was equally important as a symbol of defiance to British oppression.