Apalachicola’s Grady Market

My previous post I vaguely mentioned our accommodations………..we stayed in one of the Consulate Suites atop the Grady Market. The building has a few ‘extra’ touches with the Christmas decorations. Nice. Turn around 180 degrees and the Apalachicola River was the view in front of you.

Who’s patiently (or not) sitting on the front porch? The center door under the green Grady market sign leads up to the suites.

The Grady building was originally built to house J.E. Grady & Company in the 1800s and was a ships chandlery. What is a chandlery? Had to google it and discovered several definitions but the one for this was ‘a shop selling nautical items for ships and boats’.

Notice the balcony jutting out from the side of the building? Yep, that’s our room. Each of the four suites have a balcony.

The rooms atop the building fall under the umbrella called The Consulate.

Why The Consulate name? In the early 1800s France and other European nations maintained interest in Apalachicola due to it being the 3rd largest shipping port along the Gulf. Through the ages, the space above the chandlery was used for the French Consulate, the Captain of the Port and the U.S. Customs Office.

We stayed in the suite titled The Port Captain.

Brick walls, heart pine floors and tin ceilings are the first thing seen upon opening the door, leading you into the sitting area. Notice the ‘window’ with the handle?

Yes, that leads to the outside balcony with the Apalachicola River in the background. It was a little damp the day we arrived – not going to sit outside just yet.

Back to the tour, here’s the kitchen………

The Port Captain suite was one bedroom.

There are framed antique prints scattered around.

The current building was built after 1900 when a fire destroyed the original building. A three-year renovation begun in 1995 brought the red brick storefront back to life. Here’s a shot of the ‘back’ of the building facing downtown Apalachicola.

My last shot in this post………a coastal sunset with gorgeous colors.

Ginny