The high seawall that lines the Cooper River side of Charleston Harbor replaced the masonry wall built in 1700 to fortify the city. Strengthened over the years to ward off hurricanes, this wall became known as the High Battery for the gun emplacement stationed here during the War of 1812. Today this popular promenade attracts strollers, joggers and bikers, who enjoy views of the river and of the graceful homes that line East and South Battery. These elegant pastel structures, positioned so that their airy piazzas catch the prevailing breezes, provide stellar examples of Charleston's noted antebellum residential architecture. At the tip of the point, White Point Gardens—named for the mounds of oyster shells that once accumulated here—were laid out by John Charles Olmsted in 1906.