A local's eye view
The beautiful Cooper River Bridge (ok, the Ravenel Bridge). When it opened in 2005, it actually replaced two rickety, intimidating spans — the John P. Grace Memorial Bridge (which opened in 1929) and the Silas N. Pearman Bridge (which opened in 1966). It is currently the third longest cable-stayed suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere.
The now beautiful Georgian Houses that make up Rainbow Row didn’t always look so good. In the 1920’s, Susan Pringle Frost, the founder of the Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings (now the Preservation Society of Charleston) bought six of the buildings which were then in near slum-like conditions. With that, she began one of the first preservation efforts in the United States, even though she did not do the restoration of those properties herself (that was begun by Dorothy Haskell Porcher Legge in 1931).
This pink house is not THE Pink House, although they are both located on the cobblestoned Chalmers Street. THE Pink House is best known for being the oldest residence in Charleston, dating back to about 1690. This pink house is a relative youngster built in about 1800.
Dependency buildings in Charleston are usually found behind the main building or house and can be hard to spot from the street or other public space. This one, behind 68 Broad Street, can be seen over the wall that surrounds Washington Square Park (which honors George Washington) — next to City Hall.
This beautiful Charleston driveway serves the spectacular Simmons-Edwards House, also known as the Pineapple Gates House, on Legare Street. It’s an amazing property, including a wonderfully restored garden.
The High Battery is one of the most visited spots in Charleston, and a wonderful place to greet the dawn. While the tip of the peninsula had always been a well used place, a formal promenade was not built until 1838. It’s a treat to walk or run on every time.
A view across Broad Street towards Meeting Street. The intersection there is also called the Four Corners of Law. Why? The buildings on each corner of that intersection represent a different level of law — Federal (US Post Office and Federal Courthouse), State (Charleston County Courthouse — in which state law is enforced), City (Charleston City Hall) and ecclesiastical law (St. Michael’s Church). Some bonus trivia…did you know this phrase was first coined by the founder of Ripley’s Believe it or Not?
This beautiful house is on Church Street, just in from Water Street. Before it became Water Street it was Vanderhorst Creek, which was filled with actual water. The small cement posts in front of the house were used as moorings to tie up boats on the creek.
The Wentworth Mansion is an incredible almost 24,000 square foot building. It was originally created as a single family house and was lived in for 34 years. It later became the home of an insurance company. It’s currently one of the great small hotels in the United States.
Sunset along the Ashley River and the Low Battery in Charleston is often a spectacular visual event.