A local's eye view
This cool live oak tree dominates the front yard on Murray Boulevard. Live oaks definitely help give Charleston and the Lowcountry much of its character. Live oaks have also played an important role in American history. During the War of 1812 the USS Constitution gained its nickname “Old Ironsides” because the British cannonballs just bounced off its hull — which was made out of live oak wood.
This eye-catching garden on South Battery belongs to a house that was built c. 1800 by John Blake, one of the early presidents of the Bank of South Carolina.
The Mills House hotel on Meeting Street, traces its history back to 1853. Fortunately, it survived all the destruction in Charleston during the Civil War, which allowed it to host Glimpses’ wedding reception in 1999 🙂
William Gibbes, a wealthy planter who built this house in about 1772, never thought it would be seen from the street from this angle. He had expected people to approach the house by boat from the Ashley River — into which he had built a 300 foot wharf. You can now cruise by it on South Battery.
This recently restored handsome house on Limehouse Street, built circa 1859, has a “masked” piazza — where the brick of the house extends past the actual house and shields the piazza from the street.
This handsome house can be found on Church Street — in the block above White Point Garden and below Atlantic Street. Church is paved with bricks at this point, which is an uncommon surface in Charleston.
The Low Battery under some threatening skies. In the distance, if you follow the rail, is the “Round Holiday Inn” — once named, to much controversy, the ugliest building in South Carolina. Do you know it? What do you think?
The Fort Sumter House, at 1 King Street, is the only tall building south of Broad Street in Charleston. Originally a hotel, it’s now a residence. Located across from White Point Garden, it has water, park and city views that are hard to beat.
This house on King Street has interesting plantings in its pots — including these cacti. The owner of this house, Marx Cohen, built it in about 1844 but didn’t all that much time to enjoy it. He became a distinguished officer in the Confederate army, but was killed by an artillery shell at the Battle of Bentonville, NC in 1865.
Colonial Lake is a beautiful spot to be in the early morning. The lake is connected to the Ashley River and its levels are generally driven by the tide, but there are now flood controls in place that can manage the water flow.