A local's eye view
The US Post Office on Broad Street is a beautiful building. Besides providing some wonderful ambiance in which to mail a letter or buy some stamps, it is home for the Museum of Postal History — a charming one room museum dedicated to the postal service. Check it out!
The famous pineapple fountain in Waterfront Park is the perfect icon for Charleston… as pineapples symbolize “welcome” (or hospitality).
White Point Garden in the fog is beautiful and a bit spooky. The bandstand, which was originally built in 1907, hosts many events — from weddings to bar mitzvahs. But, the one thing it cannot do, is host musical performances! Those were banned in 1978, because of noise and traffic complaints from the neighbors.
St. John’s Reformed Episcopal Church on Anson Street was built in 1850. In 1991 a garden, honoring Philip Simmons — the brilliant ironworker, was added in the back. To go into the garden you pass through Mr. Simmons’s famous Heart Gate.
The John Fullerton House on Legare Street was built in 1772. It is one of the less than 75 dwellings in Charleston that remain from before the American Revolution. It’s gorgeous.
This is the entrance to the Edward L. Trenholm House on Rutledge Avenue, one of the most elaborate antebellum houses in Charleston (built 1850). Trenhom was a partner in a trading company and during the Civil War they ran a fleet of blockade runners, which helped supply the Confederate war efforts.
A beautiful start to a Charleston day over the Four Corner of Law. Did you know that Robert Ripley of Ripley’s Believe It or Not coined that phrase in the 1930’s? Cool.
Officially known as Gadsden’s Alley, this little cut-through between Elliot Street and Broad Street was commonly known as Four Post Alley. It was closed by the city in 1919, but you can still see this part — and a cool hand-painted “Four Post Alley” on the wall of one of the buildings — on the Elliot Street side.
A chilly Charleston winter day. The funky looking tower in the middle was built in 1888 and is located behind a now-defunct firehouse at 112 Meeting Street. It was part of city’s fire warning system and was in use until 1953.
If you are going to hang out in a hammock, the beautiful Branford-Horry House, at the corner of Meeting and Tradd Streets, is not a bad spot. Built in 1750, the striking portico was added in the 1830’s— making it one of the few buildings that extends over the sidewalk in Charleston.