Glimpses of Charleston

A local's eye view

Street/Park Scenes

Some wonderful reflections on Colonial Lake.
This classic Charleston scene on Atlantic Street is in front of a house that was built in 1890 -- one of two identical ones that replaced a larger house that had been destroyed in an earthquake.
Strolling along the High Battery is one of the great things to do in Charleston. A common misconception is that the street that it runs along is East Bay Street.  Ah contraire! It is East Battery (up to about Water Street)  :)
This cool wall with its window into the garden is on Lamboll Street. In the warmer weather it is always great to see the mandevilla flowering along the iron.
This cool door can be found on Stolls Alley -- which was once referred to as Pilot's Alley, as the ship pilots would cut through there from Church Street to get to the harbor wharves.
This free roaming flock of guinea fowl are frequently spotted on Lamboll Street and South Battery. No one knows where they came from, but they are now just one more set of interesting residents in downtown Charleston.
This line of bricks represents where the wall (more specifically, a "redan") of the original walled city of Charleston once was. It was identified during an archaeological dig by the "Walled City Task Force." You can find it along the top of South Adger's Wharf and through the adjacent parking lot. Pretty cool.
Spring in Charleston is gorgeous. This pretty scene was on lower King Street. One of the oldest streets in Charleston, it was named after King Charles II of England.
Anchored on the Meeting Street end by the elegant Market Hall, the City Market is unusually quiet during the coronavirus pandemic. Designed by the famed Charleston architect E. B. White and built in 1841, Market Hall has some beautiful details, including the ram's heads above the columns -- signifying that it was a meat market.
Unity Alley is one of the cool cut-throughs you can find in Charleston.  McCrady's Tavern was built there in the late 1700's and in 1791 a banquet given in honor of the first president of the United States, George Washington, was held in its famous Long Room.
This pretty Charleston scene can be found on Water Street, which had been Vanderhorst Creek -- until it was filled in in 1791.
Stolls Alley, which connects East Bay to Church Street, is one of my favorite cut-thru's in Charleston. 
Broad Street on a beautiful Charleston day. The incredible building on the left is the Confederate Home and College, which was built as a private home in 1800, became a hotel and then in 1867 became the Home for Confederate Widows and Orphans. Today it is still used as a home, but is also an events venue.
Charleston is the first city in South Carolina to close their parks and and order people to stay home (unless on essential business or exercising). This photo was taken two days before the order went into effect, but some good social distancing in practice -- even between this couple.
You'd never know it by this photo, but the City Market is the most visited tourist destination in Charleston. Early in its evolution, it was a meat market -- which accounted for the gathering of tremendous numbers of vultures, earning them the nickname of "Charleston eagles."
This beautiful stretch of antebellum houses is on St. Michael's Alley. The first house on the left was designed by the famed architect, E.B. White -- who was the supervising architect of the US Custom House on East Bay Street, among other prominent Charleston projects.
This pretty fountain can be found in the the Chapel Street Fountain Park.  Like its fellow "pocket parks," it is a little downtown oasis. 
Beautiful at just about any time, the High Battery is always lovely in the early morning. On the morning of April 12, 1861, the people of Charleston gathered here to watch the bombardment of Fort Sumter -- the first shots of the American Civil War.
When living in the number one travel destination in the known universe, some residents of Charleston do have a sense of humor about it. You can find this historic marker on West Street.
Although you would think it has to do with its directional orientation, Longitude Lane -- which connects East Bay and  Church Streets -- is not named for its compass reading. You can read all about it here.
The Huguenot Church on Church Street traces its congregation back to the 1680's. The current structure, designed by the famed architect E.B. White, dates back to 1845 -- replacing a much simpler plain brick building. The graveyard (which is not a cemetery  -- a cemetery is away from the church on separate grounds, as opposed to being on the same plot of land) is full of interesting markers and headstones.
The graveyard at the Circular Congregational Church is beautiful and historic. Seen here from Church Street, it's believed to be the oldest English burial ground in Charleston, with graves dating back to 1695. 
The houses surrounding "Pirates Courtyard" on Church Street were built in the early 1740's and are believed to have been where many pirates, including Blackbeard, hung out while they were in Charleston. To make it a less stressful experience, it is said that there was an escape tunnel that ran from under the house to the harbor -- just in case that had some unwanted visitors.
This pretty arch connects two colonial era (c.1742) houses on King Street in the Charlestowne (South of Broad) neighborhood. 
With all the interesting architecture in Charleston, there are many beautiful shadows cast. The gate and protective ironwork casting this shadow are on Orange Street -- guarding the entrance to back drive for the grand Col. John Stuart House (c. 1767-72).
These regal lions are on guard outside of a house (c. 1850) on Tradd Street, that was built by William C. Bee -- best known as the owner of the premier blockade running business during the Civil War.
A beautiful array of Sweetgrass baskets for sale on Meeting Street. Tracing their origin back to the 1600's with the arrival of enslaved Africans, they were originally used to separate rice seed from its chaff. Now they are treated as works of art, including some that are on permanent display in the Smithsonian Museum (and others).
The first rays of the sun lighting up the top of Hibernian Hall on Meeting Street. Built in 1840, the beautiful Greek Revival building is fronted by iron gates created by the master artisan Christopher Werner.
The intersection of Atlantic and Church Streets, with its post-Revolutionary War houses and the bricks of Church Street...
This beautiful sunlit wall and gate can be found on Gibbes Street -- which not named after the benefactor of the wonderful Gibbes Museum of Art.
A view up Meeting Street to the steeple of St. Michael's Episcopal Church. St. Michael's is the oldest standing religious building in the city -- built between 1751 and 1761, replacing the St. Phillip's original wooden church built in 1681.
January is the coldest month of the year in Charleston. Can you feel it in this photo along Murray Boulevard?
A runner under a spectacular pre-dawn sky along the Battery. Runner's World named the Battery as one of the most beautiful places in the world to run. It's hard to argue!
The ruins of an old Evening Post printing plant, at the corner of Elliot Street and Bedons Alley, were adjusted to accommodate this growing tree. Just another cool way Charleston shows its love for its grand trees.
A view of the modern day Charleston "skyline." One of newest additions is the cruise ship.  Hmmmm...
Broad Street is very festive looking during the holidays. This view includes some of the Four Corners of Law, the intersection of Broad and Meeting Streets. That phrase was coined by  Robert Ripley, creator of Ripley's Believe it or Not!
You can find this well dressed horse just down Chisolm Street from the Horse Lot -- a former mill pond that was filled in to create grazing land for horse. Now a small city park, it is primarily used by dogs and for all sorts of athletic activities.
Longitude Lane is a colonial era thoroughfare that runs between East Bay and Church Street. Beautiful.
This very cool door can be found on Maiden Lane, one of the eight active cobblestone streets in Charleston.
The view from Meeting Street into St. Michael's Alley...