Glimpses of Charleston

A local's eye view

Street/Park Scenes

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...
This cool hole-in-the-wall door can be found on Meeting Street, just a short ways down from the beautiful colonial St. Michael's Church.
Between downtown buildings you can often find a tight squeeze of an access path. If you exited this one and turned left, you would be walking down King Street -- right past the wonderful old cinema, the American Theater, which was appeared on the other side of the screen in the film The Notebook.
These beautiful heron gates guard one of the entrances to Waterfront Park. You can pass through them off Concord Street.
This beautiful alley, Longitude Lane, was created in 1788. It was developed to cut through some larger blocks of land, thereby opening them up for future development. Today, from East Bay a car can make it about halfway through, and then if you want to get to Church Street, you have to be on foot.
Charleston is one of the few cities in North America to ever have been a walled city. In the early 1700's, the wall protected the residents from everything from pirates to the Spaniards and French. While the wall has been mapped, there are only a few spots where you can actually see its remnants. The brick line here, across the cobbles of North Adgers Wharf, represents where the wall crossed at that point -- and if you dig down you will find it (but do not do that without permission and proper archaeological processes!)
A view across Joe Riley Waterfront Park. In the distance you can see the WWII aircraft carrier the USS Yorktown, a storied fighting ship.
This impressive window box is on the building that housed the Poinsett Tavern on Elliott Street, built about 1732. Poinsett's descendant was the US ambassador to Mexico and introduced the Poinsettia to the United States.
A pretty Charleston autumn scene featuring a crepe myrtle tree on Tradd Street. The crepe myrtle holds the distinction of being the longest flowering plant in Charleston.
While the lake was not bounded by its cement sides until 1885, the land and area around it was designated for public use by an Act of the Commons House of Assembly in 1768.
This is all that remains of the "old" Charleston Museum. Fortunately, the contents were moved to the new location before it was consumed by fire. As it did in the old museum, the skeleton of a 40'4" right whale hangs in the entry. The whale had the misfortune of entering Charleston harbor where it was pursued and ultimately captured and brought ashore.
Charleston has eight active cobblestone streets, most of which are near the old wharf area. Just one block long, this is Maiden Lane -- a bit further north and away from the water.
Lodge Alley, one of Charleston's oldest streets, dates back to the 1730's. It was renamed in 1773 after the Masonic Lodge that was built along its length.
The corner of White Point Garden at the corner of King Street and South Battery. Not White Point Gardens, not Battery Park. White Point Garden -- no "s."
While a now a great spot for strolling, running, biking, fishing or just sitting on a bench, Colonial Lake wasn't always that way. A couple of hundred years ago, it was used as a mill pond for the sawmills that were in the area.
A beautiful morning on King Street following Hurricane Dorian.
A classic view of St. Philip's and Church Street. Not only is the steeple beautiful, it one served as the last lighthouse in a range of lighthouses used to guide sailors into Charleston.
A beautiful Charleston evening as seen from the corner of Queen and State Streets.
In the heart of downtown Charleston, you will find the City Market and Sheds. This is one of the sheds.
A dramatic scene along Broad Street in Charleston.
Art shows up in all sorts of forms, sizes and manner all around Charleston. This mural can be found on the side of a hair salon on Liberty Street.
Charleston is full of beautiful little scenes. This cool gate and wall can be found on Bull Street.
Charleston cobblestones and crepe myrtles at the corner of Chalmers and Church Streets.  If you turned to the right on Church Street, you'd have a great view of St. Philip's steeple as you walked by the French Huguenot Church.
Slightly off the beaten path, Hutson Alley -- running between Hutson and John Streets -- is home to a row of restaurants.
The fourth oldest church in Charleston (1811), Second Presbyterian on Meeting Street, has a distinctive steeple.
Lowcountry shrimp is the best there is! There is nothing like getting it fresh off the boat, using the nifty red tool to peel and de-vein them, and then boiling them up in a Frogmore stew or making a shrimp cocktail. Mmmmmmm...
The pretty streetscape can be found on one of the smallest streets in Charleston -- Short Street. Yes, really.
The top of the facades along King Street on a beautiful Charleston day.
This beautiful Charleston cut-through is the eastern end (Church Street side) of Longitude Lane.
Market Hall is the striking front end of Charleston City Market, and one of the most visited sites in Charleston. In 1788,  Charles Cotesworth Pinckney gave the land to the City with the stipulation that the land must forever remain in use as a market.
Philadelphia Alley, as it is now called, is a wonderful cut-through between Queen and Cumberland Street. It's had four or five names over the years, including Cow Alley and Duelers Alley. Each would have posed a challenge when walking along its path, but neither cows nor duelers are likely to be found there today.
This beautiful entryway on King Street leads to one of the most beautiful walkways in downtown Charleston. It is part of the Gateway Walk -- a larger pedestrian path that cuts across a wide section of the historic peninsula. It's worth finding it and taking a stroll!
A beautiful view along State Street. The house on the left, built as a residence c. 1816. As this neighborhood near the wharves declined by the turn of the 20th century, it was used as a warehouse. It was restored as a residential house in 1950.