| |
| |
| The morning of Day Three, we returned
from Georgetown and Winyah Bay and crossed over
the harbor into Charleston. We did not use the new
suspension bridge you can see in the picture below
because it is still under construction. Instead
we navigated our Chrysler Sebring across an ancient
iron trestle bridge with impossibly narrow lanes.
Had I attempted a photo we surely would have gone
swimming after a long dive. |
(Above maps from MapQuest)
|
| Charleston
has approximately 100,000 residents and sits on
a peninsula jutting into Charleston Harbor between
the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. Those familiar with
U.S. history will immediately recognize it as the
place where the first shots of the Civil War were
fired when Fort
Sumter was bombarded.
One historical fact was quickly revealed -- an amazing
number of nationalities, races, and religions influenced
the city from its earliest days. Click on the first
link in this caption and you will see what I mean. |
|
| |
|
|
| As sometimes happens, our room at
the King Charles Inn on Meeting Street was not ready
so we stashed our rental car and took off on foot
for a tour while we waited. The photo above looks
down Meeting Street. The large building on the left
is a new bank building that attempts to capture
the architecture in this part of the city. |
|
| |
|
|
| Farther down Meeting Street we stopped in front
of the old City Market. The plaque below describes
it... |
|
| |
|
|
|
The City Market actually runs down a long thin
block, with brick buildings built to provide protection
for the vendors of the past and today. Inside
you will find small tourist curio shops as well
as the usual tables filled with the ubiquitous
arts & crafts you see in most tourist centers.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
We did not add any dollars to
the local economy in the City Market and, instead,
continued our self-guided (actually, Susan-guided)
walking tour. The above photo is of St. Philips,
a very old church.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Many of the churches we saw had
cemeteries in their churchyards. Here are some
photos of those at St. Philip's. Most headstones
are impossible to read (or photograph) and date
back to the 1800's and 1700's.
|
| It appears that broken headstones
were sometimes used as walkway paving. Perhaps the
most tragic element of these graveyards was the
large number of graves for infants and children.
Some headstones listed two or three names of children
lost by a single family to illness and disease.
Considering the sub-tropical living conditions and
diseases like malaria, it is not unusual that tragedies
like this occurred. Still, the effect was sobering. |
|
| |
|
|
|
Here is a photo looking up at
the bell tower from the churchyard. As you can
see, it was still too early in the season for
this tree to have leaves.
|
|
| |
|
|
The above photo is of St. Michael's
Church after the disastrous 1888 earthquake. Coming
from California, I was surprised to discover that
South Carolina rests atop a major
fault system. |
|
| |
|
|
|
If you look carefully, you can
see the efforts to reinforce these old brick and
masonry buildings against temblors. Those metal
plates on the wall are tied to steel rods that
run through the building, a very common sight
in California.
|
|
| |
|
|
| I have mentioned the many influences on Charleston
and, like New Orleans, it has its French Quarter
(but, thankfully, without the bars and the drunks).
Anyone interested in history and architecture could
wander Charleston's older sections for days and
never become bored. |
|
| |
|
|
|
This plaque describes the Douxsaint House, built
by a French Huguenot. It appears that Douxsaint
was a founding member of the Freemasons
of South Carolina. Also note the reference
to the "Great Fire of 1775."
Here is a photo (below) of the Douxsaint House.
As we begin to see more of these elegant and historic
houses on our tour, observe how the porches do
not front the road, but face toward the harbor
in order to capture cooling breezes during hot
summer days and nights.
|
|
Above you see more evidence of the French influence
in South Carolina.
|
|
| |
|
|
| Above is one example of a cobblestone street in
this historic residential district. |
|
| |
|
|
|
We reached the seawall section
of the historic district. Here the houses are
large and beautifully constructed and look out
upon the harbor. Some of them are old enough to
allow one's imagination to picture merchants or
ship-owners standing on their upper balcony with
spyglasses trained on the harbor's waters as they
await the arrival of their ships and shipments.
(The picture at the top of this page is also of
the seawall area. Click on it and you can learn
more about this fascinating old city.)
|
|
| |
|
|
|
From the seawall we look out over the harbor
and see our old friend, the USS Yorktown, across
the way. The passing cargo ship gives you some
idea of Charleston's importance as a commercial
port. Essentially, we are standing in the area
we saw two days earlier from the Yorktown.
|
|
| |
|
|
| I could not resist this very long shot
of what looked like dinghies sailing in the harbor
on the far side of a small island. Considering the
wind-speed, these sailors were having a quick ride
and both Susan and I were envious of the fun they
were having. Our guess was that they were from the
sailing team at the College
of Charleston, a long-time powerhouse in
collegiate sailing. |
|
| This stone plaque commemorates an
early governor of colonial South Carolina (1703-1709).
Sir Nathaniel Johnson was, as the plaque says, instrumental
in the fortification of the old city, making it
one of only three walled cities in North America.
The walls protected Charleston from attacks by a
combined Spanish and French fleet and were probably
just as useful in dealing with the pirates who plagued
the coastal colonies. Who has not heard of Edward
Teach, also known as Blackbeard? |
|
| |
|
|
| This plaque describes these buildings built long
ago along Adger's Wharf when the Cooper River was
the center of Charleston's shipping industry. In
some ways, this area reminded me of certain sections
of San Francisco, California, where old buildings
have been turned into trendy office buildings and
housing. |
|
| |
|
|
Before we left the seawall area,
I attempted a very long shot of Fort
Sumter, which sits strategically on an
island in the middle of the harbor. I could not
help but fantasize about the scene during those
three days of bombardment in April 1861 and the
crowds that gathered along the shorelines to watch
an event that was so pivotal in the history of
the U.S. On our next visit we will definitely
take the tour-boat out to the fort for a close
look. |
|
| |
|
|
| But now it was time to get closer
looks at the beautiful houses in this historic district.
Again, observe the unique arrangement (by those
who could) of the porches facing the sea breeze. |
|
| |
|
|
|
A pleasant waterfront park faces
the Ashley River side of the city. This is a monument
in that park honoring the Confederate forces who
defended Fort Sumter until it was retaken by Union
forces later in the Civil War.
|
|
| |
| As we slowly made our way back to the hotel we
strolled down streets lined with many remarkable
and historic homes built by the wealthy families
of old Charleston. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
This is the home of John C. Calhoun
(1782-1850), a true Carolina firebrand who believed
that "state's rights" defined the U.S.
Constitution. He was a supporter of the constitutional
theory of nullification,
which held that "...a state would be able
to nullify a federal law and [still] exist as
part of the Union unless three-fourths of the
states passed the law as a constitutional amendment."
He is buried in St. Philip's churchyard.
|
|
| |
|
This is the Nathaniel
Russell House, built by a wealthy merchant
(completed in 1808) and now a National Historical
Landmark. (For interior photos click on the link
in this caption.)
|
|
Here is the garden of another of the mansions.
There was a sign that said "feel free to
look but please respect our privacy" so I
took this photo from the sidewalk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In this area there were street vendors selling
sea-grass
baskets and decorations. This style of weaving
dates to the days of the great rice plantations
in the 17th and 18th centuries and was done, at
that time, by slaves. The tradition lives on now
in a lucrative tourist industry with high prices
reflecting their popularity.
|
|
|
|
|
As we continued down Meeting Street, heading
back to our hotel, we passed the old City Hall,
currently undergoing renovation.
|
|
|
|
|
Upon our return to the King Charles Inn we were
informed that, due to a water leak, our deluxe
room would not be available but... we could stay
in the apartment suite across the street. On the
top floor. Up three flights of narrow stairs.
Note the narrowness of the building. Due to the
fact that Susan had put so much energy into planning
our trip, I controlled my temper and took a wait-and-see
attitude. So off we went to labor up those stairs
with our heavy luggage...
|
|
|
|
|
The living room. Hm'mm, not bad.
|
|
|
|
|
As soon as we saw the bedroom we immediately
dubbed our new pad "The Bordello on Meeting
Street." Check out that mirror facing the
bed!
|
|
|
|
|
By this time we had worked up a tremendous appetite
and headed back up Meeting Street to a nearby
landmark, Hyman's
Seafood. I do not think I can over praise
this establishment. The prices were better than
reasonable, the food excellent, the ambience relaxed,
and the service excellent. One of the owners (two
brothers inherited the location from their father)
and the mother-in-law of one stopped by our table
to see if we were enjoying our meal. Susan had
to do all the talking because I was too busy jamming
battered flounder and vegetables down my throat.
You have not visited Charleston if you have not
dined at Hyman's (there is even a deli next door!).
I only wish I had taken my camera for some photos
of its eclectic interior.
|
|
|
|
|
As darkness descended and storm clouds began
to gather (overnight there was a hellacious thunderstorm),
we wandered back to our third floor penthouse
and prepared to call it a day. Naturally, I could
not let such a fine day pass without attempting
a watch photo. And a bathroom shot, no less!
|
|
|
|
|
Best of all, we knew we would have time the next
morning to tour the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon
along the waterfront. A dungeon!
... To Be Continued ...
|
|
|
|
