The streets of Charleston

You probably have to live in a place for decades before you really know it. Maybe you have to be born there. In either case, it’s certainly impossible to know a city in a day and a half. So, after looking at maps, reading some AAA books, and stopping at the Visitor Center, my wife and I decided to limit our brief tour of Charleston, South Carolina to the Historic District.

It was late in the afternoon on an early November day when we rode the free tram down to Market Street and started to walk around. One of the first buildings to come into view as we stepped off the trolley was The Confederate Museum operated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.  The museum was closed but the building created an impressive entrance to the historic Charleston City Market, where we wandered through indoor and open air shops.  When hunger set in, a vendor selling pulled pork sandwiches smothered in a choice of various BBQ sauces was able to give us a taste of the south.  With renewed energy we continued our stroll.  Charleston reminded us of a conservative (very conservative) New Orleans.

The next day we followed some walking tours described in our AAA guide book.  Charleston, we learned, is known for its churches and they were easy to spot in this part of town where the historic buildings are no more than a few stories tall.  St. Michael’s Church, St. Philip’s Espiscopal Church, the French Protestant (Huguenot) Church, and First (Scots) Presbyterian Church were some of the churches we walked past.  We also learned from a passing tour group that there is a difference between graveyards and cemeteries; graveyards are located on the same grounds as a church, cemeteries are not.  Except for writing that last sentence, I’m not sure when I’ll use that piece of information again.

We eventually stopped trying to follow the routes described in our AAA guide and spent several hours just walking through neighborhoods and parks enjoying a warm sunny day.  The houses in this part of Charleston are really fascinating.  They combine architecture, history, art, and even horticulture in a way that you find in few places.  If you read a post I wrote last month, you know that I often like to photograph interesting windows and doors. These houses seem to have been built in response to a contest for interesting windows and doors.  Actually, it was the window boxes more than the windows that really grabbed my attention.  Flowers, ferns, and foliage hung from many windows adding a lot of color, style and interest to some of the narrow streets.  This part of town is also populated by many horse-drawn carriages filled with visitors who preferred a non-reading/walking tour of the city.

One thing that I missed during our walk was street musicians.  This might have been due to the fact that it was a weekday in early November, but the weather was sunny and about 70 that day.  Maybe it would have been different if it had been spring or summer.  I might have to go back and find out.

If you’d like to see more pictures from the streets of Charleston, please visit my Charleston Photo Gallery.

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