The Grande Dames of East Bay St.

East Bay St., Charleston, S.C.

East Bay St., Charleston, S.C.

East Bay St., Charleston, S.C.

East Bay St., Charleston, S.C.

The sky was so brilliantly blue yesterday it made me look at everything with a fresh eye. I never think of East Bay as a beautiful street but look at these grand houses. They are incredible. Cars move quickly along here so we aren't as likely to appreciate how glorious these buildings are.

I've mentioned that my own house (not one of these) is for sale. I have a big old wooden historic house built in 1840 and share it with two tenants who are kind enough to contribute monthly to my tax and insurance bills. My hope is to downsize to something small and low maintenance.  I don't expect it to sell anytime soon in the current market and remind myself that downtown Charleston isn't the worst place to be stuck. True. Two blocks from the Farmer's Market, King St., restaurants etc. Life could be worse, eh?!

Meanwhile, someone looked at the house yesterday and wants to come back today so I am cleaning up and getting ready to go out for my walk. If I'd won the $325,000 lottery last night none of this would matter.

Stay warm kids!

Gothic Outbuildings on Bull St.

Every once and awhile people kindly leave gates open for me and my snoopy little camera. I love this tiny outbuilding with the gothic windows on Montagu St. I think this scene is easier to get a picture of in the winter when the trees aren't as full.

Edit: This post was corrected after a commenter noted I had mistakenly listed the location. She is correct. It is Montagu St. not Bull as originally posted. My mistake!

So, the primary is over in S.C. What a relief. My phone has been ringing off the hook. The last call this afternoon was from Mitt Romney but he called me Alice (?) when he asked for my vote. Why on earth would a recording use a name when anyone can pick up a phone. Alice?

Rain! Welcome sound. 

Sweet Friday evening

 

Aiken Rhett House, Judith St., Charleston, S.C.

Oh, my pretty little weekend. I love you.

It's been a non stop week but I was able to sneak out in time to do my very favorite thing - get to the Terrace Theater for a matinee. There is nothing that suits me better than sitting alone in the dark and letting the work week slip away on a Friday afternoon. I got my usual cuppa hot tea and since I've been a very, very good girl, I picked up a piece of the caramel cake. Ouch. They started selling the cake during The Help but I didn't plan on being tempted on a regular basis. Danger. This afternoon I saw The Guard which I liked very much and then sat outside next door at Savory and enjoyed a bowl of hot soup. The air is crisp and cool! It's a Charleston miracle.

I don't need to walk this evening since I will be walking to and from the Lowcountry Heart Walk in the morning. I am going to be completely lazy.

Today's photo is of the Aiken Rhett House on Judith St. It isn't on my regular walking route so I tend to forget it is there and then run into it and am stunned each time. Isn't it grand? I haven't done the tour since I first moved to Charleston. I should do it again soon.

The Aiken-Rhett House stands alone as the most intact townhouse complex showcasing urban life in antebellum Charleston. Built in 1818 and greatly expanded by Gov. and Mrs. William Aiken, Jr. in the 1830s and 1850s, the house has survived virtually unaltered since 1858.  A successful businessman, rice planter, distinguished politician and governor of South Carolina, William Aiken, Jr. was one of the state’s wealthiest citizens. Following a well-established tradition among Charleston’s elite, Governor Aiken and his wife, Harriet Lowndes Aiken, traveled in Europe and returned with magnificent fine art and furnishings. Today, visitors will find many of these objects in the same rooms for which they were purchased.

And now, because I've fallen into the habit of including colorful bikes in my shots, here is another view:

McLeod Plantation now owned by Chas. County Parks

McLeod Plantation, Charleston, S.C.

My friend Charlotte from Charleston through an Artist's Eyes painted almost the same scene I photographed at McLeod Plantation.

Good news, kids! Charleston County Park & Recreation Commission took ownership of McLeod Plantation this week, putting the historic site in the public realm where it belongs. Willie McLeod, who died in 1990 at age 104, left his share of the property with the condition that it could be preserved. I can't wait to see what good things come of this!

Wow, it's been a busy week. My office looks like a train wreck. Friday looked like a precious jewel at the end of a complicated obstacle course but we made it, didn't we? Every time I walked past a waiting room today I had to stop for a few minutes to watch the news about the earthquake in Japan. I've watched most disasters through the years in hospital waiting rooms sharing the moment with random strangers. What a terrible event. Those poor people.

Musicals that didn't Fly

King St., Charleston, S.C.

This is one of my favorite buildings on upper King St. Love the blue! Completely unrelated to that, I am here to share a link from the Shoebox Blog. They always makes me smile.

Broadway Musicals that Didn't Fly

- Annie Get Your Nails Done

- The Sound of Mucus

- Body Hair

- Milli Vanilli’s “Tommy”

- Brigadoomsday

- Guys and Inflatable Dolls

- Hello, Dali!

- Dead Swan Lake, The Bird Mystery

- Blagojaviched!

- The Miracle Worker

- Airport Pat-down, A Love Story

Monday Hodge Podge

Charleston, S.C.

Do you think these folks may have treated themselves to a gardener?

According to Cosmopolitan Charleston, King St. will be closed to traffic every second Sunday. Coolness abounds!

If you want to see a very good movie, catch Winter's Bone at the Terrace Theater. Wow. Not a lighthearted romp in the park mind you.

My friend Pam from Tales from the Microbial Laboratory has started a new blog called US 17 Coastal Highway. Pay her a visit and let her know your favorite parts of Hwy 17.

This site is about a road that is definitely more - US 17 Coastal Highway. It stretches from downtown Winchester, Virginia south to Punta Gorda, Florida - 1,189 miles of highway, much of which runs along the Atlantic Ocean. We love this road, and our goal here is to show you why. Welcome to the Coastal Highway.

Famous Charleston Quotes

Not my house, Charleston, S.C.

Scarlett: Rhett! Rhett, where are you going?
Rhett Butler: I'm going back to Charleston, back where I belong.
Scarlett: Please, please take me with you!
Rhett Butler: No, I'm through with everything here. I want peace. I want to see if somewhere there isn't something left in life of charm and grace. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Scarlett: No! I only know that I love you.
Rhett Butler: That's your misfortune.

Writer's workshop and more....

King St., Charleston, S.C.

I love this old building on King St. Some day it will be a renovated eye catcher but I'm rather fond of it just the way it is, aren't you?

I've been doing Zuuuuuumba on Thursdays and Saturdays this month so I can learn some of the steps. Slow learner here. Heheh. So many of my friends have signed up we are soon going to need a bigger room.

These boots are exactly what we need in Charleston!

My friend and writer Stephanie Hunt is holding a writer's retreat and the topic made me smile:

Writing Raw: What revealing has to do with revelation, and how to write about family without being disowned.
Presenter: Stephanie Hunt
September 08, 2010, 7 - 9 PM
Tuition: Workshop - $25 in advance ~ $35 at the door.

Stephanie writes for SKIRT!, Charleston Magazine and House Calls. She pops up in everything I open to read and still seems to have a loving family so she may know what she is talking about!

Okay, kids! Have a nice weekend.

A peak at McLeod Plantation

McLeod Plantation, James Island, S.C.

I am itchy and twitchy, ready to go out for a brisk walk and it is pouring rain. I've swept the porch, replaced a light bulb ...blah, blah, blah. Weekends aren't really for housework are they? It's too wet to take a camera out at the moment but here are a few shots I took yesterday on my way home from my first zumba class (scary thought with my rhythm!).

I've driven past McLeod Plantation hundreds of times admiring the beautiful piece of property but never taken a pictures of it and yesterday I realized why. They have slapped "No Trespassing - This Means You, Joan" signs all over any easy access. I pulled around the corner and walked back but there is no sidewalk and I had to take my life in my hands walking on the edge of heavy traffic.

What a lovely spot. The line of old slave cabins leads up the avenue of the oaks to the plantation house. According to the 1860 census 74 slaves lived in 26 cabins. More here but this is a bit of the story:

William Ellis McLeod passed away at the age of 105 in the same room he was born in. In his will, he left his interest in the plantation to the Historic Charleston Foundation, with the stipulation that it be preserved as a "single family residence, to preserve the Oak Avenues, and to provide that as much of the property as possible be restricted to single family residence or residences having the lowest possible density".

It's an expensive property to maintain and if they have their way, the Friends of McLeod Vision for the Future includes:

Among activities suggested:

• Church services and concerts under the oaks on a Sunday afternoon.


• Confederate and Massachusetts 54th and 55th re-enactors setting up camp and cooking with open fires for breakfast or lunch.


• Saturday Farmer's Market selling authentic local produce.


• A James Island Founder's Day - a homecoming once a year for James Islanders.


• Cooking demonstrations, tours, story telling.


• Tours especially designed for school children.


• Restoration of the grape arbor and plantings around it for use as a small special events rental area.


• Religious, business and corporate retreats.

If anyone has any pictures of the inside of the house please steer me to them. Meanwhile, it looks like one more project for me to fix up when I win the lottery. The list keeps growing.

Guess where, South Carolina?

South Carolina

Anyone familiar with this spot?

I especially loved the fan design in the brick - it was so unusual. I could picture an evening in the fall with a fire in the fire pit and friends enjoying the evening. It wouldn't work for high heels at all. Very cool spot and I took more photos that I'll share shortly but thought I'd see if anyone else knew where it was first.

Old Charleston Jail

Old Charleston Jail, Magazine St., Charleston, S.C.

After a brunch at the Queen St. Grocery on Sunday morning, my friend Becca offered to walk us through her new office - in the old Charleston Jail. Oh yes, yes, yes. I've taken pictures over the wall but was itching to get inside to explore.

The American College of Building Arts is currently using the jail for their offices and studios but other than being structurally stabilized it remains very much as it was left.

The Old Jail housed a great variety of inmates. John and Lavinia Fisher, and other members of their gang, convicted of robbery and murder in the Charleston Neck region were imprisoned here in 1819 to 1820. Some of the last 19th-century high-sea pirates were jailed here in 1822 while they awaited hanging. The jail was active after the discovery of Denmark Vesey's planned slave revolt. In addition to several hundreds of free blacks and slaves jailed for their involvement, four white men convicted of supporting the 1822 plot were imprisoned here. Vesey spent his last days in the tower before being hanged. Increased restrictions were placed on slaves and free blacks in Charleston as a result of the Vesey plot, and law required that all black seaman be kept here while they were in port. During the Civil War, Confederate and Federal prisoners of war were incarcerated here.

Naturally there is a popular ghost tour. The Bulldog Tour site claims, "This is quite possibly the scariest place you will ever go. The experience is NOT recommended for small children or men that cry easily."

Sing along now....

Down in Charleston Jail
(Sergeant Johnson)

When I enlisted in the army,
Then I thought 't was grand,
Marching through the streets of Boston
Behind a regimental band.
When at Wagner I was captured,
Then my courage failed;
Now I'm dirty, hungry, naked,
Here in Charleston jail.

cho: Weeping, sad and lonely,
Oh, how bad I feel!
Down in Charleston, South Carolina,
Praying for a good square meal.

Rip off. I don't see any ghosts in my pictures.

Before......Westendorff building

40 Warren St., Charleston, S.C.

The old Westendorff & Son Hardware store building on the corner of St. Philip and Warren has been empty as long as I remember. This morning there was a glossy postcard on my porch announcing plans to renovate it to be a neighborhood restaurant that will resemble an old timey hardware store. Coolness!

This is good news. It has been a shame to watch such a great building sit abandoned. The new owners are offering refreshments and a sneak preview of what is planned on Wednesday evening, 7/14 from 5:45 - 7 p.m. The architect's presentation is at 6:15 p.m.

I've stayed in my house long enough that one by one all the cool things are landing in my part of town.

Summer Escapes

King St., Charleston, S.C.

This is one instance where the vehicle in front of the building did improve the shot. Also note, that this is not the fence or gate you want to climb over! Ouch.

Vogue magazine has a "Summer Escapes: Charleston" article. Check it out. See if you agree with their recommendations.

Stay dry, kids! That was some downpour of rain we had last night.

Recording the Memories

Not my grandmother's house, Hwy 176, S.C.

When I rush to take a picture of a new building I realize that what I wish I had was photos of what used to be there. I'll see the new place for the rest of my life but it is immediately hard to remember what used to be there.

I've been taking pictures long enough to have recorded some "before and afters" but this morning's Dear Abby column struck me as such a brilliant idea that I want you all to do it before it's too late. The writer recommends taking pictures of every room in your grandparent's home. I wish I had that!

I'm always talking about my grandparent's home in Beamsville, Ontario. They had glass front lawyer style bookshelves with large carved birds perched on top. They treated themselves to a bird carving to celebrate each wedding anniversary. The arched entry into the living room had a hoya plant with the little wax blossoms growing from one end to the other and oval frames on the wall of my Scottish deep sea fisherman great-grandfather with his pierced ear.

I wish I had good pictures of all these memories but it isn't too late for you. Borrow a wide angle lens if you need to and capture the memories!

ABBY: After Grandma passed away at 101, the thought of disman­tling her home and dispersing her belongings was heart­breaking because her house had remained unchanged for so many years. I knew we couldn’t keep everything, but never seeing her house again was too much to bear.

I asked my cousin to take photos of every room, every hallway, every closet and every view inside and out, so I could make an album of “Grandma’s House.” Now I have an album of photographs that makes me feel like I’m standing in the middle of it again. My cousin even photo­graphed the auction in which we sold the things none of the family wanted or couldn’t fit in their homes.

With all these reality TV programs that deal with hoarding and clutter, I wanted to share this idea as a healthy alternative to keeping “things” in place of memories. Looking at my photo album is even better than having the actual items because everything is in the setting I remember. What I’m trying to convey is, sometimes you really can’t take it with you, and a picture is the next best thing. — JULIE IN BRA­DENTON, FLA.

DEAR JULIE: Thank you for a valuable suggestion. I’m sure I’m not the only grand­child who wishes that she had thought of it when my grandparents’ home was be­ing dismantled. I’m sure that looking at your album brings back a multitude of happy memories.

If had a paint brush....

Coming & Vanderhorst St., Charleston, S.C.

There is a beehive of activity in my neighborhood today as this large house in a busy intersection is renovated. I can't resist taking a picture each time I go by.

I'm glad someone is working hard because I have no intention of doing anything productive. Shame on me. It used to be whenever I had a three day weekend I attacked some home improvement project. Maybe paying for air conditioning repair can count this time. Paint me lazy.

Raul's Seafood

Raul's Seafood, Shem Creek, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

Another lowcountry character spot is closing down. The Post & Courier reports that Raul's Seafood will be closing down after they didn't get their lease renewed. Sadness. I'm glad I have pictures of these places.

In other news...thank God for weekends. Whew.

The old blue stable

Smith St., Charleston, S.C.

This building is behind the old McAlister's Funeral Home on the corner of Wentworth and Smith St. The building is still there although no longer operating as a funeral home.

I've wondered about this old structure at the back of the property. I imagined it to be a stable and housing for horse drawn funeral hearsts but googling around I discovered that it was the stable of the original property that burned down before the funeral home was built and probably dates to the 1800's. The information I found said it was constructed entirely with wood pins and no screws or nails.

There are neato bits of history everywhere in Charleston.

Village in the Pines

Pinopolis, S.C.

Pinopolis, SC:

Pinopolis is a sweet little village on Lake Moultrie. I like it primarily because it was named "Pinopolis" because of the pine trees and for this teensy, tiny post office and the even earlier one below.

Since it has a higher elevation than most lowcountry spots it was considered an early escape from heat and mosquitoes. The slight elevation also spared it from flooding when Lake Moultrie was created in 1946 and Pinopolis became a little peninsula on the lake.

According to Wikepedia, in the post-Civil War period and during the change of the South, it became the location of the first elementary school for black students - that's a neat fact.

I left work early for afternoon meetings and ended up at home early enough to have already curled up and had a nap. Yawn. This is very, very sweet. The siesta system might be worth promoting.

Now and Before

College of Charleston, Charleston, S.C.

In this case it isn't a Before & After since the building is under wraps right now. I'll have to take the picture again after the unveiling.

I often steer my walk back home through the campus because it is such a beautiful spot. Surely they will have it finished for the Spoleto Festival concerts at the cistern.

I detoured to pick up my favorite salad from Five Loaves Cafe on Canon St. for dinner. Yum. You have to try the: Tomato, mozzarella, roasted sweet peppers, asparagus and baby greens with the wild mushroom and soy dressing.

Aimar's Sarracenia Bitters - for Dyspepsia

King & Vanderhorst St., Charleston, S.C.

I swing around this corner heading home from my walk almost every day and am fully aware of the history I am walking by. Now-a-days, I often dash in to drop off funds for the American Heart Association on the third floor but throughout it's history it has been a girl's school, confederate hospital, hotel and until 1978 the Aimar Dispensary. When the drugstore closed after more than 100 years, the Smithsonian bought items left in the store.

Aimar Drug Company: A pharmacy established in 1852 which operated in Charleston, South Carolina for over 100 years. During the Civil War the store served as an official dispensary for the Confederate States of America, and the top three floors were converted to a hospital. The store remained in the family and in business until 1978

409 King St.
This substantial, four and one-half story building was built c.1808 by Lucretia Radcliffe, widow of Thomas Radcliffe and the developer of Radcliffeborough. Subsequently it was the Rev. Ferdinand Jacobs' Seminary for Girls. G.W. Aimar & Co., druggist, occupied the building from 1852 to 1978. The business was founded by George W. Aimar, who during the Civil War was a lieutenant in the Lafayette Artillery. During the war the building housed a Confederate dispensary and hospital. Later, a hotel known as the Aimar House was located on the upper levels.


Herb Based Medicine