Before & After - Colonial Dorchester Park

Colonial Dorchester, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Colonial Dorchester State Park - Bell Tower

There isn't much left of what was once a lively community. This bell tower was added to the church in 1751. The lengths the settlers had to go to for the freedom to worship in the manner they preferred makes me feel very lucky to live in modern times. These Puritan Pilgrim descendants left England in 1620 to live in this spot only to have South Carolina declare that Anglicanism was to be the official church of the colony. Sigh.

Colonial Dorchester State Park: Abandoned at the start of the Revolutionary War, the town of Dorchester has all but disappeared, leaving only a handful of original structures remaining. Visitors can stand below the towering remains of the brick bell tower of St. George’s Anglican Church, catch a glimpse of a log wharf during low tide or view the fort made of an oyster-shell concrete called tabby.

Before & After - Circular Congregational Churchyard

Civil War Photos - Circular Congregational Churchyard, Meeting St., Charleston, S.C.

I have a crumpled stack of papers printed from the civil war photos site crammed in the bottom of my backpack.  Once and awhile I pull them out and see what I can match up. This morning I walked through the cemetery of the Circular Congregational Church on Meeting St. and found the tomb pictured in this scene.

The church is still there of course and in use for morning service as I wandered in their churchyard. It is a lovely spot. The photo below shows the church building without the tree branch blocking the view.

I hope everyone has had a good weekend. I want this final hour or two to last for ever. Busy week ahead. I am off to watch my new addiction - Downton Abbey.

Before & After - Colonial Lake

Colonial Lake, Charleston, S.C.

The trees grew. I notice that difference in so many old photos of Charleston.

Hey - it's getting dark earlier. I need to get myself out marching before it gets too late.

Before & After - Unitarian Cemetery

Unitarian Cemetery, Charleston, S.C.



I matched up another scene from the U.S. Geological Survey collection. I was tempted to ask a random tourist to stand in the same spot as the gentleman in the picture but they were dressed in such baggy, sloppy clothes that it didn't have the same effect.



This picture was easily recognizable as the Unitarian Cemetery. It is titled: Charleston, South Carolina, Earthquake August 31, 1886. Displaced monument in the cemetery of the Unitarian Church.



Thanks again to the Librarian commenter for leading me to these fantastic old photos. There is enough on the site to entertain me for awhile! I added another few blossom photos to my cemetery collection while I was there.



I am off to bed, kids. This is the summer of the kayak and if the skies are clear I intend to explore a bit of Lake Marion in the morning.

Before & After - Broad St.

Broad St., Charleston, S.C.



I printed off a set of these old photos taken after the earthquake of 1886 and stuffed them in my trusty backpack. When I am out walking I pull them out and try to find the spot they were taken from. Some of them I can't match up but this one was easy.



Thanks to the Librarian who linked me to these treasures in a comment. This one is labeled: Charleston, South Carolina, Earthquake August 31, 1886. Thrown gable and twisted chimney at the residence of Bishop Lynchat on Broad Street opposite Orange, looking northeast.



It's after bed time again and my weekend is over. Sniff. You can't say I don't make the most of my days off. Now, get to bed kids. No more stories. No more glasses of water. Someone turn the lights out.

Before & After - East Bay St.

Before & After - East Bay St., Charleston, S.C.

I found the original on Civil War Photos: Charleston, SC Siege of Charleston 1865.

I am always impressed by how many more trees we have in the city streets than there used to be. It can make it hard to compare the buildings because they are so hidden by foliage.

Before & After - Snookies Little Sweet Shop

Bogard St., Charleston, S.C.

Ch-ch-changes!
Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace I'm going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time.

And just like that, Snookies Little Sweet Shop is no longer. Someone is living in a new aqua home in the spot it used to be in.

Before& After - East Bay St.

East Bay St., Charleston, S.C.

Another one of my favorite old ruins renovated without my permission. These folks did a lovely job so I can't hold it against them. ;)

I've been here, I've been there, I've been everywhere this week. I held my annual "gathering of the clans" training meetings for hospital volunteers. Just FYI, my volunteers at Roper St. Francis Healthcare did over 88,000 hours of service in 2010. Pretty impressive group of people. They don't like to come to meetings though, so I stoop to bribing them by promising desserts and door prizes. Heheh.

I don't like going to meetings myself but spent all day in Columbia doing just that. I sat there squirming knowing I should have offered to serve as President or sumthin' this year but whenever someone mentions the word "bylaws" I lapse into a coma and my eyes roll back in my head. I consider that a handicap. I try to pull my weight by taking all their photos. I think I deserve dessert and a door prize myself.

It's the weekend kids!

Before & After - St. Philip St.

St. Philip St., Charleston, S.C.

Can it be Monday already? The best weekends slip away too fast and this was a perfect one. Everyone was out enjoying the sunshine. Marion Square was filled with students laying on the grass enjoying the nice weather.

I finally got inside the renovated Dock St. theater to see Blue on Sunday afternoon (thanks Debby!) and then ended the weekend with good friends at the best table in the house at McCrady's. My friend Andre' recently retired as General Manager so it was like old home week and we were treated like royalty. Royalty at McCrady's gets treated pretty well! Yum.

This evening's photo is a Before & After scene on St. Philip St. For a long time there was a facade barely propped up. Now, suddenly there is a whole new house there.

Before & After - Warren St. Favorite

Warren St., Charleston, S.C.

I've had my eye on this sweetie on Warren St. for a long time. I assumed someone would buy it, fix it up and hand me the keys encouraging me to live happily every after. Oddly these people seem to have their own plans because I haven't been consulted at all. Hmmmmph.

Still, nice to see a beautiful old place getting some love.

Before & After - Rutledge Ave.

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

I walk enough to keep up with the changes in the neighborhood and it's my job to pass it along to you. This is the new Ashley Hall School building at the corner of Rutledge & Vanderhorst St.

Speaking of progress, I am slipping. Wired Mazagine published their list of The 10 Most Significant Gadgets of 2010 and I don't own a single one of them. Am I alone?

They are:

1. Apple iPad
2. Berkeley Bionics eLEGS
3. Microsoft Kinect
4. Windows Phone 7 on Samsung Focus
5. Sprint Evo 4G
6. Apple iPhone 4
7. MacBook Air
8. Samsung Galaxy Tab
9. Canon S95
10. Kindle 3

Before & After - Smith St.

192 Smith St., Charleston, S.C.

Once again I was not consulted about the renovations planned for this quirky property on upper Smith St. They have painted over the historically accurate (drug induced?) checkerboard porch ceiling. Happily they left the funky guard lions at the front door. Here is the real estate web site. I am sure they have done a fine job but I do wish I knew what it used to look like inside, don't you?

Old Rice Mill

Old Rice Mill, Charleston City Marina, Charleston, S.C.



It's a grand old building, isn't it? I don't often get to grab a picture from the water but this evening I was invited out for a sunset boat ride by Matt Galvin from Coastal Yacht Charters. What a perfect end to a day! Thanks Matt! It was such a treat to be out on the water.



The Rice Mill building doesn't look like it's changed much through the years. At one point I remember there was a restaurant on the first floor but now I believe it can be rented out for special occasions.

West Point Rice Mill was a small sliver of land protruding into the Ashley River in the 1830’s, when a steam-driven rice mill was built and powered by water from large areas of man-made pond. An 1859 fire destroyed the mill, which was replaced one year later with a structure that housed giant boilers and massive cylindrical shafts for grinding and brushing kernels into polished rice and flour. The 15-acre complex included separate shipping wharves, carpenters’ sheds and cooperage facilities, as well as new artesian wells for water supply.



For more than half a century, the West Point mill was among America’s largest and most productive, annually cranking out hundreds of thousands of barrels, and when a foundering rice business finally forced the facility to close in 1926, much of the oversized inventory was bought by Henry Ford for display at his Edison Institute antique museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Hang on, kids! Friday is coming.

Before & After - Spring St.

35 Spring St., Charleston, S.C.

I am enjoying these before and after features even if the changes don't always make me happy. This little shop on Spring St. went from wildly colorful to drab in preparation for selling. It has a big old barn of a house behind it that looks like it needs complete renovation.

The weekend is over almost before it has begun, kids and I'm not ready. As usual I try to cram all my chores into the last hour so clothes are in the wash and I'm sorting through a stack of bills.

I am uploading a zillion pictures taken this weekend from the Piccolo Art show to adorable kids at picnics and at the beach as well as some extraordinarily quirky finds from a long drive in the country. Seems like I've covered a lot of ground in two days.

Before & After - Snookies Little Sweet Shop

Snookies Little Sweet Shop, Bogard St., Charleston, S.C.

Marching down Bogard St. this evening I couldn't believe my eyes. Snookies Little Sweet Shop is gone, gone, gone. Completely wiped out. Break my heart gone.

It was never really a Sweet Shop but it could have been yet. I took a picture of it every time I did the Bogard route. Where is the Board of Architectural Review when I need it?

I am completely bummed. Snookies. Gone.

Before and After

First Scots Presbyterian Church, Meeting St., Charleston, S.C.

Another before and after scene on Meeting St. I had to scramble to stay a step ahead of the storm clouds on my walk this evening. The vintage postcard is from oldplaces.com.

Helped someone with a little prank this evening that I might not have thought through. Oops. I'll find out tomorrow.

Before & After - Market Building

Market Building, Charleston, S.C.

I don't have the right angle but I think this could be a fun "before and after" project. There is a treasure trove of vintage postcard scenes available online for almost every town. This smacks of a new treasure hunt. Check out this shot of the sunken gardens at Hampton Park.

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.

Before & After - South Battery

50 South Battery, Charleston, S.C.

We rented the little kitchen house behind this beautiful home the first year I lived in Charleston and my kids played at White Point Gardens every day. The elderly lady who owned the house had lovely plants on that glassed-in porch and her granddaughter was delighted to have kids on the property to play with when she visited. It has been spruced up and is subdivided into expensive condos now.

Funny, I just noticed that even the palm tree has been groomed. I may not have paid as much to live there as folks do today but the little monkeys making faces at the photographer added incredible value to the property in my opinion. ;)

Before & After - Bandstand

Bandstand, White Point Gardens, Charleston, S.C.

I am behind in bringing you the changes in the Holy City this winter but daylight savings time will take care of that. I walked a big loop of the peninsula this evening and still made it home before dark.

The White Point Garden bandstand renovations are complete and she is a sweetie! Paint Charleston Daily followed the progress and detailed construction. The Post & Courier reports that it could actually be used for bands again.

Interested in getting married in the shiny new bandstand? Premiere Charleston has the scoop: You can reserve the gazebo for a nominal fee – as little as $100 – for a party of up to 25 people. To reserve, contact the City of Charleston Recreation Department at (843) 724-7327.