Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 26, 1993 TAG: 9312250001
SECTION: TRAVEL PAGE: F-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By ELIZABETH GUNN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Established on its peninsula by 1680, Charleston quickly became prosperous, and a major force among the American Colonies. It mounted its own version of the Boston Tea Party, and was home to four signers of the Declaration of Independence. Blessed with year-round good weather and a great natural seaport, the city soon boasted a number of merchant princes, with fortunes based on rice and indigo. The first shot of the Civil War was fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
Hundreds of antebellum buildings have been preserved; 73 predate the Revolution. Most are still in use; the Charleston peninsula is a living outdoor museum of American History. A thriving local tourism industry makes it all easy to see, with tours by boat, bus, trolley, horse-drawn carriage, pedicab and bike.
But the best way to see Charleston is on foot. The stately homes and gardens are shaded by huge old trees; a mellow light plays over cobblestones and burnished antique brass. Often, the houses are quite close to the street, with hammered ironwork fences and gates, and pineapple finials on the corner posts. Built long before air conditioning, they turn toward the prevailing sea breeze; on the side walls, two or three stories of gingerbread-trimmed porches face a private garden. The yards are charming, with dogwood, wisteria, azaleas and Japanese maples.
The whole historic section is a federally designated National Historic Landmark. Besides having long, colorful histories, most buildings exhibit elegance of design, rigorous construction technique and meticulous restoration. Except for a handful of houses that have been set aside as museums, they are all lived in. Guides offer walking tours, or you can find your own way around with the help of a booklet called ``The Complete Walking Tour of Historic Charleston'' that's for sale at the visitors center.
No house better epitomizes Charleston elegance than the Nathaniel Russell House, a big brick wonder built in 1808, with a cantilevered spiral staircase that defies gravity for three breathtaking floors. Its gardens are shady and inviting, with dozens of varieties of azaleas, roses, pansies and pinks, and towering magnolia trees. On a brick walk outside the kitchen sits an antique joggling board, a Charleston invention for amusing children in earlier times; about halfway between a teeter-totter and a swing, it's fastidiously balanced, painted and polished.
Founded as a commercial venture, Charleston was a haven of religious tolerance, and has so many churches, of every religion, that it's sometimes called ``The Holy City.'' The Huguenot Church, with its medieval-looking battlements, houses the only active Huguenot congregation in the United States. In the graveyard of the Congregational Church, photographers go mildly crazy trying to capture the play of patterns in its tall gravestones, round brick walls and square turret. The First Scots Presbyterian Church, with modest white pews, clean varnished pine floors and neat small organ in an unornamented choir loft, seems like the ideal place to sit and think things through.
Ancient, colorful Market Hall, downtown on Meeting Street, affords a kaleidoscopic view of Charleston tourism: crowds of people taking carriage tours, thronging the stalls filled with food and crafts and bargaining for the unique Charleston baskets woven from the tough grass of Low Country marshes. Each weaver has her own patterns, and her own selling style, too, and competition is fierce.
Besieged, bombarded and occupied in war, Charleston has been battered by nature as well, with an earthquake, several big fires and major hurricanes in 1885, 1893, and 1987. Somehow, the city pulls itself back together after each onslaught. Some buildings seem to hang on out of habit. The oldest public building in town is the Old Powder Magazine, built of brick and tabby (oyster-shell cement) in 1712. It looks as if it might crumble, but its 32-inch-thick walls have held against the worst that Fate has thrown against them.
Legends and ghost stories are layered into local history. Stede Bonnet, a ferocious pre-Revolutionary pirate who was hanged and buried below low-water mark (the ultimate insult), is a busy ghost, and there are so many other restless spirits that one company offers a ``ghost tour.''
If interest in architecture and history begins to flag, miles of white sand beaches, a fleet of charter fishing boats, and 70 area golf courses provide plenty of alternatives. A bus ride to one of the authentic 18th-century plantations in the nearby countryside is a treat for all ages. Take a boat ride to Fort Sumter out in the bay, or enjoy the bay view from Waterfront Park, where a showy pineapple-shaped fountain splashes in the middle of a flower bed and a big six-sided tiled area with water jets attracts a crowd of running, laughing children.
Charleston is a fascinating mix of old-timey Southern charm and hip modern merchandizing. The desire to please seems to be universal; people are helpful and pleasant, never too busy to talk. Small enough to feel easy, big enough to offer sophisticated amenities and service, Charleston is worth several visits.
Elizabeth Gunn is a free-lance travel writer who lives in Key Largo, Fla.
by CNB