Charleston architecture and some beautiful gardens

Well, Hello, anybody still there! I’m sorry for the extended absence, but spring, well…. that and a bad back has wiped me out recently, so I apologize for my lack of posts.  But I’m back, pun intended 🙂 at it with a long delayed Charleston post.  If you remember, hubby and I visited Charleston last month and I still have a ton of photos to share with you.

One thing that makes Charleston very interesting, is that any building older than 75 years is not allowed to be torn down and therefore they have many historical homes and businesses in the downtown core.  Also, high-rises are not permitted, which means their core retains its charm and small town feel.

DSC_0004 DSC_0006 DSC_0027 DSC_0029 IMG_0600 IMG_0700

Even partial walls aren’t torn down as shown where it has been incorporated into a newer building.

DSC_0024

And here where it is used in the garden area of a restaurant/bar that we happened upon. I wonder how old those bricks are?

DSC_0033

Some beautiful homes around town.

IMG_8616

The home above shows what is referred to as a Single Home in Charleston.  What looks like the main door from the street actually only leads to a long covered porch (called a piazza).  The piazza looks out onto the side yard and the house is actually very long but only one room deep.  This was a pre-electricity version of air conditioning, so that any breezes flowed through the rooms from the windows to the piazza.

IMG_0696

IMG_0695

IMG_0694 IMG_0689 IMG_0688 IMG_0687 IMG_0617 IMG_0611

IMG_8612

Rainbow Row for obvious reasons 🙂

IMG_0639 IMG_0640 IMG_0704

April is the best month to visit Charleston, as told to us by the many guides we had the pleasure of listening to, as from May to September the weather becomes exceedingly hot and humid and doesn’t let up until October.  The flowers were in bloom which was a sight for my sore eyes, after looking at loads of white stuff for the last 5 months. DSC_0036 IMG_0625 IMG_8577 IMG_8601 IMG_8602 IMG_8609

Do you see the black round metal piece above the window here? It’s actually a bolt that holds a giant screw that goes through the entire home to eliminate and/or prevent any earthquake damage.  These bolts are in many, many buildings in Charleston as they are on a fault line.

And did you notice that black is a very popular exterior trim colour?

Lisa

 

 

Charming Southern Iron Work

A few weeks ago, my hubby and I were in Charleston, South Carolina.  I had not been to Southern Carolina before and I had always imagined it as a gentile, historical, civilized place and I was not disappointed….Mint Julips anyone? The weather was perfect, sunny, warm and with a gentle breeze.

DSC_0016

I’ll be doing a few posts on Charleston as it would make one very looooonnnnng post if I included everything in one.  As usual, I took many architectural photos of homes and the iron work that is all over Charleston, so for this post I’ll be focusing on the beautiful ironwork that is all over the city.

 Lots of it was done by the blacksmith and iron work artist, Philip Simmons.  Unfortunately, many of the original iron work was melted during the War between the States (as the Civil War is referred to in Charleston).

DSC_0034

There’s a definite European feel to Charleston, with their quaint little alleyways and cobblestone streets.  I also had a strong sense of deja vu, since sometimes I felt like I was back in New Orleans.

DSC_0041

This was an exterior bar at the back of a restaurant that was so charming in it’s use of salvaged materials, that I just had to take a picture. Note the various pieces of iron work that are placed on the face of the bar.  Each is so intricate and beautiful on their own.

DSC_0030

This grill below was in the middle of a large hedge that bordered a property.  It looks very old to me.

DSC_0037 IMG_0702 IMG_8554

This very fancy and scrolly (is that a word?) ironwork was on a very old theatre (sorry forgot the name) in the city centre.

IMG_8569 IMG_8582

The gated entrance to a private residence from their car port.  And below, a gated side garden on one of the large homes that we toured past.

IMG_8601

Families’ mottos were often included in the iron work gates and grills, to show what their business was. For example,the tobacconist would have a pipe in his gate.  Unfortunately, my photo of this particular gate did not turn out…I hate that.

Next up, some architecture around town.

Lisa