Charleston: the details

Charleston is one of those cities that bears a closer look. As the tourists drove by in the horse-drawn trams and masses of school kids and scouts were taking tours, I was looking at the details. I have always loved taking close-ups of rusty hinges and plants and peeling buildings. My father used to tease me about them as I teased him about his pictures of sunsets and “Welcome to…” signs! Here are some details that you might enjoy…

There is a French Quarter of town and I think most of these photos were taken while I was wandering around there. The iron work was lovely. Who could not love this wheat sheaf gate?

And a heart and scroll gate.

The buildings often touch, but sometimes there is a secret passage between two houses, with gates and decorative ironwork.

And the corbels. I am a great fan of these. Many parts of Charleston have gas lights which are such a pretty sight in the evening.

Everywhere you look there is eye candy.

 

I am in awe and so grateful to the people who own these amazing homes. I grew up in a very old home, and my father was constantly sanding and painting. The original wooden floors were difficult to take care of, never mind full of splinters and I remember my mother’s spike heels (!) getting caught in them. And the plaster walls were so uneven that we always had to wallpaper them. I am sure that the historic district by-laws are daunting and those of us who visit are lucky that there are so many people willing to keep up their beautiful Charleston homes for us to enjoy…

 

N.B. I discovered that the pink house that I photographed in my last post is called The Pink House and it was originally a tavern built in the early 1700’s!