Charleston, SC - America's greatest might-have-been

[Leo the Dog]

Awesome photos! My family and I used to spend many vacations in Charleston/Isle of Palms. I have pics of my siblings and I climbing all over the cannons at the Battery and strolling around the market.

Cat 4 Hurricane Hugo in 1989 absolutely devastated the city and the surrounding barrier islands. The eye wall made land fall in Charleston Harbor with sustained winds of 145 mph!

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by LSyd

yes, all of the south is nothing but rural backwater

Straw man. I suspect he meant most southern cities are more suburban.

[Shawn]

Thanks Cirrus, these are fantastic too!

I'll echo that Charleston feels more "Boston" to me because of the organic street pattern and general lack of a grid. Plus all the mansion gardens are quite similar to what you find in Beacon Hill.

I've found that Charleston deserves its reputation as a super friendly and polite place as well. Everyone came across as genuinely kind, as opposed to forced happiness for the tourists you run in to in lots of other places.

[phillyskyline]

The landscaping and hard scraping really stood out in your pics of this beautiful city.

[Nightsky]

Nice, like a small New Orleans!

[Architype]

Another great Southern city, you can feel the soul.
Canada is so far away, but I have to visit one day.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Shawn

Thanks Cirrus, these are fantastic too!

I'll echo that Charleston feels more "Boston" to me because of the organic street pattern and general lack of a grid. Plus all the mansion gardens are quite similar to what you find in Beacon Hill.

I was going to say that Charleston felt like a tiny southern bizarro Boston, but I was afraid that was weird.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

That 'might-have-been' city 'is' because it 'never did.' Had Charleston boomed over the past 60 years it might resemble Atlanta and not the gorgeous 'preserved-in-amber' city that it is today.

Always a treat. Thanks for sharing!

[L41A]

Originally Posted by pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce

That 'might-have-been' city 'is' because it 'never did.' Had Charleston boomed over the past 60 years it might resemble Atlanta and not the gorgeous 'preserved-in-amber' city that it is today.

Always a treat. Thanks for sharing!

I don't think it would have resembled Atlanta. There are too many differences between the two - starting with age. I don't see it resembling Atlanta no more than it might have resembled Philadelphia or Boston which seems more of a possibility to me.

[L41A]

Originally Posted by ColDayMan

You think Charleston is more of a museum city than Savannah? Weird that I thought the exact opposite. Charleston was more manicured, more 'historic sites,' more, well, Central Boston (every turn some monument/church/museum/slave house), than, say, a more 'organically organized' Savannah. Sure, Savannah is certainly more 'planned' than Charleston with the squares but Charleston felt more upper-crust, more 'don't touch this' than a moss-happy, almost New Orleansian Savannah. Probably due to SCAD's influence but I found Savannah far more 'real' overall than Charleston, which admittedly felt more touristy on the peninsula. Strangely, Charleston reminded me of Newport, Rhode Island than anywhere else but I totally see the Lower Manhattan/Boston thing.

Now NORTH Charleston on the other hand...

I also felt New Orleans-tinge of Savannah. They are both river cities (the Savannah -- the Mississippi). The hosting of large festivals (St. Patrick Day -- Mardi Gras, etc). And the general fun, carefree atmosphere (River Street -- Bourbon Street).

[STLgasm]

Delicious.

[KB0679]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

Savannah actually punches way above its weight economically, especially concerning the Port. Savannah is now the 3rd largest port on the east coast, more than twice the size of Charleston. More heavy industry and manufacturing are located in SAV. There are massive distribution centers for Target, Home Depot, IKEA, etc. Savannah is also the HQ's of General Dynamics Gulfstream division, with several thousand more employees than Boeing has in Charleston. They are pretty much equals in the Military area.

Savannah has certainly zoomed ahead of Charleston with the port, but overall, Charleston is much more well-rounded economically than Savannah. Boeing, which has only been in Charleston for about five years now, is simply the crown jewel of an aviation/aerospace cluster that's been in place for a long time now. There are at least five other sizable companies that round out that cluster in Charleston. On top of that, you have defense contracting, higher education (with a medical university, the nation's oldest municipal college, one of six senior military colleges in the nation, a law school, etc.), and medicine that help round out the local economy. The boom in manufacturing is why Charleston, in the past few years, has ranked highly on lists regarding the economy (http://www.areadevelopment.com/Leadi...-1445556.shtml, http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/ne...ng-jobs-growth, http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/ne...conomic-growth). Tech jobs are also on the rise, with Google recently announcing a $600 million expansion to its area facility, Benefitfocus's recent plans to add 300 new software engineering and professional jobs, and SPARC's recent plans to add 300 new IT jobs. And a lot of people don't know that the Charleston metro actually ranked first in the percentage increase of residents with a bachelor's degree or higher from 2000-2010. Charleston and Savannah have their similarities, but Charleston is definitely more jobs-oriented with a more professional vibe than Savannah.

[atlantaguy]

^ I certainly don't dispute any of this, and I am certainly happy for Charleston's success. I was attempting to point out the fact that the Port of Savannah is booming, there is an equal Military presence and that it is not a totally tourism driven economy in Savannah.

Charleston is also a much larger metro, at approximately 665,000 vs. Savannah's 355,000.

[Kingofthehill]

A national treasure.

[Lance]

I just returned this weekend from two weeks spent in Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, and St. Augustine. Your photo tour of Charleston is great and does justice to the city.

I have to confess it never occurred to me while I was in them to think about Charleston and Savannah relative to one another in which was "better". They each felt different, but most cities do, and they both felt decidedly unlike anything up north. Both embrace tourism to a degree you don't find too frequently, and I was there at the lowest of the low season. They both felt vibrant and alive, but like any city you didn't have to travel too far to find some pretty terrible sections as well. But both the downtowns had preserved the feeling of life that's lacking in so many others (like, say, Jacksonville).

[KB0679]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

^ I certainly don't dispute any of this, and I am certainly happy for Charleston's success. I was attempting to point out the fact that the Port of Savannah is booming, there is an equal Military presence and that it is not a totally tourism driven economy in Savannah.

Charleston is also a much larger metro, at approximately 665,000 vs. Savannah's 355,000.

Point taken.

[LSyd]

i was there today. it was awesome as usual.

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[10023]

Originally Posted by L41A

I don't think it would have resembled Atlanta. There are too many differences between the two - starting with age. I don't see it resembling Atlanta no more than it might have resembled Philadelphia or Boston which seems more of a possibility to me.

If Charleston had boomed over the past 60 years, then yes it might resemble Atlanta.

If it had boomed in the 60 years immediately following the Civil War (say 1870-1930), then it might look more like Boston (and perhaps even more like Chicago).

[Prahaboheme]

Charleston would not have looked anything like Atlanta, even if it boomed in the same manner over the last half 20th century. It's preservation ethic began in the early 20th century (1900-1930), largely due to one woman, Susan Pringle Frost, who rallied to save Charleston's historic colonial structures and raise a Nationalism movement there.

There is a reason Charleston is one of the best preserved Southern cities, and despite popular belief, it is not because Sherman marched around Charleston but not into it, or because it had a poor economy during boom eras (it didn't).

More here: http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/charles...eservation.htm

[Surrealplaces]

Charleston is a great place to visit. I've there a few times, but it's been too long.