About Charleston SC
Charleston is the oldest and biggest city in South Carolina. It currently serves as the county seat of Charleston County and is the principal city in the Charleston – Summerville – North Charleston Metropolitan region. The City of Charleston is situated on the Southern end of the state’s coastlands geographical midpoint. It was first established as Charles Town in honor of King Charles II of Great Britain. Its first location was Albermale Point that lied on western shore of Ashley River. In 1680, this site was abandoned for the present one, and Charles Town soon emerged as one of the biggest cities in North America. In spite of its relatively massive size, Charles Town stayed unincorporated all through the colonial era.
When it was finally incorporated in 1783 at the culmination of the American Revolutionary War, its name was changed to Charleston. Charleston had the distinction of being the only key antebellum city in the US, which possessed a majority enslaved population. Nowadays this South Carolina city is famous for its rich and eventful history, well preserved architecture, trendy eateries and the hospitality of its population. All this makes Charleston a very popular tourist destination in the country. In 2016, Travel + Leisure magazine rated it as the ‘World’s Best City.’
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The City of Charleston has a very distinctive cultural outlook that combines southern, English, French and western Africa traditions. Its downtown area has a staunch reputation for prominence in the arts, music, fashion and even the famous local cuisine. The oldest community theater company in the state; the Footlight Players has being operational in the city ever since the mid 20th century. Charleston boasts of numerous leading performing arts venues including the historic Dock Street Theatre. This theatre is home to the Charleston Stage Company, which is the state’s biggest professional theater company.
The city is famous as well for hosting a good number of annual festivals that draw both locals and visitors in huge crowds. This includes the Spoleto Festival USA, which is a 17 day event that features more than 100 performances. The Spoleto Festival USA is globally recognized as the country’s premier performing arts festival. Charleston also hosts the Charleston Fashion Week on a yearly basis. Other notable events are the Historic Festival of Houses & Gardens, Charleston Antiques Show, the Cooper River Bridge Run, Charleston Marathon, Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and Charleston Food & Wine Festival. This city is famous for its seafood as well, which plays an integral role on the local cuisine.
Magnolia Plantations & Gardens
The Magnolia Plantations & Gardens was established by the famous Drayton family way back in the 17th century, and is one of the oldest plantations in America South. Its exquisite gardens were first opened to the general public close to the end of the 19th century, to be more specific in 1870. The original plantation house, built before the Civil War, was restored and is currently as a museum. The programs it offers reflect on the Magnolia Plantations’ African American heritage including slavery. Some of the highlights of paying a visit here include taking the marsh boat tour, nature train or exploring the wildlife area and petting zoo. The grounds themselves come complete with a number of fascinating gardens. This includes the Barbados Tropical Garden, the Biblical Garden, the Cattail Wildlife Refuge the bird observation tower to name but a few. Not forgetting the Cypress Lake, which showcases 100 year old bald cypress trees.
South Carolina Aquarium
Situated in the historic Charleston Harbor, the South Carolina Aquarium is, without question, one of the most popular attractions of this city. It is home to over 10,000 marine life species including plants. In the context of sea animals, visitors get to see sea otters, seals, sharks, penguins, seahorses and more. The South Carolina Aquarium’s Great Ocean Tank, a key attraction, spans over 2 different floors, and houses 700 different sea animals. Some of the notable are tiger sharks and sting rays. The South Carolina Aquarium also offers interactive dive shows and is nationally acclaimed for its animal programs as well as conservation workshops.
Charleston Music Hall
Located in Charleston downtown area, the Charleston Music Hall plays hosts to a varied selection of entertainment including musical, artistic and theatrical performances. It was constructed in 1849, and was first designed to be a passenger station for the South Carolina Railway. The building was left abandoned after the infamous Charleston earthquake, which occurred in 1889. After a long period of 60 years that followed after this tragedy, it was converted into a performing arts venue in 1995.
Charleston Museum
The Charleston Museum was established just before the turn of the 19th century, 1773 to be more exact, and has the privileged distinction of being the very first museum in the US. Since its founding, its mission is to let the public explore the natural and cultural history of the city and the South Carolinian coastlands in general. The Charleston Museum houses several collections of interest, which amply showcase the deep heritage of this region of the country. The museum is spread over 2 buildings; the Heyward – Washington House and the Joseph Manigault House. The first is notable for being once the home of Thomas Heyward Jnr. who a signee in the famous ‘Declaration of Independence.’ While the Joseph Manigault House is a federal style home.
Theatre 99
Theatre 99 is a Charleston comedy club that is situated in the downtown area. It showcases original and budding comedians thrice a week. This performing arts venue boasts of a wide range of humor oriented entertainment that includes sketch, cabaret, music and standup comedy shows
Middleton Place
Middleton Place was previously the main residence of generations of the Middleton clan. This was a leading family in the state during the colonial and even antebellum epoch. It can accurately be termed as a sprawling plantation, which is located in Dorchester County, and has since been turned into a National Historic Landmark. Middleton Place is home to the country’s oldest landscaped gardens, and was built in the mid 18th century. It now boasts of a collection of furniture, portraits, rare books, silver and many other curious exhibits. All of which showcase the grand history of a house that remained under a single family for more than 300 years.
Nathaniel Russell House Museum
The Nathaniel Russell House Museum is renowned for its neo-classical architectural style, and was constructed by Nathaniel Russell at the turn of the 19th century. Russell was an affluent ship merchant. The interior of the building has since being totally restored, and together with the gardens, has been made a National Historic Landmark. This Charleston museum showcases a collection of fine arts and decorative arts exhibits dating from the 18th and 19th century.
Charleston City Market
This market has the distinction of being one of the oldest of its kind in the United States. The Charleston City Market is noted for being one of the most popular cultural hubs of this South Carolinian port city. More than 300 local entrepreneurs offer their various wares here on a daily basis all through the year. This includes arts and crafts, antiques, clothing, collectibles, jewelry and more. The Charleston City Market occupies a big space in which the ‘Market Hall’ takes a prominent position. This is a Greek revival style building. This public market also comes with 3 open air shed where you can be able to purchase a motley of items. The Charleston City Market is also renowned for hosting the trendy ‘night market,’ that is held from Thursday all through to Sunday.