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"REAL Charleston News - Spring/Summer 2009"
WHAT'S GOING ON IN
CHARLESTON...
Spring time is
flower time in Charleston, as the city and surrounding area
flourishes with the vibrant colors of azaleas, camellias, fringe
trees, iris, red bud, blue bells, anemones and Jessamine. The
charming town of Summerville presents its annual Flowertown
Festival, April 3-5, with more than 200 guest artisans and
gardens bursting with blooms. The family-oriented event features
displays of arts and crafts in a pedestrian atmosphere amid
grand gardens that date to the 19th century. For information
call 843-871-9622.
Breathtaking Charleston views are just that in the annual Cooper
River Bridge Run on April 4th. The 10-K road race is one of the
most prestigious in the country, and attracts more than 30,000
participants each year for the mesmerizing course across the
stunning Arthur D. Ravenel, Jr. bridge. Walkers are also invited
to participate and enjoy the dazzling views from atop the
150-foot high roadway overlooking the city and Charleston
Harbor. Pre-registration is required, call 843-937-4183, or go
online at www.bridgerun.com.
Join in the celebration of Charleston’s 339th birthday at the
Founder’s Day Festival, April 11th at Charles Towne Landing
State Historic Site. The full-day event will include reenactors
in the replicated colonial settlement, firing of black powder
cannon and muskets, and the chance to board a reproduction 17th
century sailing vessel. The original colony of Carolina was
located at this site back in 1670, and today’s park includes an
animal forest of indigenous creatures that those settlers would
have encountered. For ticket information call 843-852-4200 or go
online at www.CharlestowneLanding.Travel.
World-class tennis is centerpiece of the exciting Family Circle
Cup on Daniel Island, April 11-19, featuring top women’s
professionals from around the world. More than $1 million in
prize money is at stake for an all-star event that has showcased
a fabulous line up of past champions, including Steffi Graf,
Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams. Center
court in the state-of-the-art, 10,200-seat Family Circle
Magazine Stadium is an incomparable sporting experience. For
ticket information call toll free at 800=677-2293, or go online
at www.familycirclecup.com.
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listings, please visit
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For a classic taste
of a coastal fishing village tradition, try the Blessing of the
Fleet and Seafood Festival, April 26th and Alhambra Hall Park in
Mount Pleasant. The event includes seafood dishes from more than
11 local seafood restaurants and live music for the whole
family. The highlight of the festival is the parade of passing
shrimp trawlers as they are blessed by local clergy in hopes of
a successful catching season. For more information, call
843-849-2061.
Charleston’s heralded Spoleto Festival USA opens its 33rd
consecutive season with 17 days and nights of music, theater and
visual arts at intriguing venues throughout the city, May 22nd –
June 7th. This acclaimed ensemble of renowned and emerging
artists includes chamber music, opera, dance, symphonic, choral
and jazz music, capped by a dazzling fireworks and outdoor
orchestral performance at historic Middleton Place Gardens. For
ticket information, call 843-579-3100, or go online at
www.spoletousa.org.
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CHARLESTON
OUTDOORS -
Francis Beidler
Forest
You may not believe
the swamp is a beautiful place – until a visit to Francis
Beidler Forest 35 miles from the city near Harleyville. A 1.75
boardwalk hiking trail takes visitors deep into the heart of one
of America’s oldest stands of virgin bald cypress, with hundreds
of giant trees more than 1,000 years old. Under the towering
cypress canopy, the sparkling fresh waters of Four Hole Swamp
create a life source for countless visible species, including
deer, turtles, crayfish, woodpeckers, alligators and songbirds.
More than 15,000 pristine acres also includes high ground with
flourishing ferns and wildflowers, as well as a canoe trail for
paddlers. The forest visitor center features maps, wildlife and
arboreal displays, as well as information on regular guided
tours that include bird-watching, night walks and “swamp stomps”
into the watery realm. The Francis Beidler swamp area serves as
a natural filtration system for Charleston’s watershed, its
waters developing a tea-like color from tannins absorbed from
fallen leaves. Although known as “black water”, it is some of
the cleanest and purest water in the world, and a century ago
was highly-favored by moonshiners hiding in the swamp. For
information and directions, call 843-462-2150 or go online at
www.scaudubon.org/centers.
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CHARLESTON EXPLORER - Francis Marion
One of the area’s
most uniquely amazing experiences is the chance to see the
Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley up close at the Warren Lasch
Conservation Center in North Charleston. The famed Hunley
embarked on the first successful submarine attack in history,
sinking the federal blockading vessel Housatonic on February 17,
1864, and did not surface again until recovered intact on August
8, 2000. The cause of the Hunley’s disappearance was a mystery,
but the submarine that was considered lost remained incredibly
well-preserved beneath layers of mud four miles from Charleston
Harbor, and today, scientists are unlocking its secrets are in
the massive conservation tank where the vessel is clearly
visible. The Hunley is a visual marvel far ahead of its time,
with tapered bows, dive planes, dead lights and conning towers
looming like a craft from science fiction. The center also
features artifact displays from the submarine and its famous
crew, as well as state-of-the-art simulation of the heralded
Civil War attack. Tours are available on weekends only, and all
proceeds go to conservation of the vessel. For information,
directions and schedules, call 843-743-4865 or go online at
www.hunley.org.
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CHARLESTON ARCHITECTURE -
John Rutledge House
One of Charleston’s finest structures represents a combination
of architectural designs and skills, as well as a healthy dose
of good luck. The John Rutledge house on Broad Street was built
in 1763 in a Georgian style with Greek Revival detail by the man
who would become South Carolina’s first governor. A later owner
remodeled the house in 1853, adding elaborate terra cotta window
cornices and its notable balcony, step rails and fence created
by famed Charleston iron smith Christopher Werner. Parts of the
work are fashioned by hand, while others are cast, and include
details emblems of the state tree, the Palmetto, and the
American eagle. Further remodeling in 1885 featured eight
Italian marble mantels and parquet flooring fashioned after
European palaces that took eight years to complete. The fact
that all this finery exists today involves luck in two separate
eras. During the Civil War, Charleston’s great fire of 1861
swept dangerously close to the house, engulfing the St. Andrews
Society Hall next door. In 1961, the Gaud School for boys moved
in with a fusillade of youngsters’ pranks, graffiti and
spitballs, but the grand interior endured. Today, the structure
is home to the Rutledge House Inn.
Find out more about Charleston's most famous addresses...
Real Estate Update - March 2009
CHARLESTON, SC—(March 10, 2009) The tri-county residential real
estate market remained stable month-to-month, with 363 sales
closing in the month of February—a variable dip from January’s
372 closings. The median sale price for the region rebounded
from January’s low, climbing 4%, to $183,180.
Year-over-year statistics continued to show a slower pace of
sales, with 43% less sales compared with February 2008’s 636
closed transactions, and an 8% decrease in the region’s median
sale price, which sat at $200,000 a year ago.
The number of potential buyers continued to rise and showed the
fifth consecutive month of increased showings—a total of 18,212
for the month.
There are 10,051 homes currently listed for sale with the
Charleston Trident Multiple Listing Service.
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