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During the 18th and 19th centuries, Charleston was the cultural and economic center of the South. Wars have been fought, fires, hurricanes and earthquakes have ravaged landscape and architecture, but nothing has crippled the spirit of this great city. Explore the history, charm, and hospitality of Charleston. Historic Homes Six Charleston house museums offer visitors unique adventures "behind closed doors." They offer a fascinating glimpse of the style and sophistication of the city's interiors. Aiken-Rhett Mansion 48 Elizabeth Street, 723-1159 This mansion was first erected in 1817 and later enlarged by Governor William Aiken in the 1830s. Some rooms in this house still bear the original paint and wallpaper. Confederate President Jefferson Davis visited the home in 1836, and it served as confederate General Beauregard's headquarters the following year. This mansion consists of some of the finest rooms of the Greek Revival and Rococo styles in Charleston. It is open for tours Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Admission is $8.00 for adults and children age 7 and older. $14 combination ticket to Nathanial Russell House. 1 hour free parking in neighborhood. Last tour is at 4:15 p.m. Edmondston-Alston House 21 East Battery, 722-7171 Charles Edmondston, a wealthy merchant and wharf owner, built this dwelling in 1828. Later the house was bought by Colonel William Alston, a rice planter. The house is notable for its unusual Regency woodwork and its uncompromising views. The intimacy and authentic details of the house may leave guests feeling as if the Alstons have only recently left the property! Tours are offered daily, Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Sundays, 1:30 p.m to 4:30 p.m.; and Mondays, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $10.00 for adults, $8.00 for ages 7 to college. Exchange Building/Provost Dungeon 122 East Bay Street, 727-2165 On this site has stood a public building central to the life of the city since Charleston was settled at its present location in 1680. The Old Exchange was originally used as a customs house. It became the social, political and economic hub of Charleston. The Provost Dungeon was used by the British to confine political and military prisoners during the Revolution. Open Monday-Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $7.00 for adults and $3.50 for children age 7-12, and $3.50 for students with ID. Heyward-Washington House 87 Church Street, 722-0354 A national landmark, this house was built in 1772 by Daniel Heyward, a wealthy rice planter and father of Thomas Heyward, Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence for South Carolina. In 1791, when President George Washington made a grand tour of the new nation and included Charleston on his itinerary, the city rented Heyward's house for Washington's accommodation. Look for the famous Holmes bookcase that still bears the scars of an incoming British mortar from the days of the American Revolution. The tours are offered Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children 5 and under. The Charleston Museum oversees this site and also provides discounted combination tickets. Joseph Manigault House 350 Meeting Street, 723-2926 This national landmark was the first Adam-style house in Charleston, designed by Charleston architect Gabriel Manigault and completed in 1803. The house has been recently restored and furnished with outstanding collections of Charleston, American, English, and French period pieces. The house is distinguished by one of the most graceful staircases in the city. The tours are from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday; 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sunday. Admission is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children 12 and under. The Charleston Museum oversees this site and also provides discounted combination tickets. The last tour is at 4:30 pm. Tours are at the hour and 1/2 hour. Combination tickets available with the Charleston Museum, Heyward-Washington House, and Joseph Manigault House. (Double ticket for $16 includes this house with either the museum or Heyward-Washington House; Triple for $22 includes Joseph Manigault, Heyward-Washington, and museum). Nathaniel Russell House 51 Meeting Street, 723-1623 Nathaniel Russell, the prominent shipping merchant, built his home overlooking the sea that brought him his wealth. His home beautifully exemplifies Adam architecture. This mansion, completed in 1809, features an astonishing flying staircase and period furniture. The house is open for tours Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $10.00; $16.00 combination ticket if purchased in conjunction with an Aiken-Rhett Mansion ticket. Group discounts available (12 or more). The last tour is between 4:00 and 4:15 p.m. Plantations Much of the wealth and sophistication of Charleston in the 18th and 19th centuries was derived from the plantation system. Enjoy the antiquity and charm of these "towers of strength." Boone Hall 8 miles North of Charleston on US Hwy 17, Mt. Pleasant, 884-4371 Originally a cotton plantation covering 17,000 acres, this site has a magnificent Live Oak Avenue, planted in 1743. Original plantation buildings include nine slave cabins and a gin house, used to process cotton. Tours are given April 1-Labor Day, Monday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Labor Day-March 31st tours are Monday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and Sundays 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $17.50 for adults, $15.00 for senior citizens, and $7.50 for children age 6-12. Drayton Hall SC Hwy 61, 766-0188 This National Historic Landmark is one of the most important examples of Georgian-Palladian architecture in the country. Built between 1738 and 1742, the house resembles an English Country Villa. It is the only plantation home in the district to have survived both the War of Independence and the War between the States. Tours are offered June 1- August 31st 8:30am-4pm; September 1- October 31st 9:30am-4pm; November 1- February 28th 9:30am-3pm. Admission is $14.00 for adults, $10.00 for children age 12-18, and $6.00 for children age 6-11, children 5 and under are free. Discounts are available to military personnel and AAA members. Magnolia Plantation and Gardens SC Hwy 61, 571-1266 America's oldest garden, this plantation has one of the largest collections of camellias and azaleas in the country. It has been the residence of 10 generations of Drayton descendants since the 1670's. The original house burned shortly after the Revolution. The original garden is the oldest major informal garden in the country. The property is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is $13.00 for adults and $7.00 for children age 6-12.; $12.00 Senior rate. Yearly passes for swamp and garden are available at $55; families at $75.00. Bicycles are permitted. Middleton Place SC Hwy 61, 556-6020 This plantation was laid out in 1741 by Henry Middleton, President of the First Continental Congress. He was influenced by the French to design a formal, geometric design. Middleton Place offers spectacular views of the Ashley River from the high terraces of the gardens. Middleton Place is open daily. Hours of operation are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for the gardens and stables. The House Tours begin at 10:00 a.m., except on Mondays when they begin at 12:00 p.m. Admission is $25.00 for adults and $5.00 for children age 7-15. House tour is an additional $10.00. Yearly memberships are available. Last tour is at 4:30 p.m. From June 14 to Labor Day, children (up to age 15) free with paying adult for gardens. Theaters The Dock Street Theatre 135 Church Street, 723-5648 This Theatre was the first American playhouse. The original building was built in 1736. Events such as the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Robert Ivy Ballet and Chopstick Theater use the Dock Street Theatre for their productions. Hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Box office hours are Monday-Saturday 10:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. on performance days. Footlight Players 20 Queen Street, 722-7521 This community theater began in 1931 and is housed in a revamped warehouse on Queen Street. It sponsors local productions of the highest caliber including musicals, mysteries, topical plays, and popular appeal productions. Historic Forts Among the most visited attractions in the Lowcountry are the area's famous forts--standing today in testimony to the strategic role Charleston Harbor has played during the past 300 years. Fort Moultrie West Middle Street, Sullivan's Island, 883-3123 In its 171-year history, Fort Moultrie has defended Charleston Harbor twice. The original palmetto log fort was attacked during the Revolutionary War when a British fleet was driven off in a 9-hour battle and Charleston was saved from British occupation. The second time the fort defended the city was during the Civil War. For two years, the Charleston forts were bombarded from both land and sea, but the forts were able to hold back the Union attacks. Fort Moultrie is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $1.00 for seniors 62 and older, and children 16 and under are free. $5.00 max per family. Tours available 7 days a week year round, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. Fort Sumter 722-1691 This fort is built on a man-made island and was still under construction in 1860 when the Union troops were moved into it. On April 12, 1861, the first shots of the Civil War were fired from Fort Johnson to Fort Sumter by the Confederates; the War Between the States had begun! Confederate troops held Fort Sumter for the next 27 months. In the end, the Confederates abandoned Fort Sumter, yet they never formally surrendered. Admission is $15.00 for adults; $8.00 for children age 6-11; $12.50 for seniors. Tours depart from Liberty Square, next to the South Carolina Aquarium at the end of Calhoun, 9:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. Tours depart from Patriots Point at 10:45 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. Easter weekend through Labor Day. (Call for boat schedules for the off-season at 1-800-789-3678 or 881-7337). If you boat to Fort Sumter yourself, admission is free. Museums Charleston Museum 360 Meeting Street, 722-2996 Founded in 1773, the Charleston Museum is the oldest museum in America. The museum’s scope is the social and natural history of Charleston and the South Carolina coastal region. Some artifacts date from the early colonial period while others are from the Civil War years. Hours of operation are Monday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Sunday, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children age 3-12. Combination tickets are available for the museum, the Heyward-Washington House and the Joseph Manigault House. A two site combo ticket is $16.00, and a three site ticket is $22.00. Group rates are available. Museum members are free. Limited free parking in museum parking lot off John St. Gibbes Museum of Art 135 Meeting Street, 722-2706 Established in 1905, the Gibbes Museum represents what is very close to an unbroken stream of uplifting experiences in art. The collection includes American paintings, prints, and drawings from the 18th century to the present. There are landscapes, genre scenes, views of Charleston, and portraits of notable South Carolinians. Hours of operation are Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; closed Monday; Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $9.00 adults, $7.00 students, seniors, and military; $5.00 children age 6-18. Members are free. Patriots Point 40 Patriots Point Road, Mt. Pleasant, 884-2727 The world’s largest Naval and Maritime Museum is a short drive across the Cooper River Bridge. The museum includes the aircraft carrier Yorktown, nuclear merchant ship Savannah, WWII submarine Clagmore, destroyer Laffey, and Coast Guard cutter Ingham. Admission is $15.00 for adults and $8.00 for children ages 6-11. Children 6 and under are free. Open daily except Christmas from 9-6pm Postal History Museum Meeting and Broad Streets Housed in a special room inside the Charleston Post Office, this Museum is a must for Philatelists! Not only does it display interesting tidbits of postal history associated with Colonial Charleston, it is also a great excuse to view the elaborately detailed 1896 post office building. Free admission. Miscellaneous Charles Towne Landing SC Hwy 171, 852-4200 One of the most unusual state parks in South Carolina, Charles Towne Landing recreates the first English settlement in the Carolinas, which occurred on this plantation site in 1670. On-site is an Animal Forest, a 20-acre natural habitat zoo which features animals living in the Lowcountry in the 1670’s, including wolves, puma, bears, bison, foxes, and alligators. Hours are 9:00am to 5:00pm daily. Admission is $5.00 for adults, $3.50 for South Carolina seniors over 65; $5.00 for out of state seniors, students with I.D. and children ages 6-15 are $3.00, children 5 and under are free.
If you have a love for aquatic environments but also long for the splendor of a forest, Cypress Gardens is the place for you. This cypress swamp is a park owned and operated by the City of Charleston which has trails for hiking and flat-bottom boats for touring the forest. Its black waters and flowering azaleas, dogwoods and wisteria show true Southern beauty. It is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Admission for adults is $10.00, seniors $9.00, and children age 6-12 $5.00, and children age 5 and under free admission. Guide for swamps (about a 30 min. tour). Francis Marion National Forest US Hwy 17 North, 336-3248, 887-3257 This quarter-million-acre forest once hosted the legendary Gen. Francis Marion - the Swamp Fox - and his troops as he fought Col. Banastre Tarleton's British Troops during the American Revolution. Today visitors enjoy picnicking, camping, fishing, rifle ranges, hiking, horse and motorbike trails, and boat ramps. Admission is free.
This is the world’s first successful submarine and also the first submarine ever to sink an enemy ship. Shortly after it sank the Warship USS Housatonic during the Civil War on Feb. 17, 1864 it disappeared in Charleston waters. It was found in 1995 and then revealed on Aug. 8, 2000 after being lost at sea for 137 years. Tours given on Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets $12 at door. Children 5 and under are free. Call 1-877-448-6539 (1-877-4HUNLEY) or visit www.etix.com. Walk-up tickets are first come/first serve. The South Carolina Aquarium At the end of Calhoun St. on Charleston Harbor, 720-1990, www.scaquarium.org Charleston’s most visited attraction! Come see the Great Ocean Tank; 1,700 gallon touch tank; Discovery Lab exhibits; Mountain Forest Exhibit; Saltmarsh Exhibit and more. Hours from April 1 to August 15 are Monday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 6 p.m. (last ticket sold at 5 p.m.). From August 16 to March 31 hours are Monday-Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (last ticket sold at 4 p.m.). Admission is $16.00 for adults ages 12 to 61; $14.00 Seniors (62 and over); $8.00 Youth/Child age 3 to 11. Parking is available in the municipal garage on Calhoun St. Festivals Spoleto Festival U.S.A. Spoleto is part of the Festival of Two Worlds created in 1958 by Pulitzer Prize Winning composer and director Gian Carlo Menotti, and presented each year in Charleston, SC and Spoleto, Italy. This festival is an interdisciplinary arts festival held the last week of May and the first week of June that brings young American artists in contact with artists from all over the world. It is an explosion of opera, jazz, theater, and dance exploring the famous and traditional as well as the new and the avant garde. This festival brings approximately 150,000 visitors to the Charleston area annually. Call 722-2764 to request a brochure or 579-3100 for tickets. Piccolo Spoleto Piccolo Spoleto is the City of Charleston's official companion festival to the internationally acclaimed Spoleto Festival USA. Piccolo focuses on the best of local and regional talent from every artistic discipline and includes a variety of performances ranging from chamber music to provocative theater, to experimental dance, to visual arts. Admission to Piccolo Spoleto events is less expensive than the Spoleto events. Call the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs at 724-7305 to order a brochure or for ticket sales and prices. The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition The largest wildlife arts, crafts, and collectibles show in the South, bringing over 44,000 visitors to the area each February. For more information, contact the Southeastern Management Office at 723-1748. www.sewe.com MOJA Arts Festival "MOJA" is a Swahili word meaning "one" and "unity" or "the source" and "the beginning". Held in September, this festival is the Lowcountry's celebration of the rich and wonderful heritage from the African and Caribbean cultures. This 16-day performance schedule offers exciting theatre, visual arts, dance, music, films and lectures. For more information, call the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs at 724-7305. |