There was no plan on these shots. They were taken while wandering through the house looking for my preferred wide landscape style shot.
I had photographed these rooms before which was why I passed by. What I hadn’t considered was how the ambient light had changed.
Charleston, South Carolina.
Many of the old wealthy planters homes in town had a music room. Most always there was a short piano, and a large harp.
Looks like the children all had a turn at learning to play a harp.
The first thing that came to me was…who tuned these things 😳
Yes, the room is curved. To add a little more depth there is a multi pane, floor to ceiling mirror. A room you don’t just walk in a snap a picture.
A master bedroom, with a plush master ‘potty’.
Monochrome interior photographs, Charleston, South Carolina.
One of the best ways to see Charleston and all of it’s history is to pick a street and take a walk. The town is on a peninsula and not all that big. You can’t get lost.
Important note though, be sure to have a camera. There’s ‘stuff’ everywhere. This day I picked Meeting Street one of the central streets.
The photographs were taken at the corner of Meeting and Tradd streets. I looked right, shot, looked left, shot.
Above is the house on my right, the Bradford-Horry house. Built in 1751 it has been added to the National Historic Registry for the homes unique architecture. The house has a piazza over a public street.
Next, a church was on the left side of the street. The First (Scots) Presbyterian Church. The Second Presbyterian Church is on the far side of town. Twelve Scottish residents left the Circular Church in 1731 to form this one. The two bell towers lost their bells during the US Civil War. When new bells were available the southern tower was found to be damaged from the 1886 earthquake. Only the north tower has bells now.
I had no intention of creating this long article when I started LOL. This is what happens when you take a camera for a walk around town. Oh yeah, the ‘Brown Dog Deli’ is just down the street. They have real Italian Hero sandwiches. Not something you find in the south and another good reason to pick the Meeting Street walk.
Found in an old 1800’s Charleston home.
The buildings in the rear court yard of this old Charleston home have been preserved to keep the look and feel much as it was 200 years ago.
Below is the back of this big house, the left side being an entrance to both working and living quarters of the people enslaved, and later poor servants, that kept the house running.
These are photographs of the interior, above the hot kitchen and laundry rooms. Fires were constant in these buildings for cooking and cleaning. However living above them, in southern heat, must have been very difficult.
One set of stairs gains access to the second floor quarters.
Light is from windows looking out to the court yard. Below the stables can be seen from the long hall. Both the stables and living/working quarters are identical buildings.
Windows were on the hall side only. There is no other light.
Below is the long hall, rooms on the right side.
I have photographed this before and each time I see something different, and photograph it differently. Seasonal lighting changes everything.
A second article with additional images from the quarters will be published soon.
Taken behind the Akin-Rhett House, Charleston, South Carolina.
The planters and traders of pre Civil War in Charleston spent fortunes on their homes. We had only been a country for thirty years yet international trade was enormous.
Most all of the towns manors and homes had one thing in common, grandiose staircases and entrances. The first thing a visitor saw.
The photographs below are of stairs, three stories high, circular, and they float free from the walls. An impressive creation in 1808.
Nathaniel Russell House, Charleston, South Carolina.
This church, the oldest congregation in Charleston, is hard to photograph being so tall, and in the center of town. In fact the spire was used as a lighthouse guiding ships into Charleston harbor.
The church graveyard’s, there are two, is the burial site of a long list of the USA founders.
