Charleston, South Carolina
I first visited Charleston, South Carolina in October 2023. While I spent very little time in the city and didn’t really get to photograph much on that visit, something about the place just captivated me. I noticed that it had a certain charm to it that you just don’t see up north, and that visit just left me wanting more, almost like it was unfinished business that I had to take care of. So much so that when Elyse and I were looking for a destination for a weekend trip in April 2024, we quickly settled on Charleston, and we had an amazing time exploring a city that was brand new to us. We had so much fun down there that we didn’t necessarily want to go back home so soon, but the real world was calling. Thus when we had the opportunity to go back down again in September to retrieve our bus, we were excited, because it meant that we could see Charleston again. That visit ended up being a bust due to a new mechanical issue that came up, but that was okay, because it just meant that we could visit Charleston yet again. This time, I made sure that the next pickup would happen during a week that I had previously scheduled for vacation. Thus I was able to go down a few days before the bus retrieval and spend some time photographing things in Charleston. While the bus retrieval again turned up another new mechanical issue (which comes with the territory when restoring an old vehicle), which led to its once again staying behind in South Carolina, Elyse and I ended up spending the better part of a week in Charleston and made good use of the extra time, seeing much of what Charleston had to offer and photographing so much.
In this photo set, my goal is to share an overview of some of the scenes that I saw and experienced on my various visits to Charleston. I definitely didn’t see the entire city, and I look forward to exploring the city further in the future.
 Overview of Charleston from above the intersection of Washington and Society Streets. |
 Overview of downtown Charleston from Reid and King Streets. |
 Elevated highway ramps forming the eastern terminus of Interstate 26. |
 Clouds over downtown Charleston. |
 Robert D. Scarborough Bridge. |
 Ashley River Memorial Bridge. |
 Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, which carries traffic on US 17 between Charleston and Mount Pleasant. |
 Traffic crosses the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. View facing eastbound. |
 Tobacco Street (top) and Vanderhorst Street (bottom) at their respective intersections with King Street. |
 Traffic signal at the intersection of King and Cannon Streets. |
 Palmetto at the intersection of King and Columbus Streets. |
 CARTA bus 3000, traveling southbound on King Street while operating route 211. |
 CARTA bus 4502, travening southbound on Meeting Street while operating route 10. |
 Former Morris Sokol Furniture building. |
 Former Sears building at Citadel Mall, now a production facility for The Righteous Gemstones. |
 Street-facing sign for the Ink Cocktail Lounge. |
 Facade for Benny Ravello’s, a pizza restaurant on King Street. |
 West Ashley location of East Bay Deli, housed in a former Hardee’s building. |
 Charleston Safety Services truck parked on King Street on a weekend night. |
 Marquee for the American Theater, a performing arts venue along King Street. |
 American flag flying above the American Theater. |
 A fire truck travels southbound on King Street. |
 Memorial to the Charleston 9, a group of firefighters who lost their lives fighting a fire at the Sofa Super Store in 2007. |
 Bicycle fitted with neon atop the sign at 460 King Street, formerly home to Robinson’s Bicycle Shop. |
 Holiday Inn hotel, housed in a round building between the two sides of US 17. |
 United States Custom House on East Bay Street. |
 The Palmer Home, an historic house now operating as a bed and breakfast. |
 The Battery, facing northeast. |
 Southeast corner of the Battery, where the Ashley and Cooper Rivers meet. |
 Aerial view of downtown Charleston, showing the Battery. |
 Aerial view of the southern end of Charleston from offshore, showing the South of Broad neighborhood. |
 Newly-imported cars at the Port of Charleston. |
 The Cape Edmont, a Cape E-class roll-on/roll-off. |
 The tug Miss Bettye pushes barge 18701 down the Cooper River. |
 The MSC Manzanillo, a Portuguese-flagged container ship, traveling up the Cooper River. |
 The stern of the Missouri Express, a US-flagged container ship, traveling down the Cooper River. |
 The tugboat Helen pushes the barge CMT Y Not 8 up the Cooper River. |
 The Sheng Ji Hai, a Chinese-flagged bulk carrier, at anchor. |
 A group of people go dinghy sailing on the river. |
 The Pride, a three-masted schooner used for sightseeing cruises. |
 The Carolina Belle, a tour boat. |
 The Watertoy, a party boat operated by Captain Cocktail Cruises. |
 Sandbar in the Cooper River. |
 Castle Pinckney, a small masonry fortification constructed in 1810 by the federal government at the south end of Shute’s Folly Island. |
 2 Concord Street, constructed on pilings over the water. |