by Brian Sherman
What is it about Charleston that captures the heart, soul and imagination of visitors from across the nation and around the globe? Why do people return again and again for weekend getaways, week-long stays and, in some cases, to take up permanent residency in and around the unhurried Southern municipality known affectionately as the Holy City?
In explaining Charleston’s popularity, the weather would be an interesting place to begin. Its summers and winters moderated by the nearby Atlantic Ocean, the temperature on the Charleston peninsula rarely reaches the 100-degree level and almost never lingers below the freezing mark long enough to produce precipitation other than rain. Snow is an occasional visitor, but, more often than not, its stay in Charleston is brief. Nevertheless, the city can lay claim to four distinct seasons: cool winters, vibrant springs, warm summers and colorful autumns.
The Atlantic is more than a shield against too-hot summers and too-cold winters. It provides Charleston-area residents and visitors with three of the most beautiful beaches along the Southeast coast, each with its own personality. Surfers prefer the waves at Folly Beach, while the Isle of Palms is oriented more toward families and friends who rent the many large homes on the island, some of them right on the ocean. Sullivan’s Island is the least-commercialized of the three and strives to remain so.
Charleston’s weather is magnificent, its beaches are beautiful and its options for year-round outdoor activities are all but endless, but there are cities up and down the coast that can boast of similar attributes. What they lack is Charleston’s undeniable charm and everlasting connection to the history of the United States.
It was here that the British army and navy tried unsuccessfully to crush the Revolution in its infancy. Confounded by American ingenuity, the best the king had to offer retreated in disarray. Shortly thereafter, Charlestonians suffered for their brazen disrespect for tyranny when the British returned and surrounded the city. A 40-day siege was followed by brutal a two-and-a-half year occupation. In the end, the occupiers retreated across the Atlantic.
And it was here that Charleston’s independent spirit emerged again nearly 80 years later, when the guns of the fledgling Confederacy fired on Union forces at Fort Sumter, launching a four-year internecine nightmare that would be known as the Civil War. The fort remains in Charleston Harbor, a resolute link to the city’s past and one of its most popular attractions.
Strolling down the streets of Charleston, it isn’t difficult to imagine yourself somehow transported back to a time when cotton and rice fueled the city’s booming economy, when horses were the main mode of transportation and when the Holy City was one of the few places in the original 13 colonies that actually practiced the religious tolerance we take for granted today.
People now navigate through downtown Charleston in cars, trucks and other motorized vehicles, but they share the streets with horse-drawn carriages that carry visitors to every corner of the historic city. Homes built centuries ago still stand tall in downtown Charleston, while churches and synagogues that were vibrant places of worship long before the Civil War serve the same sacred purpose in the age of the Internet. Tombstones in cemeteries that have been the final resting place for Charlestonians for nearly 200 years whisper the history of a city, a state and a nation.
Why do so many people choose to spend time in Charleston? Why would anyone ask such a question?
What is it about Charleston that captures the heart, soul and imagination of visitors from across the nation and around the globe? Why do people return again and again for weekend getaways, week-long stays and, in some cases, to take up permanent residency in and around the unhurried Southern municipality known affectionately as the Holy City?
In explaining Charleston’s popularity, the weather would be an interesting place to begin. Its summers and winters moderated by the nearby Atlantic Ocean, the temperature on the Charleston peninsula rarely reaches the 100-degree level and almost never lingers below the freezing mark long enough to produce precipitation other than rain. Snow is an occasional visitor, but, more often than not, its stay in Charleston is brief. Nevertheless, the city can lay claim to four distinct seasons: cool winters, vibrant springs, warm summers and colorful autumns.
The Atlantic is more than a shield against too-hot summers and too-cold winters. It provides Charleston-area residents and visitors with three of the most beautiful beaches along the Southeast coast, each with its own personality. Surfers prefer the waves at Folly Beach, while the Isle of Palms is oriented more toward families and friends who rent the many large homes on the island, some of them right on the ocean. Sullivan’s Island is the least-commercialized of the three and strives to remain so.
Charleston’s weather is magnificent, its beaches are beautiful and its options for year-round outdoor activities are all but endless, but there are cities up and down the coast that can boast of similar attributes. What they lack is Charleston’s undeniable charm and everlasting connection to the history of the United States.
It was here that the British army and navy tried unsuccessfully to crush the Revolution in its infancy. Confounded by American ingenuity, the best the king had to offer retreated in disarray. Shortly thereafter, Charlestonians suffered for their brazen disrespect for tyranny when the British returned and surrounded the city. A 40-day siege was followed by brutal a two-and-a-half year occupation. In the end, the occupiers retreated across the Atlantic.
And it was here that Charleston’s independent spirit emerged again nearly 80 years later, when the guns of the fledgling Confederacy fired on Union forces at Fort Sumter, launching a four-year internecine nightmare that would be known as the Civil War. The fort remains in Charleston Harbor, a resolute link to the city’s past and one of its most popular attractions.
Strolling down the streets of Charleston, it isn’t difficult to imagine yourself somehow transported back to a time when cotton and rice fueled the city’s booming economy, when horses were the main mode of transportation and when the Holy City was one of the few places in the original 13 colonies that actually practiced the religious tolerance we take for granted today.
People now navigate through downtown Charleston in cars, trucks and other motorized vehicles, but they share the streets with horse-drawn carriages that carry visitors to every corner of the historic city. Homes built centuries ago still stand tall in downtown Charleston, while churches and synagogues that were vibrant places of worship long before the Civil War serve the same sacred purpose in the age of the Internet. Tombstones in cemeteries that have been the final resting place for Charlestonians for nearly 200 years whisper the history of a city, a state and a nation.
Why do so many people choose to spend time in Charleston? Why would anyone ask such a question?
Why Charleston?
Returning To Charleston....Again and Again
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