Easily one of my favorite places to visit in Charleston is Rainbow Row. Rainbow Row consists of 13 houses located on East Bay Street and dates back to 1770. They were originally built as retail shops on the first floor and residential on the top floors. After the Civil War this area was in slum conditions, however in the early 1900’s a couple of women started renovating the homes to what we know them as today. Some say that the houses got their iconic pastel colors to reflect coastal Caribbean colors and to keep the houses cool inside during the hot summer months. Others say the houses were given these different colors to help the drunken sailors find their way back to their correct bunks. Either way, many people continuously flock to see these beautiful homes. I love walking down East Bay Street and picking which house is my favorite. Although the mint colored house is by far my favorite color, it is not my favorite architectural design. When we see these houses with people that are visiting, we always discuss which of these are our favorites based on the colors or the designs of each one. Each of these houses are different and have their own unique character. Some having fancy wrought iron railings while others have bright colored shutters.
When we go to downtown Charleston on the weekend, we always like to walk through the City Market. It is a fun strip of vendor booths that is full of people selling anything from Charleston rice, sculptures made out of bottle caps and a fragile knife made out of the nose of a swordfish. This interesting place is a historic market complex that stretches four blocks and was established in 1807 and was originally a meat
market. It is always packed full of locals and tourists. There are always a few boys running around the outside of the market trying to sell or give away Gullah sweetgrass flowers and older men sitting on the sidewalks making Gullah sweetgrass baskets.
On the east side of the Charleston peninsula is a 12 acre grassy area with a pier called Waterfront Park. This park runs along the Cooper River for a half mile. Prior to 1955 this area was a popular maritime shipping terminal. When a fire on a steamship terminal burnt down the docks in 1955, the area became abandon. In the 1980’s they began restoring the pier and creating the park. At the north end of the park is a large fountain and a long pier. The pier is a popular destination to sit on one of the many benches and look out over the water to watch the boats float by and occasionally a few dolphins. From the pier you can see the Ravenel Bridge leading from Charleston to Mount Pleasant, the U.S.S. Y
orktown aircraft carrier just across the water, and Fort Sumter where the Civil War began. Just off the north side of this park is a port for a cruise ship. Occasionally on the weekends there is a Carnival cruise liner sitting there which would account for higher traffic for the restaurants up the road and a large number of people walking up and down the pier. Adam and I are planning on taking a trip on that cruise once we have the time and money to take a nice vacation. We always enjoy swinging on the porch swings and listening to the local street musicians on the pier. When you walk south you will run into
another fountain, which is shaped like a Pineapple. There are always a few people sitting around this fountain or taking their picture next to it. On either side of this fountain are large grassy areas which are usually occupied by kids and dogs playing. From the south end of the park you can see a house that was built on a pier out on the water. It would be awesome to live in an old house where your yard is occupied my marine life. The park is a great place to sit and enjoy a good book under the Palmetto Palm trees or on any of the many benches that line the pier.
The Wandering Paperback 