CHARL ESTON

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY AND THE BEAUTIFUL

WHAT MAKES CHARLESTON.... CHARLESTON?

Dock Street Theatre is the first theatre in America, where it first opened in 1749. It has gone through a lot, most likely burnign down in The Great Fire in 1740, and was renovated many times over with millions on millions of dollars to keep the show going. While it resides in the French Quarter along many other hisotrical buildings, one can’t help but feel like more care was show for this building than the surrounding urban fabric.

As one of the crown jewels of the southeast, Charleston is known for many things. It’s hospitality, coastal cuisine, and tourist attractions. Many people travel from different corners of the Earth to dive into a place that seamlessly calls upon a time period of a generations past.

However, when we begin to look under the veil of pastel colors and palmetto trees, something begins to feel slightly off. There seems to be a lot to offer here, but it feels like it intentionally misses the mark for the sake of reputation.

Allow me to explain.

When walking one of the most popular streets in the southeast, you run into problems like small sidewalks, zero bikelanes, surrounded by either historic buildings older than anyone alive today.

The priorities lie in the preservation of the image people get when they hear “Charleston”

For some places in Charleseton, not much has changed except for the latest iteration of the 1970’s Ford car. and FedEx delivery trucks. Look closer and you will notice the manhole covers indicating an updated drainage system that would only help for a time since Charleston has been known to flood downtown on numerous occasions. Even with King Street being a topographical high-point on the penninsula, it still has it’s issues.

It’s not all bad. There’s even some new trees and your typical average Charleston height building.This particular view of Northern King Street is one of the least busiest areas of that strip and does well to feel a lot less than, say, Marion Square. This particular area has a beauty to it that feels harmonious. The sidewalks aren’t terribly small, the streets doesn’t feel crowded even though there’s vehicles, and trees bring it all together. Maintaining the historic feel and color pallette of this space makes sense.