Wednesday had been designated our day to spend in Charleston proper. Since the rain prevented our carriage ride on Monday when we first arrived, we decided to start our morning with a ride. Carriage rides throughout historic Charleston are a popular tourist activity. The kids would have fun riding it and I would have fun listening to the guide as they took us through the city and discussed Charleston history and landmarks.
There are several carriage companies but we chose Old South Carriage Company. There are three routes that the carriages are allowed to take; which one you get is entirely a matter of chance. Our route took us through zone two, which goes through the heart of the city. Here's Zara in front of our carriage and our noble steed, Dave. Our guide was young but excellent and I enjoyed our ride immensely.
After our carriage ride, we tried a handful of doughnuts at Glazed Gourmet Doughnuts. (I also bought a cupcake at a nearby bakery but it was only so-so. Good cake, not great frosting.) The doughnuts, however, were quite delicious and since we were there near the end of their operating hours, the shopgirl kindly sent us home with a box of a few free doughnuts.
We purchased a three-day Heritage Pass which allowed us entry into a variety of historic houses, museums, and sites for a discounted price. Since most of the places I wanted to visit were included, it seemed like a good deal. We checked off three of our sites that day -- the Joseph Manigault House, the Charleston Museum, and the Aiken-Rhett house, all located within a few blocks of each other.
We stopped at the Joseph Manigault house first. It was built in 1803 for Joseph Manigault and designed by his brother Gabriel and is one of the best examples of Federal or Adam architecture in the city. It was the city home of the Manigault family who were wealthy rice planters. The family sold the house in the 1850s as the area started to grow more and more commercialized because of a nearby railroad station and moved further downtown. (The Manigault family apparently still has a strong presence in Charleston.) Parts of the property were sold off, it was used as a tenement and a USO office and was apart to be torn down to make room for a gas station when it was saved and preserved.
A small part of the garden still remains. It was a nice house with a more than competent docent, but maybe a little forgetable compared to the other homes we later toured.
Zara kept insisting on taking my camera so she could take some photos too. Most of them are rather blurry but they give a kids-eye view of the world. This is one of the few decent photos she managed to take.
After the Manigault home, we crossed the street to the Charleston Museum. Though the museum complex is modern, the museum and its collections are one of the oldest in the nation. It does have a large and varied collection of items ranging from textiles to natural history to mummies to fossils to historic relics.
Case in point, this old carriage pulled by the bones of a horse.
Zara attempted to take a picture of a dollhouse. They did have a really nice section for kids which was nice. I'm afraid a lot of our trips were geared for adults and not kids.
My favorite of their exhibitions was one called "Killer Fashion" which explored fashion and fashionable trends through the decades and how they hurt the animals hunted and killed for its use (feathers, leather, turtles, ivory, furs, etc.), maimed the people who produced them (hats, dyes, chemicals, etc.) or harmed the wearers (corsets, foot bindings, etc.) It was a really fascinating exhibit.
Zara's photographic talents on display once again. At least she didn't cut off David's head. Our next stop was the Aiken-Rhett House. It was built in 1820 and remained in the Aiken family until it was sold in 1975 to the Charleston Museum. It was once a very grand and impressive house, one of the biggest in Charleston, but today it is in a sad state of disrepair.
When I read about the house, I was excited to see it. They've chosen to preserve the house but haven't restored it to its original state and you can see what a 200 year old house would look like. But unlike Drayton Hall (which we visited later) and which has a similar mandate, this house was not well cared for and stately but broken down and drooping.
There were huge pieces of wallpaper falling off and paint flaking off. There were holes and chunks of plaster falling down. The only section that had been restored (and had a functioning AC) was the art gallery where they had several statues and paintings.
Also unlike the other historic houses that use docents to guide you through the house, the Aiken-Rhett house relies on an audio guide. It slows the tour down but also provides a lot of additional context and history. Zara was given a scavenger hunt which she really enjoyed.
The slave quarters above the kitchen. The last occupant of the house pretty much closed down all the rooms and only lived in a small portion of the house. It's sad what happens to old houses that can no longer be maintained. I wish they could do more with this one. It's fascinating to see it in its current condition, but also deeply depressing.
After our tour was over, we headed a few blocks down the street to eat at the Five Loaves Cafe which serves lots of fresh and locally sourced soups, salads, and sandwiches to eat a late lunch/early dinner. The food was delicious but their dinner menu looked better. Sadly, we were too early for that. Then we headed home for a little rest and relaxation. It was a long day of walking on a hot, humid day and we were spent.
