Etiwan Park Art

Curators of art from amazing people who express the South Carolina lowcountry in their work.

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What's your favorite Christmas decoration? I like plain old white lights...

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Fire it up #danielisland ! July 3 celebration. (at Daniel Island Childrens Park)

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#danielisland #palm (at Daniel Island)

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Cathedral Church on Coming St #charleston #downtown

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Hey, if you're really into #charleston history like me, check out our guest series from the talented @oysterpointtours on the High Battery blog (link in my profile). This is one of many gorgeous window boxes on Tradd Street, #southofbroad. Happy Monday!

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I once sat next to southern novelist Dorothea Benton Frank on a plane. She lives on Sullivan's Island. I asked her about this #domehouse and she said it is fondly called the George Jetson house. It was built after Hurricane Hugo wiped out a bunch of beautiful homes on the coast. #sullivansisland #lowcountry #charleston #hurricane

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25 East Battery, the Drayton House, built 1885 in the Victorian Style. Charles Drayton mined phosphate, a key ingredient in fertilizers (and cleaning supplies and even nuclear power plant water systems) at the Drayton Hall plantation on the Ashley River. The Victorian style was very popular in San Francisco at the time, although many were destroyed in a huge fire in 1906, an exasperating commonality in the history of many important cities. I have been able to personally see lots of Victorian architecture in California, since I lived there for seven years, and the state grew quickly when the style was popular.

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21 East Battery. Front row seat to the opening volley of the Civil War. At least three US Generals are mentioned in this house's history: PT Beauregard, who observed the first shots of the Civil War from the top balcony (1861); Robert E Lee, who took refuge here while a fire took over his hotel (1861); and Rufus Saxton, a Union General who occupied the house in 1865. The first two floors are public museums operated by the Middleton foundation. The Alston family coat of arms is on the upper balcony.

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19 East Battery, formerly the site of the Holmes House, formerly Fort Mechanic, formerly Fort Darrell, formerly Lyttelton's Bastion. Currently an Italian-villa inspired home. Fort Mechanic was built in anticipation of a French invasion in 1794, around when the Haitian slaves revolted against the French in a big way.

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13 East Battery, built by William Ravenel, brother and biz partner of John Ravenel a few doors down-- check my earlier post on 5 East Battery for the notes. This is really a huge house and you must walk along the side road to truly appreciate it. Its drawing room, where visitors can be entertained, is one of Charleston's largest, according to the Charleston tour guide certification book. A wicked hurricane in the 1950s nudged a capital (top of a column) into the soil, where it was found years later under an uprooted tree. I see that station wagon there pretty often.

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Heading north to 5 East Battery. Built by John Ravenel around 1850. Ravenel was a Huguenot and a major investor in shipping ventures. The Ravenel name is all over Charleston-- Ravenel bridge, Ravenel Self Storage, Ravenel Real Estate, and even the town of Ravenel (descendant Thomas Ravenel, who ran for the Senate in 2002, is now on a reality TV series on Bravo...). The Italianate features were added in the 1880s when it was popular in Charleston. #charleston #ravenel #realitytv #architecture #southofbroad #lowcountry #manse

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1 East Battery. Built around 1860, it has a piece of a blown-up gun lodged upstairs from the Civil War. Don't miss the beautiful iron balconies on the east side. Hurricanes routinely overwhelmed the seawall here until around 1854 when it was raised to its current height and strength, making it safer to build huge mansions on this once-marshy area of Charleston. This is the southernmost house on the High Battery.

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Heading east to The Battery, officially White Point Garden. This southernmost point of Charleston is named after the heap of whitening oyster shells that was here back when the city was founded. The park was planned to be much larger but the city had to sell off chunks of the land to finance public institutions during the Civil War. The raised promenade around this grand space is known as High Battery. (at White Point Gardens)

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Our porch. Come on over!

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#kingstreet #southofbroad #charleston #lowcountry

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Hanging basket on the #porch #danielisland #charleston #charlestonspring #lowcountry #rain

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Go carts!