capturing charleston's rich and deeply layered architectural history through its structures

i had plenty of time to research the history of charleston, south carolina, before flying there. a few weeks after booking the trip, however, i had chosen to avoid that approach altogether and just visit blindly, in hopes of getting lost in its rich and well-preserved history in person. this way, i didn't feel any pressure or sense of overwhelm with having to visit an unending list of houses, constructed during the colonial, revolutionary, antebellum, civil war, and post-bellum eras.

during the few days i stayed in charleston i walked the streets, visited graveyards, and went on several tours that highlighted the sites tied to significant historical events. most of the time i found myself just drifting along comfortably in my own world, chasing those "portals to the past," where nicely aged surface patinas, unaltered architectural elements, or the "bones" of exposed structures undergoing restoration where found, in and around the city.

i developed a new appreciation for the building materials and methods that were in use long before even the "balloon frame" came into existence. i was equally delighted that block after block of residential structures fell consistently within the aforementioned eras, as opposed to here in chicago, where nearly every other house is a newly-built eyesore that continues to replace not only the 19th century brick cottages, but 3 and 4-flat boarding houses (of equal architectural merit), and the bracketed cornice clapboard homes that pre-date the chicago fire. once again, a weekend out of town provided a well-needed venture into a different set of histories, and affirmed the value of pushing for better awareness  or preservation of the existing structures in chicago.