Charleston Local Attractions
Gibbes
Museum of Art
135 Meeting Street
4 blocks from Best Western King Charles Inn
Opened in 1905, the Gibbes Museum of Art houses a nationally
significant collection of American and European paintings
reflecting Charleston's past and present. From portraits and
landscapes of the Colonial South to the era of Porgy and Bess
and the preservation of America's most beautiful city, visitors
come face to face with Charleston's history. Each year, the
Gibbes presents dozens of quality exhibits by artist of regional,
national, or international stature.
Charleston
Museum
360 Meeting Street
0.5 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
The Charleston Museum, founded in 1773, is the first and
oldest museum in America. The museum exhibits the largest
silver collection in Charleston, early crafts and historic
relics. Additionally there is an interactive “Discover
Me” room for children to learn and play. Since 1773,
the Charleston Museum has collected and preserved artifacts
pertaining to the cultural and natural history of the Low
Country. Visitors of all ages will be transported back through
time, viewing everything from ancient fossils and an enormous
whale skeleton to elegant costumes and Charleston silver.
The museum also is noted for its exhibits on African-American
history, crafts and slavery. Celebrate history and enjoy the
eclectic array of Charleston's most cherished treasures.
Calhoun
Mansion
14 – 16 Meeting Street
0.75 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
An architectural treasure, this 1876 Victorian showplace
is complete with period furnishings, including a few original
pieces. The antiques decorating the house were brought from
all over the world. There are porcelain-and-etched-glass gas
chandeliers; cherry, oak, and walnut woodwork. A freestanding
spiral staircase reflects the hull of a ship it is one of
the many remarkable features of this house.
Cypress
Gardens
24 miles from Best Western King Charles Inn
This swamp garden was used as a freshwater reserve for a
rice plantation, and was then given to the city in 1963. Today,
the giant cypress trees draped with Spanish moss provide an
unforgettable setting for flat-bottom boats that glide among
their knobby roots. Enjoy a walk through the butterfly house.
Follow the footpaths in the garden and enjoy the abundance
of azaleas, camellias, daffodils, and other colorful blooms.
Visitors share the swamp with alligators, woodpeckers, wood
ducks, otters, barred owls, and other species. The gardens
are worth a visit at any time of year.
Edmondston-Alston
House
21 East Battery
0.5 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
The house was built by Charles Edmondston in 1825 on High
Battery, an elegant section of Charleston, It was one of the
earliest dwellings constructed in the city in the late Federalist
style. Charles Alston, a Low Country rice planter, bought
it from Edmondston who modified it in Greek Revival style.
The house has remained in the Alston family, which opened
the first two floors to visitors. Inside are heirloom furnishings,
silver, books and paintings. A house worth visiting for its
rich history.
Fort
Sumter National Monument
Boat embarkation 1 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
It was here that the first shot of the Civil War was fired
on April 12, 1861. Confederate forces launched a 34-hour bombardment
of the fort. Union forces eventually surrendered, and the
Rebels occupied federal ground that became a symbol of Southern
resistance. This action, however, led to a declaration of
war in Washington. Amazingly, Confederate troops held onto
Sumter for nearly 4 years, although it was almost continually
bombarded by the Union. When evacuation finally came, the
fort was nothing but a heap of rubble. Fort Sumter became
a National Monument in 1948.
Heyward-Washington
House
87 Church Street
4 blocks from Best Western King Charles Inn
In a district of Charleston called Cabbage Row, this 1772
house was built by Daniel Heyward, called "the rice king,".
It was also the home of Daniel’s son, Thomas Heyward,
Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence. President
George Washington stayed down here in 1791. Many of the pieces
in the house are the work of Thomas Elfe, one of America's
most famous cabinetmakers. The restored 18th-century kitchen
is the only historic kitchen in the city that is open to the
public. The kitchen stands behind the main house, along with
the servants' quarters and the garden. It was recognized as
a National Historic Landmark in 1978.
Joseph
Manigault House
350 Meeting Street
0.5 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
This 1803 Adams-style residence, a National Historic Landmark,
was a wealthy rice planter's home. Designed by architect Gabriel
Manigault for his brother, Joseph, this three-story brick
town-house is an exceptional example of Adam-style, or Federal,
architecture. The Manigaults descended from French Huguenots
who came to America to escape persecution in Europe. Joseph
owned plantations, sat in the state legislature, and was a
trustee of the College of Charleston. Gabriel, who owned plantations
and commercial investments, is credited with designing Charleston’s
City Hall and the South Carolina Society Hall. The house features
a curving central staircase and an outstanding collection
of Charlestonian, American, English, and French period furnishings.
Nathaniel
Russell House
51 Meeting Street
0.5 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
Another fine example of Federal architecture, this 1808 house
was completed by Nathaniel Russell, one of Charleston's richest
merchants. It is celebrated architecturally for its "free-flying"
staircase, spiraling unsupported for three floors. The staircase's
elliptical shape is repeated throughout the house. The interiors
of the house are decorated with period pieces, especially
the elegant music room with its golden harp and neoclassical-style
sofa.
Old
Exchange & Provost Dungeon
0.6 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
One of America’s most historically significant colonial
buildings in the United States. Completed in 1771 during Charles
Town’s Golden Age, this building quickly became the
commercial, political and social center of the most prosperous
of Britain’s thirteen American colonies. Then it served
as a prison during the American Revolution. In 1873, the building
became City Hall. It holds a large collection of antique chairs,
supplied by the local Daughters of the American Revolution,
each of whom brought a chair here from home in 1921. A “must
see” when visiting Charleston.
The
Citadel
1 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
The Citadel was established in 1842 as an arsenal and a refuge
for whites in the event of a slave uprising. In 1861, the
Corps of Cadets were made part of the military organization
of the state and were known as The Battalion of State Cadets.
The Citadel ceased operation as a college when Union troops
entered Charleston and occupied the site. It reopened again
in 1882 with an enrollment of 185 cadets The Citadel had outgrown
its campus on Marion Square, despite numerous building additions,
and could accommodate only 325 students. In 1918, the City
of Charleston gave the State of South Carolina one hundred
seventy six acres on the banks of the Ashley River for a new
campus. In 1922 the college moved to its current location.
Today, the picturesque campus contains twenty-four major
buildings. There is an enrollment of approximately 1,900 cadets
and nineteen degree programs are offered. Women were admitted
into the Corps of Cadets in 1996. The College of Graduate
and Professional Studies offers, during the evening and summer,
coeducational undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
The U.S. News & World Report has ranked The Citadel among
the best colleges in the region in their surveys of "America's
Best Colleges."
Palmetto
Islands County Park
10 miles from Best Western King Charles Inn
Next to Boone Hall plantation, the Palmetto Islands County
Park is a nature-oriented, 943 acre park designed for family
and groups use. It offers more organized fun in the form of
a big toy playground, mile-long canoe trails, picnic sites,
an observation tower, a water playground, toddler slides,
marsh boardwalks, and plenty of jogging trails and bicycle
paths. Bordering Boone Hall Creek are public fishing and boating
docks.
Aiken-Rhett
House
0.6 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
Built in 1818 then expanded and remodeled by Gov. William
Aiken Jr., this palatial town residence showcases city life
in antebellum Charleston. Aiken and his wife traveled to Europe
and bought magnificent crystal and bronze chandeliers, classical
sculptures and paintings to furnish the house. Many of these
objects still remain. The intact work yard is one of the nation's
most complete and compelling examples of African-American
urban life. Original outbuildings include the kitchens, slave
quarters, stables, privies and cattle sheds.
Avery
Research Center
0.6 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
This beautifully restored site of Avery School (c.1865) is
now a research center to document and preserve the history
and cultural heritage of Lowcountry African-Americans. Nearly
100 manuscripts and photograph collections are archived here,
and the center sponsors lectures, films and exhibits related
to African culture, civil rights and African-American history.
A restored c. 19th-century classroom provides a look at African-American
education from 1865 to 1954.
Denmark Vesey's House & Marker
0.6 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
Born into slavery in the Virgin Islands, Vesey purchased
his freedom from his Charleston slave holder and settled into
life as a carpenter on Bull Street. In 1821 Vesey home was
the meeting place to organize what is considered the most
extensive black insurrection in American history, involving
thousands of free and enslaved blacks in the Charleston area.
Set for July 12, 1822, word of the plot leaked out and Vesey
and 36 others were hanged for their roles. The house is a
National Historic Landmark.
Dock
Street Theatre
0.4 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
The first theatre in the colonies, Dock Street opened in
1736 and was lost in the fire of 1740. The Planters Hotel
opened on the site in 1809 and thrived until the 1860s, when
it was damaged during the war and left derelict. The preservation
of the hotel in the mid 1930s included a reconstructed theatre.
The theatre has been in constant use since 1937 and is a major
venue for Spoleto Festival USA each spring. Pre-booked tours
are arranged when possible. Charleston Stage Company is South
Carolina's largest professional theatre company and resides
at the historic Dock Street Theatre. Charleston Stage offers
popular Broadway musicals, award winning dramas and world
premiere original works. Find out more about Charleston Stage
at www.charlestonstage.com. Many other production companies
perform at the Dock Street Theatre.
Eliza's
House
16 miles from Best Western King Charles Inn
This 19th-century two-family Freedman's cabin is on the grounds
of Middleton Place, a National Historic Landmark and a carefully
preserved 18th-century plantation. The plantation includes
America's oldest landscaped gardens and a Colonial period
stableyard, which are open for tours.
Historic
Charleston Foundation Preservation
Center
40 East Bay Street
8 blocks from Best Western King Charles Inn
Shop features a film and exhibits that showcase Charleston's
architectural history. A gift shop contains an extensive selection
of books on Charleston culture, architecture and history.
A separate shop with 18th- and 19th-century Charleston reproduction
furniture and gifts is at 105 Broad St..
Old
Powder Magazine
81 Cumberland Street
5 blocks from Best Western King Charles Inn
The only public building remaining in North or South Carolina
from the period of the Lord Proprietors and the old public
building (c. 1713) in the city of Charleston. The building
was used to store munitions for the city's defense against
repeated onslaughts from marauding Spanish naval vessels based
in St. Augustine. Although replaced by a newer magazine in
1748, it continued to serve its purpose into the American
Revolution. Restored to its mid-19th century appearance, the
magazine is open as a National Historic Landmark with exhibits
on early Colonial Charleston. The historic Charleston Foundation
offers an exciting audio tour of this historic property.
Patriots
Point Naval and Maritime Museum
4 miles from Best Western King Charles Inn
Located on historic Charleston Harbor, Patriots Point is
home to USS YORKTOWN, the Fighting Lady. The first USS YORKTOWN
sank at the battle of Midway on June 7, 1942. Onboard the
decks of this famous World War II aircraft carrier, you can
relive a momentous time in America's history. The Fighting
Lady contains all the evidence of her past; one can see, touch,
feel and smell the past, where young Americans fought and
died to turn the fortunes of war in the Pacific.
Moored next to her is USS LAFFEY, a World War II destroyer.
LAFFEY survived the onslaught of Japanese kamikaze attacks
while off Okinawa as Radar Picket Station #1 on April 16,
1945. She became known as "the ship that wouldn't die."
Also moored alongside are the United States Coast Guard
cutter INGHAM, which fought in the convoy battles of the North
Atlantic and sank a German U-boat; and the diesel attack submarine
USS CLAMAGORE.
Onboard YORKTOWN are dozens of displays devoted to maritime
and naval history, the Congressional Medal of Honor
Society's museum and headquarters, and more than
two dozen historic military aircraft are on exhibit. Ashore
is a full-size Navy Advance Tactical Support Base
from the Vietnam era, and our gift shop.
Slave
Mart Museum
0.5 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
The Old Slave Mart, located on one of Charleston’s
few remaining cobblestone street, is the only known building
used as a slave auction gallery. The last auctions at this
market were in 1863. Presentations here narrate the African-American
experience in Charleston and the SC Lowcountry from their
arrival in 1670 to the modern Civil Rights movement. Permanent
exhibits explore the African sources from which African American
culture emerged, the middle passage, Caribbean influences
on America, slavery, emancipation, reconstruction, arts, cuisine
and the movement towards civil rights.
South
Carolina Aquarium
100 Aquarium Wharf
1 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
In the Aquarium visitors can explore Southern aquatic life
in an attraction filled with thousands of creatures and plants
in astonishing habitats. The brand new attraction is a 93,000-square-foot
aquarium featuring a two-story Great Ocean Tank Exhibition.
Contained within are some 800 animals, including sharks, sea
turtles and stingrays. Every afternoon the aquarium offers
a dolphin program, where bottle-nosed dolphins can be viewed
from an open-air terrace. An interesting exhibit is the replicate
of a blackwater swamp, with atmospheric fog, a spongy floor,
and twinkling lights.
St.
Johannes Lutheran Church
48 Hasell Street
1 block from Best Western King Charles Inn
Built in 1841, this church is known for its simplistic beauty
and stained glass. It's been called an architectural gem in
the heart of Ansonborough. Well known Charleston architect
E. B. White designed the Greek Revival sanctuary. In 1872,
the congregation of mostly German speaking people moved to
the present sanctuary of St. Matthews Lutheran Church on Marion
Square, but many returned to the Ansonborough location to
found St. Johannes in 1878. German was the language of the
congregation until 1910.
St.
Mary's Roman Catholic Church & Graveyard
89 Hasell Street
Adjacent to Best Western King Charles Inn
It was established in 1789, the oldest Roman Catholic church
in South Carolina. Also it is the mother church of the dioceses
of South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. The church
ceiling was hand-painted by Caesare Porte in Rome, Italy.
The present building, replacing an earlier one which was destroyed
by fire in 1838, was completed in 1839. The graveyard contains
names that are predominantly Irish, French, Spanish and Scot.
Among the more famous names is the Marquis de Grasse, a French
naval commander who engaged British forces at Yorktown during
the American Revolution.
St.
Philip's Graveyard
142 Church Street
3 blocks from Best Western King Charles Inn
Buried here are revolutionaries, politicians, confederates
and artists. Among them are Col. William Rhett, known as the
"Scourge of the Pirates," charged with bringing
the murderous Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet to justice. Gen.
Moultrie, the great defender of Charleston against the British,
is here. Edward Rutledge, a signer of the Declaration of Independence,
Charles Pinckney, a signer of the Constitution, and John C.
Calhoun, a US senator and vice president of the US also are
interred here.
Thomas
Elfe House
54 Queen Street
0.5 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
This pre-Revolutionary War period Georgian-style single house
is a Charleston treasure that, for the past several years,
has been open to the public. It was built by Thomas Elfe,
one of America’s most prolific and acclaimed cabinetmakers.
The quality of the woodwork is rare. China cabinets and closets
are artfully worked into each chimney alcove. Finely cut cornice
moldings encircle each room with beautiful simplicity. While
this is still a private home, the fact that its first owner
was a major contributor to the art and lifestyle of Colonial
Charleston keeps it interesting today. It is a showplace for
18th- and 19th-century furnishings.
Thomas Miller's
House
0.5 mile from Best Western King Charles Inn
Thomas Miller was the first president of South Carolina State
University. He served in both houses of the state legislature
and in the US Congress. He successfully petitioned for a law
prohibiting white teachers in black schools. His home was
built in 1860.
