WHAT'S GOING ON IN CHARLESTON? 

Adding more zesty taste to a city renowned for its distinctive restaurants and cuisine, the Charleston Food and Wine Festival showcases the abilities of local and nationally-recognized chefs who specialize in Southern dishes. Seminars, dine-around events, food tasting and a full-scale culinary village are some of the highlights of the weekend festival to be held February 28-March 2, and which also features some of America's most celebrated sommeliers.  For tickets and information, call 843-722-5566.
 

CARRIAGE PROPERTIES FEATURED LISTINGS:

Wadmalaw Island: Village of Rockville 2456 Sea Island This gem of Rockville offers the finest in architectural example. Built in 1853 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places it offers a rare opportunity to live in the Village of Rockville.		Downtown Charleston: South of Broad 2 1/2 Legare Street Legare Street...Location at its best. This sophisticated townhouse has just been completely renovated with the best of thought put into every aspect.		Downtown Charleston: South of Broad 124 South Battery Another great Simco project just completed. Prestigious South Battery location. This all new masonry (smooth stucco over brick) home was just completed and offers the highest quality of most homes available in the South of Broad market today.
Listing Price: $1,995,000		Listing Price: $2,798,000		Listing Price: $3,375,000

Charleston Market Update - 2008

Recent Sales:

WHAT'S GOING ON IN CHARLESTON? continued...

Charleston's incomparable peak flower season lights up the city with radiating color each March, and one of the most intimately-pleasurable ways to enjoy it is the famed Festival of Houses and Gardens. 2008 marks the 61st year that Historic Charleston Foundation has presented the acclaimed festival, which features tours of the interiors and gardens of some of the finest and most historic private residences in America. From March 13 - April 12, nearly 150 beautiful houses and gardens in twelve historic downtown neighborhoods will be open to participants for private guided tours that provide a rare glimpse of stunning architectural beauty inside and out, as well as access to the flourishing, manicured gardens for which Charleston is so famous.  The festival will also feature several Plantation Picnics at historic Drayton Hall Plantation, as well as a luncheon and lecture series that includes plantation and harbor tours. For tickets and information, call 843-723-1623.

Charleston's historic High Battery and beautiful harbor provide the backdrop for the scintillating International Antiques Show, March 14-16, which will feature more than thirty of the world's premiere antique dealers and an array of outstanding collections. A number of gala events include an opening night preview party, a young collectors' soiree, and an educational lecture series. For information, call 843-722-3405.

DID YOU KNOW?

Charleston's west side was once mostly marsh and mud, but was initially converted into a series of ponds during the 18th century for use in powering rice and timber mills. The idea was first put into extensive practice by lumberman Daniel Cannon, for whom Cannonborough and Cannon Street are named. In the 1760's, he acquired wetland areas extending from today's Ashley River Bridge approaches to as far south as Bennett Street. Dikes were built to trap river water in ponds, that were then drained through narrow sluices to create enough power to push wheels and axles on huge timber saws and adzes. The same technology was also used to mill rice, and former state governor Thomas Bennett, Jr. was among those who made a fortune in the early 1800's with the export that would literally reshape the city. Bennett and his son-in-law Jonathan Lucas extended the system of ponds and mills as far south as today's Council Street. Before the advent of steam power in the 1820's, some mills were powered by wind, and a towering 100-foot windmill existed near the pond known today as Colonial Lake. The timber industry dried up as supplies of virgin cypress and heart pine from upriver dwindled in the 1890's, and the rice industry ground to a halt by the early 1900's. Remnants of the era still exist in the West Point Mill that overlooks the city marina, as well as the Chisolm Mill that serves as part of the U.S. Coast Guard station on Tradd Street, but other than Colonial Lake, most of the old mill and pond area is now home to streets, houses and even a few hospitals. Briefly in 1937, the city considered converting some of the still-unfilled areas of the west side into a flying boat landing and docking facility, but that was one idea that just wouldn't fly.
 

CHARLESTON'S BEST

Carleton Varney, hailed as one of America's most respected and expressive designers, will be featured in An Evening with Honorary Chairman Carleton Varney, March 15, at 8 p.m. in the Charleston Place Hotel. Varney is Honorary Chairman of the 2008 Charleston International Antiques Show, and has achieved international acclaim for his stunning work in reviving world-famous hotels such as The Plaza in New York City, Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Mich., The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Va., and The Mount Washington Hotel and Resort in Bretton Woods, N.H. His signature influence is vibrant interior color, creating a sensory-pleasing experience with bold patterns, organic prints, and details that breathe life into spatial layouts. His clientele includes owners of some the world's most glamorous properties, from castles in Ireland to The White House as design consultant to President Jimmy Carter. As president of the famed Dorothy Draper Design Company and author of numerous books on interior design, Varney has had considerable influence on theories of design through his belief in the power of the palette, and encourages bold concepts that emphasize a visual seductiveness and vitality in establishing the essence of a building's character.

The special dinner event is $150 per person ($100 per person for members of the show's Collectors Circle), and is a wonderful chance to appreciate the genius and creativity of one of America's most heralded innovators in design.  For ticket information, call 843-722-3405

To find out more about Charleston Real Estate Listings, please visit our site at www.CarriageProp.com