Tag Archives: Architecture

Chapel of Ease, St. Helena

July 26, 2020 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

The Anglican Church established “chapels of ease” throughout rural South Carolina in the 1700s for members to attend services close to home.

Fire, in this case natural, brought an end to this chapel on St. Helena Island, just off Beaufort.

Historical preservation organizations are fighting a battle against the natural elements and some human interference to preserve these buildings.

The massive live oaks on this property stand like guards over the building but may ultimately contribute to the chapel’s demise.

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Magnolia Plantation House, River Side

May 26, 2020 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

A few days after I posted Magnolia Plantation Cupola, River Side I was in the same place with a similar sky and a shorter lens on my camera.

Without much contrasting color to break up all that green I processed these images with a vintage photo look.

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC

For a view of the other side of the house see my post from November 2019: Magnolia Plantation, the House

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Magnolia Plantation Cupola, River Side

May 23, 2020 Ellen Jennings 1 Comment

At one time a wide lawn leading up to the Ashley River side of Magnolia Plantation would have been the welcome to visitors who had journeyed via boat from Charleston. Now that expanse has narrowed with trees and there is no clear view of the whole house from the river bank.

I was ready for wildlife photography with my 100-400 MM lens attached, but the impending storm made a cool sky so I took some images between the trees at 100 MM.

If you are zooming in to see the weather vane details you’ll see spots. At first I thought my lens might be dirty but after comparing the images I’m pretty sure those are rain drops.

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC

For a view from the other side see my post from November 2019: Magnolia Plantation, the House

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Triplet Windows, From the Inside

March 31, 2020 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Almost two years ago I posted photographs of these windows from the outside in Triplet Windows.

A couple weeks ago when passing by on my way to the nature trail the back door was open. I stepped in and got the answer to my question about their position: they are centered over the kitchen sink.

Those with kitchen duty had a lovely view into a pine forest.

The house, well on its way to ruin, was once the hub of a thriving cattle farm. The property is maintained by the SC Department of Natural Resources; periodically they trim back overgrowing vegetation, which may help it last a few more years.

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Fan-vaulted Ceiling

December 24, 2019 Ellen Jennings 5 Comments

No, I didn’t know what it was either. Per Wikipedia:

A fan vault is a form of vault used in the Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan.

This example is at The Unitarian Church of Charleston where I recently stepped in during their open hours.

It was too crowded to get a symmetrical image, but I rather liked this one, showing off the complexity of the design.

The Charleston Earthquake of 1886 destroyed most of the original ceiling along with the church’s tower. Restoration soon returned the ceiling to the 1852 design. Prudently the restoration architect chose a more modest tower which subsequently survived Hurricane Hugo, which in 1989 destroyed many of Charleston’s landmarks.

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Magnolia Plantation, the House

November 2, 2019 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

I spotted the metal cupola and wind vane through the branches of one of the huge Live Oaks that line the entrance to the Magnolia Plantation property.

I backed up and found a spot that framed the house with the tree, which is many hundreds of years old.

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC

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Joseph Manigault House: Chandelier

August 12, 2019 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

I’m attracted to gaudy chandeliers, not that I would want one, but the bling does draw my eye.

Joseph Manigault House Chandelier in Front Stairwell

The light from the huge Palladian window (three-sections where the center section is arched and larger than the two side sections) makes images a challenge.

The cantilevered staircase (fixed to the wall with no other support) provides an elegant setting intended to impress Charleston society.

This home has had a number of uses since it was built in 1803 for the Manigault family’s city residence and was nearly torn down for a gas station in 1920. It is now owned by The Charleston Museum which operates daily interpretive tours.

Joseph Manigault House, Meeting Street, Charleston, SC

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Charleston Churches on a Stormy Afternoon

July 11, 2019 Ellen Jennings 7 Comments

Charleston, SC, is known for its abundance of churches and is sometimes referred to as the “Holy City.” The spires of this trio can be seen from a bird’s eye perspective from one of the parking garage rooftops.

Three Church Spires, Charleston: Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Saint John’s Lutheran Church, Unitarian Church

The Unitarian Church is topped by a rooster weather vane, which had a summer storm to observe the afternoon I was there.

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Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist: Rear, B&W

July 10, 2019 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

Many of the large churches in historic Charleston, SC, are difficult to photograph in their entirety due to the closeness of their neighbors. Turns out that the tops of parking garages provide some neat views that get around this dilemma.

This image is the rear of Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist that I featured last fall in my post Charleston Cathedral with Connecticut Connection.

Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Charleston, SC

The dramatic clouds were provided by an approaching summer thunder storm.

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The Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston

June 24, 2019 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Built in 1905, The Gibbes Museum of Art refers to the dome that crowns the Rotunda Gallery as “Tiffany Era.” It seems the sought after Tiffany markings are not to be found based on the museum’s news articles about a recent renovation that included cleaning the dome.

The Dome, The Gibbes Museum of Art, Rotunda Gallery

I took the image above standing on the big fleur-de-lis in this next image and looking up. I wanted to lay on the floor but thought it might be frowned on.

The floor is tile, that was (gasp!) covered in brown linoleum along with the beautiful woodwork being painted white sometime in the 1950s or early 1960.

This view out the huge windows in the front shows a hint of the neighboring Circular Church, another architectural beauty in Charleston.