The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist was open the day I discovered it and as I stepped inside I was somewhat overcome by the size. Many of Charleston’s churches welcome visitors to view their interiors, often with knowledgeable guides on hand, as well as for spiritual reasons.
I saw no one here, and saw no welcome sign, either. The interior is an amazing work of art and craftsmanship. I took a few images and went on my way.
On a trip into Charleston last month I walked down a section of Broad Street that I had somehow missed before and discovered the massive Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist. The first cornerstone for a church on this spot was laid in 1850 and an 1100 seat cathedral was consecrated in 1854. Six years later it burned to the ground in The Great Charleston Fire of 1861. Decades of fundraising culminated in the present day Gothic building being started in 1890.
I was delighted to find that the structure is Connecticut tool-chiseled brownstone. In Connecticut, Ted and I lived only a few of miles from the now defunct Portland Brownstone Quarry. This stone was used all over the US starting in the late 1700s, reaching the peak of its popularity in the mid 1890s. It is most famous as the namesake of the New York City and Boston “Brownstones.”
Zoom in on any one of these images to see the detail of the tooling. I need to go back to capture some of the material detail.
The building is impressive in its size, 200 feet long, 80 feet wide, and 167 feet to the tall. There was supposed to be a spire, but lack of funding kept that from being completed.
Opened in 1850, Charleston’s Magnolia Cemetery is now home to an abundance of decaying monuments and fences. The shapes and colors make them all beautiful.
I doubt the original mourners could have envisioned the current state of their loved ones’ resting places in this older section of the cemetery. Even payment for perpetual care, which is marked on many of the plots, has not prevented the ravages of time.
What will it look like in another 150 years?
I’ve photographed and commented previously on Fences Between Neighbors at Charleston’s Magnolia Cemetery. This section of the cemetery never had the fences or they’ve completely disintegrated, but the living made sure to leave lines of division.
7/14/2018, Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC
A circle of 99 rustic numbered “camps” form the Indian Fields Methodist Campground on a ten acre (four hectare) site in St. George, South Carolina. Indian Fields was built in 1848 and has been a site for religious gatherings continuously since then.
This site is used just one week a year; there is electricity and running indoor indoor to sinks only. Privies, also numbered, are out back, across the road.
This view from the porch of camp #25 shows how meager the buildings are. Even if their doors were closed there were numerous other openings into the interiors. I kept expecting to get startled by a bird or other creature that had taken up residence, but saw nothing.
This last view is from outside the circle where the cooking quarters all face outward to the circular road. The kitchens have been modified more than other parts of the camps over time with sinks, stoves, and storage compartments. I imagine that food is a big part of the social aspect of the annual gathering.
Taken 7/8/2018, Sony Alpha-6500, processed to have an old postcard look.
9/2/18 Note: I edited this post last evening to change 100 to 99 in the first sentence after Ted mentioned my error. I foolishly used the WP interface on my iPad and the post got all scrambled up and the last two images didn’t display. My apologies for presenting a mess.
His middle toes just touching the water, this Great Blue Heron perched on a dead limb hanging over the water. In another sign of approaching fall the grasses behind him are turning brown and drooping a bit.
Two towers make up the cable-stayed suspension support of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge that connects Charleston and Mount Pleasant, SC. This is the tower closest to Charleston, seen from Magnolia Cemetery with a sky filled with white fluffy clouds.
Surrounded by blue
Wood Storks wade in Mary’s Pond
Small under the dome
Taken July 26, 2018, Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
In 1825 George Washington Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, became the ninth owner of the land that he named Grove Plantation. Three years later he built Grove House. These images are the front of the house, taken from the extensive tree lined lawn from the left, center, and right.
As you move away from the building the massive Live Oaks close in quickly, giving a feeling of seclusion. The second floor porch that runs the full width of the house is very inviting and the wide overhang would have helped keep the home cooler during the South Carolina summers.
The house has survived numerous hurricanes and the wrath of the Civil War, during which many similar estates were torched.
Previous post: Grove House: Rear
Like many plantation homes in the south the front of Grove House faces the water where all traffic would have originated when the house was built in 1828. This is a view of the back of the plantation house, taken from the Live Oak lined drive.
The pond where I photographed the water lilies in yesterday’s post sits in the circular turn of this drive, just in front of the ground floor entry arches.
Below are the Live Oaks lining the driveway leading away from the back of the house.
Today Grove House is home to the offices of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge.
