Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have not bashed King Street. I don't associate quaint with urban streets in general. Typically people use quaint for small towns like Aiken, especially if there are trees in downtown.
You do bash the suburbs and big box developments. Most people don't have a problem with the suburbs and shopping centers like Towne Centre. You likely visit these stores more than me. Also believe you said you live in James Island which is a low density suburb, probably lower density than most suburbs. What's the problem with that
Downtown Charleston should be setup like Savannah in mt view with the brick pathway right on the water, riverfront restaurants, cobblestone, oaks with Spanish moss in green spaces.
Greenville made changes to Main Street the past 50 years
I hardly shop period and seldom go to malls or strip shopping centers. Quaintness isn’t necessarily small. I didn’t see where any of the definitions of quaint mentioned size. King Street has sections in which colorful old three and four-story buildings catch the eye like something out of a novel set in old Europe. An old pharmacy building that was just restored is going to be quite the subject for photographers looking for depictions of quaintness. Charleston in my view shouldn’t be set up like Savannah. Our waterfront basically has the ocean at its doorstep, and we are glad there will be lots of wiggle room to accommodate more water with a combination of methods including inlets and raised areas. Quaint King Street doesn’t flood.
Status:
"dreaming of Glacier National Park"
(set 9 days ago)
721 posts, read 341,550 times
Reputation: 238
Typically when people talk about great architecture, they are talking about buildings with Greek revival, Gothic, Italianate design etc. I generally like clock tower buildings for example, like Tillman Hall at Clemson. The Rotunda at UVA is another example. There's not a building like those on King Street to my knowledge.
The storefronts on King Street don't stand out to me vs buildings in other downtowns. I think the storefronts, Westin Hotel, other buildings on Main Street in Greenville are as least as nice.
Notice how I have said nothing about Greenville or any other city besides quaint Charleston with its quaint King Street, except to disagree with the opinion that Charleston’s waterfront should be like Savannah’s.
Typically when people talk about great architecture, they are talking about buildings with Greek revival, Gothic, Italianate design etc. I generally like clock tower buildings for example, like Tillman Hall at Clemson. The Rotunda at UVA is another example. There's not a building like those on King Street to my knowledge.
The storefronts on King Street don't stand out to me vs buildings in other downtowns. I think the storefronts, Westin Hotel, other buildings on Main Street in Greenville are as least as nice.
Evidently you’re unable to appreciate historic preservation en masse as the single most notable characteristic of King Street. They don’t build building facades that way anymore. The storefronts look what? Quaint, whether off to themselves or in a line with other storefronts.
Status:
"dreaming of Glacier National Park"
(set 9 days ago)
721 posts, read 341,550 times
Reputation: 238
Don't most cities have old stores in the downtown area? That includes cities like Orangeburg and Florence. Historic preservation isn't that unique in this country. Are the old stores in Charleston objectively more "handsome" than old stores in other cities?
Do you know what the average age of the stores are on King Street? I have a feeling most were built well after the Civil War.
What is the most notable piece of history that happened in a store on King Street? It seems like it was only retail and restaurants, commonplace daily living stuff. The main history of Charleston is it was the major slave trade port and had a big role in the Civil War. Does that negative history make King Street more special than primary streets in other cities or provide a superior shopping or dining experience? People like you seem to portray downtown Charleston as cozy and magical because of its history which was selling people like cattle, false imprisoning them, and stealing the fruits of their labor in the fields. If the buildings on King Street predate the Civil War, that probably means morally corrupt slave owners visited those stores.
It isn't obvious to me why the look of the buildings on King Street makes it superior to a shopping center like Mt Pleasant town center. You seem to have a strange contempt for suburbs and shopping centers in them. You even posted an article on the Greenville forum that was critical of Woodruff Road and pits Woodruff against Main Street.
You've said the suburbs are low density which you don't like for some reason but at same time you have complained about the traffic in the suburbs. How can a suburb be low density if there is traffic congestion? If you prefer the downtown and spend your time in downtown, why do you care about the suburbs? Seems like should be an out of sight, out of mind situation for you.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 04-03-2024 at 04:07 PM..
Don't most cities have old stores in the downtown area? That includes cities like Orangeburg and Florence. Historic preservation isn't that unique in this country. Are the old stores in Charleston objectively more "handsome" than old stores in other cities?
Do you know what the average age of the stores are on King Street? I have a feeling most were built well after the Civil War.
What is the most notable piece of history that happened in a store on King Street? It seems like it was only retail and restaurants, commonplace daily living stuff. The main history of Charleston is it was the major slave trade port and had a big role in the Civil War. Does that negative history make King Street more special than primary streets in other cities or provide a superior shopping or dining experience? People like you seem to portray downtown Charleston as cozy and magical because of its history which was selling people like cattle, false imprisoning them, and stealing the fruits of their labor in the fields. If the buildings on King Street predate the Civil War, that probably means morally corrupt slave owners visited those stores.
It isn't obvious to me why the look of the buildings on King Street makes it superior to a shopping center like Mt Pleasant town center. You seem to have a strange contempt for suburbs and shopping centers in them. You even posted an article on the Greenville forum that was critical of Woodruff Road and pits Woodruff against Main Street.
You've said the suburbs are low density which you don't like for some reason but at same time you have complained about the traffic in the suburbs. How can a suburb be low density if there is traffic congestion? If you prefer the downtown and spend your time in downtown, why do you care about the suburbs? Seems like should be an out of sight, out of mind situation for you.
You just aren’t understanding. I can’t help you.
I just saw a years-old debate surrounding a post about a San Francisco resident getting ticked at a New Yorker for calling San Francisco quaint. Within that context, I believe it’s safe to say the debate participants would say Charleston’s King Street and Charleston overall are quaint. What about cute? Sweet?
Status:
"dreaming of Glacier National Park"
(set 9 days ago)
721 posts, read 341,550 times
Reputation: 238
You can characterize it as you like.
The only reason I would be on King St is to visit a specific store or restaurant. The look of it would not factor in. I care more about the food or retail available in these buildings than how they look. Most noteworthy architecture is with institutional and religious buildings, not retail and restaurants.
San Fran has a more developed waterfront and a hilly topography that is unique for coastal city. There's an infamous map associated with it now so quiant is probably not applicable.
The most photographed buildings on in Charleston are on Rainbow Row. I've never seen pics of buildings on King other than perhaps the hotels.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 04-05-2024 at 09:19 AM..
Well, I go with what pleases my eyes and nourishes my architectural and cityscape photography habit. I can’t bilk a mall for photogenic scenes the way I can a downtown, whether I make any photographs or not. And I like nature trails, too.
You have missed lots of other King Street photos, then. Let me google king street postcards. I’m not sure what I’ll get, but sections of King Street and certain buildings have been photographed many times over for various reasons.
Status:
"dreaming of Glacier National Park"
(set 9 days ago)
721 posts, read 341,550 times
Reputation: 238
Many of the Charleston pictures will feature one of the church steeples or the waterfront.
King Street photos seem to be mostly focused on the palm trees, not individual storefronts. The Mount Pleasant Towne Centre has significantly more palm trees than King Street. You'll also see more palm trees in areas of the metro than King Street. In my opinion, not being able to see the river / bay from King Street is a big flaw in the city's layout. You and others present Charleston as kind of the pinnacle of urban planning.
I used to think Market Street was the traditional "main street" in charleston because it is closest to the water and has the historic City Market. It seems to be the main tourism area. Yet even Market Street is offset from the water and the Joe Riley waterfront park. To get to the park and pier, you have to walk down this street which doesn't provide a top shelf visual experience. https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7811...8192?entry=ttu
None of the buildings surrounding the City Market building are attractive and the brick of the City Market clashes with those buildings. It looks like the market and those buildings were built in different eras. The City Market itself is kind of a glorified flea market.
It's cool if you prefer King Street to suburban shopping centers but it seems like you have a strange contempt for suburban shopping centers and suburbs. From a convenience, safety, retail square footage, and in some cases, landscaping standpoint like MP Towne Centre, the suburbs are generally better than King Street in my view.
I like Main Street in Greenville, more so than most downtown streets but I don't have a problem with the suburban developments in Greenville. You posted an odd editorial in the Greenville forum in which the author suggests there is a lack of civic pride in Woodruff Road, one of the most popular roads in the southeastern US, because it has big box stores.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 04-05-2024 at 04:29 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
