Over the next several weeks, we will concentrate on exploring the "Four Corners of Law" at the corners of Broad and Meeting Streets. Some things happen by accident but are meant to be - the Four Corners is one such example. The most important public square in Charleston evolved over two centuries, and no one recognized it as the Four Corners of Law until Robert Ripley of Ripley's Believe It or Not! visited Charleston in the first part of the twentieth century and immediately named the public square as such regarding City Hall (City Law), the State House (State Law), the Federal Post Office and Judiciary System (Federal Law) and St. Michael's Episcopal Church (God's Law).

If Charleston, SC and its surrounding regions can be defined by a single artistic and functional item, it would have to be the sweetgrass basket. Handcrafted from natural materials, these Lowcountry baskets are woven into elaborately beautiful and functional works of art by Gullah artisans. They're considered some of the nation's oldest handicrafts of African origin, directly tying the Lowcountry back to West Africa via the transatlantic slave trade.

With the help of Joyce V. Coakley, the daughter of a dedicated Mount Pleasant sweetgrass basket maker, and her book Sweetgrass Baskets and the Gullah Tradition, let's take a look at the history and inspiration of these wonderful works of art. 

Treat your significant other, family, friends or business associates to TRUE Waterfront Dining. A top-notch dining experience aboard SpiritLine Cruises' Spirit of Carolina Dinner Cruise will create lasting memories.

Today we visit the Blake-Grimke House at 321 East Bay.  Currently a law office, this house retains the spirit of illustrious inhabitants.Today we visit the Blake-Grimke House at 321 East Bay.  Currently a law office, this house retains the spirit of illustrious inhabitants.

Before 1789, William Blake, a planter who owned land in both South Carolina and England, built this impressive house on the edge of Ansonborough...

Welcome aboard! Comfortable seating awaits you. Gray Line buses are clean with large, clear windows. You will have great views of the architectural gem that is Historic Charleston, South Carolina. Navigating Charleston's famous streets and alleyways, Gray Line's 20 to 25-passenger mini-buses are designed to access downtown's narrow traverses. And, Gray Line has added 5 brand NEW climate-controlled buses for 2018!

The Chazal family purchased the land at 66 Anson Street in 1823 for $1.00. Walking by this property today, I believe we would all agree that the Chazals got a great deal! Of course, the house still had to be built and was finally constructed in 1839. Perhaps the family felt it was a good time to build with all the surrounding construction after the fire of 1838.

This is where it all began -- the site of the opening battle of the deadliest war in all American history. The estimated 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers and sailors who perished make it deadlier than ALL other American conflicts COMBINED. Thirty per cent of all men of South Carolina who served from 1861-1865 did not survive.

It should come as no surprise as a visitor in Charleston (any more than in Honolulu and Pearl Harbor) when someone speaks about "the war" ...

Fort Sumter has been voted by Conde Nast Readers Choice Awards as a #1 Top US Destination. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Fort Sumter is located at the entrance of historic Charleston, South Carolina's harbor and celebrated its 150th Anniversary in April 2015. Best known as the site upon which the shots that started the American Civil War were fired, a visit to Fort Sumter is an authentic piece of American history.

72 Anson Street dates from 1846, replacing the first house on this lot, which was destroyed by the 1838 fire that burnt much of Ansonborough. If you drive down Anson Street today, 72 Anson is the single house with the red door. Instead of a front door view, I chose to use my recent photograph that shows the side of the house with its white piazza peeking through the white blooms of a magnificent dogwood in the expansive garden. Spring is here!

Views, unsurpassed! Cruise through Charleston harbor as the sun begins to set with an explosion of color. Photo Ops are pletiful with the twin-spanned Ravenel Bridge as backdrop. Patriots Point and the USS Yorktown on the port side of your Fort Sumter Tour boat and historic Charleston's Rainbow Row, High Battery and architectural rooftops to starboard as you cruise through Charleston's famous harbor.