CHARLESTON: The Antebellum Neighborhoods and Buildings

DISTINGUISHED AWARD WINNER

$69.95


Nearly 40 years in the making, “CHARLESTON: The Antebellum Neighborhoods and Buildings” is a triumph. No other book ever produced offers such a comprehensive architectural and human history of the buildings of antebellum Charleston. This book adds significantly to the historiography of a remarkable city, celebrating 350 years since its founding.

In 1983, David Rogers traveled for the first time to Charleston, a trip that marked the beginning of his love affair with the Holy City. He bought a house south of Broad Street and, with camera in hand, began taking pictures of the grand homes and remarkable historic buildings that define the city. For almost four decades, Rogers has explored, studied and researched the built and human history of Charleston, capturing his encyclopedic understanding and base of knowledge in this 604-page book.

Organized by Charleston’s 11 original neighborhoods, the narrative describes how the environs changed over time, sometimes buoyed by growth and abundance, other times devastated by hurricanes, earthquakes, fires and war. The detailed narrative is accompanied by more than 1,000 photographs, color-coded maps and a glossary of architectural features.

Meet the architects, artisans, builders and families who called Charleston home. Journey down cobblestone streets, beyond garden walls and wrought-iron gates to great houses, grand public buildings, tenements, row houses and parks. These are the gems that have endured the ravages of time, a city that today is home to more structures from the nation’s earliest days than any other in America.

DAVID ROGERS

DAVID ROGERS’ love for the city of Charleston began at first sight nearly 40 years ago. Immediately after, he bought a house south of Broad Street in the oldest part of Charleston known as the Walled City, and began regular jaunts, exploring every street and every historic neighborhood, camera in hand.

Over the course of decades, David’s enduring ebullience for the city has expressed itself through his encyclopedic knowledge of the buildings and those who built, lived and worked in them.

David has been a frequent contributor to the Post and Courier on matters concerning Charleston’s built culture. He has also written for Newsday Magazine and Charleston Magazine, among others. David’s early working years were spent as a media specialist and adjunct professor of literature. He later owned a shop on the East End of Long Island. David is the author of a novel, “The Day of the Minx,” a work in progress about 1970s New York City.

Originally from the Hudson River Valley farm region in New York State, David came to Charleston in August 1983, the trip that changed everything.

This colossal book is David’s gift to Charleston, commemorating the 350th anniversary of the city’s founding in 1670.

Winner, Independent Publishers Association distinguished favorite and best coffee table book, 2020
Finalist, Foreword Review best reference book of the year
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