Downtown Revitalization: Charleston
Metro Jacksonville explores the urban core of the South's original large city: Charleston.
Tale of the Tape:
Charleston City Population 2011: 122,689 (City); 697,439 (Metro-2012) - (incorporated in 1670)
Jacksonville City Population 2011: 827,908 (City); 1,377,850 (Metro-2012) - (incorporated in 1832)
City population 1950: Jacksonville (204,517); Charleston (70,174)
City Land Area
Charleston: 109.0 square miles
Jacksonville: 757.7 square miles
Metropolitan Area Growth rate (2010-2012)
Charleston-North Charleston: +4.94%
Jacksonville: +2.40%
Urban Area Population (2010 census)
Charleston-North Charleston: 548,404 (ranked 76 nationwide)
Jacksonville: 1,065,219 (ranked 40 nationwide)
Urban Area Population Density (2010 census)
Charleston-North Charleston: 1,869.5 people per square mile
Jacksonville: 2,008.5 people per square mile
City Population Growth from 2000 to 2011
Charleston: +26,039
Jacksonville: +92,405
Convention Center Exhibition Space:
Charleston: Charleston Area Convention Center (located in North Charleston) - 76,960 square feet
Jacksonville: Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center (1985) - 78,500 square feet
Connected to or across the street from Convention Center:
Charleston: Embassy Suites North Charleston - 255 rooms
Jacksonville: N/A
Tallest Building:
Charleston: Saint Matthew's Lutheran Church - 255 feet
Jacksonville: Bank of America Tower - 617 feet
Fortune 500 companies 2012 (City limits only):
Charleston: N/A
Jacksonville: CSX (226), Winn-Dixie Stores (363), Fidelity National Information Services (425), Fidelity National Financial (472)
Urban infill obstacles:
Charleston: N/A - Charleston has one of the densest and active urban cores in the South.
Jacksonville: State & Union Streets cut off downtown Jacksonville from Springfield.
Downtown Nightlife:
Charleston: Market Street, East Bay Street
Jacksonville: East Bay Street
Common Downtown Albatross:
"Perception" of parking problems.
Who's Downtown is more walkable?
Charleston: 98 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
Jacksonville: 88 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
About Charleston
Charleston vs. Jacksonville: Through the Years
In 1800, Charleston was the 5th largest city in the country behind New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore. Jacksonville would not surpass Charleston in population until the early 20th century.
1800
18,824 - Charleston
N/A - Jacksonville*
*Although founded in 1791, Jacksonville wasn't incorporated until 1832.
1860
40,522 - Charleston
2,118 - Jacksonville
1880
49,984 - Charleston*
7,650 - Jacksonville
*August 31, 1886 earthquate measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, damages 2,000 buildings in Charleston.
1900
55,807 - Charleston
28,429 - Jacksonville*
*One year later, Jacksonville is destroyed by fire, setting the stage for its early 20th century development boom.
1920
91,558 - Jacksonville
67,957 - Charleston*
*In 1920, the Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings is formally established in Charleston.
1960
201,030 - Jacksonville
60,288 - Charleston*
Current Charleston mayor Joseph P. Riley elected in 1975. Riley has been the city's mayor for 38 consecutive years.
1980
540,920 - Jacksonville*
69,779 - Charleston
*Jacksonville merged with Duval County in 1968.
2000
735,503 - Jacksonville*
96,650 - Charleston
Jacksonville rapidly expands outward at the expense of its urban core. Economically stagnant for much of the early 20th century, Charleston mayor Riley, leads revitalization efforts in the city by focusing on livability and quality-of-life enhancements.
2010
821,784 - Jacksonville
120,083 - Charleston
Downtown Charleston
King Street
Today, downtown Charleston's King Street is one of the most vibrant urban core shopping districts in the South.
Marion Square is the home to many monuments, including a Holocaust memorial and a statue of John C. Calhoun atop a giant pillar. During the summer the square is also the home to a farmers market on Saturdays and various festivals such as the Food and Wine Festival and the renowned Spoleto Arts Festival.
Broad Street
Meeting Street
Visitors Center
French Quarter
Market Street is the home of Charleston's historic city market. Established in the 1790s, the market stretches four blocks between Meeting and Bay Streets.
The U.S. Custom House was constructed between 1853 and 1879. Its development was delayed due to costs and the possibility of South Carolina's secession from the Union in 1860.
Waterfront Park is a 12-acre award winning public space along the Cooper River that opened in 1990. This area of Charleston's waterfront had historically been a center of maritime traffic and wharves.
Harleston Village
Harleston Village is situated just west of downtown Charleston's business district on the historic peninsula.
Harleston Village's Colonial Lake was originally a mill pond for a succession of sawmills that were once in the area. For many years the lake was known as the Rutledge Street Pond. It acquired the name, Colonial Lake, in 1881, in honor of the "Colonial Commons" established in 1768. Some residents still call it "The Pond."
The park around the lake was developed in 1882-87.
College of Charleston
Founded in 1770, the College of Charleston is the oldest institution of higher education in South Carolina and the 13th oldest in the country. Several of the College’s founders played key roles in the American Revolution and in the creation of the new republic. Three were signers of the Declaration of Independence and another three were framers of the U.S. Constitution. With 9,866 undergraduates and 1,454 postgraduates packed into a compact urban campus, the streets around the college are some of the busiest in the downtown area. One interesting tidbit about this school is its female (five) to male (one) ratio. The College of Charleston is located on the border between Harleston Village and downtown Charleston.
South of Broad
The Battery is a landmark defensive seawall and promenade surrounding by antebellum homes at the southern tip of Charleston's historic peninsula.
Medical District
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) was established in 1824 with seven physicians as faculty and 30 enrolled students. Student enrollments have jumped from 571 in 1965 to almost 2,500 students in the fall of 2006, not including post doctoral residents in medicine, dental medicine and pharmacy. Today, the medical campus occupies 82-acres just west of downtown Charleston.
Random Charleston
The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge across the Cooper River opened on July 16, 2005, and is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the Americas. The bridge links Mount Pleasant with downtown Charleston, and has eight lanes and a 12-foot lane shared by pedestrians and bicycles. It replaced the Grace Memorial Bridge (built in 1929) and the Silas N. Pearman Bridge (built in 1966). They were considered two of the more dangerous bridges in America and were demolished after the Ravenel Bridge opened.
The Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at the mouth of the Cooper River on the Charleston Harbor, across from Charleston.
The Port of Charleston consists of five terminals. Three are on the Harbor and the other two are on the Cooper River just north of Charleston's bustling harbor. The port is ranked number one in customer satisfaction across North America by supply chain executives. Port activity, behind tourism, is the leading source of Charleston's revenue.
A new terminal is being built on the former Naval Station, in the City of North Charleston, to accommodate the growing needs of the port.
Upper King & Meeting Streets
In recent years, revitalization, redevelopment and infill have engulfed King and Meeting Streets just north of downtown Charleston.
Article by Ennis Davis
Charleston City Population 2011: 122,689 (City); 697,439 (Metro-2012) - (incorporated in 1670)
Jacksonville City Population 2011: 827,908 (City); 1,377,850 (Metro-2012) - (incorporated in 1832)
City population 1950: Jacksonville (204,517); Charleston (70,174)
City Land Area
Charleston: 109.0 square miles
Jacksonville: 757.7 square miles
Metropolitan Area Growth rate (2010-2012)
Charleston-North Charleston: +4.94%
Jacksonville: +2.40%
Urban Area Population (2010 census)
Charleston-North Charleston: 548,404 (ranked 76 nationwide)
Jacksonville: 1,065,219 (ranked 40 nationwide)
Urban Area Population Density (2010 census)
Charleston-North Charleston: 1,869.5 people per square mile
Jacksonville: 2,008.5 people per square mile
City Population Growth from 2000 to 2011
Charleston: +26,039
Jacksonville: +92,405
Convention Center Exhibition Space:
Charleston: Charleston Area Convention Center (located in North Charleston) - 76,960 square feet
Jacksonville: Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center (1985) - 78,500 square feet
Connected to or across the street from Convention Center:
Charleston: Embassy Suites North Charleston - 255 rooms
Jacksonville: N/A
Tallest Building:
Charleston: Saint Matthew's Lutheran Church - 255 feet
Jacksonville: Bank of America Tower - 617 feet
Fortune 500 companies 2012 (City limits only):
Charleston: N/A
Jacksonville: CSX (226), Winn-Dixie Stores (363), Fidelity National Information Services (425), Fidelity National Financial (472)
Urban infill obstacles:
Charleston: N/A - Charleston has one of the densest and active urban cores in the South.
Jacksonville: State & Union Streets cut off downtown Jacksonville from Springfield.
Downtown Nightlife:
Charleston: Market Street, East Bay Street
Jacksonville: East Bay Street
Common Downtown Albatross:
"Perception" of parking problems.
Who's Downtown is more walkable?
Charleston: 98 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
Jacksonville: 88 out of 100, according to walkscore.com
About Charleston
Quote
Charleston is the oldest and second-largest city in the southeastern U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline and is located on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston,_South_Carolina
Founded in 1670 as Charles Towne in honor of King Charles II of England, Charleston adopted its present name in 1783. It moved to its present location on Oyster Point in 1680 from a location on the west bank of the Ashley River known as Albemarle Point. By 1690, Charles Towne was the fifth largest city in North America, and it remained among the ten largest cities in the United States through the 1840 census.
With a 2010 census population of 120,080 (and a 2012 estimate of 124,632), current trends put Charleston as the fastest-growing municipality in South Carolina. The city's metropolitan area population was counted by the 2010 census at 664,607 – the second largest in the state – and the 75th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States.
Known for its rich history, well-preserved architecture, restaurant community and mannerly people, Charleston has received a large number of accolades; they include "America's Most Friendly [City]" by Travel + Leisure in 2011 and subsequently Southern Living magazine naming Charleston "the most polite and hospitable city in America".
Charleston vs. Jacksonville: Through the Years
In 1800, Charleston was the 5th largest city in the country behind New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore. Jacksonville would not surpass Charleston in population until the early 20th century.
1800
18,824 - Charleston
N/A - Jacksonville*
*Although founded in 1791, Jacksonville wasn't incorporated until 1832.
1860
40,522 - Charleston
2,118 - Jacksonville
1880
49,984 - Charleston*
7,650 - Jacksonville
*August 31, 1886 earthquate measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, damages 2,000 buildings in Charleston.
1900
55,807 - Charleston
28,429 - Jacksonville*
*One year later, Jacksonville is destroyed by fire, setting the stage for its early 20th century development boom.
1920
91,558 - Jacksonville
67,957 - Charleston*
*In 1920, the Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings is formally established in Charleston.
1960
201,030 - Jacksonville
60,288 - Charleston*
Current Charleston mayor Joseph P. Riley elected in 1975. Riley has been the city's mayor for 38 consecutive years.
1980
540,920 - Jacksonville*
69,779 - Charleston
*Jacksonville merged with Duval County in 1968.
2000
735,503 - Jacksonville*
96,650 - Charleston
Jacksonville rapidly expands outward at the expense of its urban core. Economically stagnant for much of the early 20th century, Charleston mayor Riley, leads revitalization efforts in the city by focusing on livability and quality-of-life enhancements.
2010
821,784 - Jacksonville
120,083 - Charleston
Downtown Charleston
Quote
The Historic Downtown District has stood throughout Charleston’s history as the cultural capital of the South and is considered by many to be a living museum, with a wonderful variety of things to do and see. In this beautifully preserved city you can experience tours through historic landmarks, including 18th century homes and plantations, the Battery, museums, churches and the city market. The number of historic sites in Charleston South Carolina is astonishing. Charleston also boasts numerous art galleries that display the city’s impressive appreciation for the visual arts.https://www.charleston.com/neighborhoods/downtown-charleston.aspx
King Street
Today, downtown Charleston's King Street is one of the most vibrant urban core shopping districts in the South.
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King Street, named for the ruler of England, was in the early days of the settlement the main highway into Charlestown, down the narrow ''Neck"' from the interior. lt followed a ridge of high ground between the many creeks and marshes lacing the peninsula. The road was known variously as "The Broad Path," the "High Way" and "The Broad Road." Those names continued to be applied to that part of the street above Beaufain Street until after the Revolution. During the latter part of the 18th and early part of the 19th centuries, the upper part of King Street became the center of the wagon yard trade. Wagon drivers from the interior there traded country products for store goods. During the period from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, King street was a regional retail emporium. King Street ended at South Battery until 1911, when it was extended southward to newly created Murray Boulevard.https://www.ccpl.org/content.asp?id=15640&action=detail&catid=6..
Marion Square is the home to many monuments, including a Holocaust memorial and a statue of John C. Calhoun atop a giant pillar. During the summer the square is also the home to a farmers market on Saturdays and various festivals such as the Food and Wine Festival and the renowned Spoleto Arts Festival.
Broad Street
Quote
Broad Street, so named because it was the broadest street in Charles Towne, is also one of the most historically significant streets in the nation. Many of the buildings and structures on Broad Street have an interesting tale to tell.https://www.discovercharleston.com/discover/broad-street.htm
Meeting Street
Quote
Meeting Street was one of the "great streets" laid out according to Lord Shaftesbury's instructions about 1672. Meeting Street takes its name from the White Meeting House of the lndependents or Congregationalists. Before that name was adopted, the street was usually described in terms of its course, such as: "The Great Street that Runneth from Ashley River to the Market." While St. Philip's Church was briefly (in terms of its history) where St. Michael's now stands, the street was sometimes called Church Street, and after St. Philip's moved, was called Old Church Street.https://www.ccpl.org/content.asp?id=15675&action=detail&catid=6025&parentid=5747
Visitors Center
French Quarter
Quote
The French Quarter of Charleston, South Carolina, is a section of downtown Charleston. It is considered to be bounded by the Cooper River on the east, Broad Street on the south, Meeting Street on the west and Market Street on the north. The French Quarter is basically within the original "walled" city of Charleston. The area began being called the French Quarter in 1973 when preservation efforts began for warehouse buildings on the Lodge Alley block. The name recognizes the high concentration of French merchants in the area's history. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Quarter_(Charleston,_South_Carolina)
The neighborhood was settled as part of the original Grande Modell of Charles Towne in 1680. It is famous for its art galleries; it also has many restaurants and places of commerce as well as Charleston's Waterfront Park.
Charleston's French Quarter is home to many fine historic buildings, among them, the Pink House Tavern, built around 1712, and the Old Slave Mart, built by Z.B. Oakes in 1859. Also in the French Quarter are the Dock Street Theatre, arguably the first site of theatrical productions in the United States, and the French Huguenot Church, a beautiful Gothic Revival church which houses the sole-surviving French Calvinist Congregation in the United States. St. Philip's Episcopal Church, the first congregation in Charleston, whose current building dates to 1835, is also in the French Quarter. St. Philip's graveyard is the final resting place of Edward Rutledge, the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence, and U.S. Senator and Vice President John C. Calhoun, whose body was exumed during the Civil War and buried near the church in an unmarked grave. Later, after the war, his body was moved back to its original location and a memorial constructed in the 1880s. Many would say he crossed Church Street more times dead than alive.
Market Street is the home of Charleston's historic city market. Established in the 1790s, the market stretches four blocks between Meeting and Bay Streets.
The U.S. Custom House was constructed between 1853 and 1879. Its development was delayed due to costs and the possibility of South Carolina's secession from the Union in 1860.
Waterfront Park is a 12-acre award winning public space along the Cooper River that opened in 1990. This area of Charleston's waterfront had historically been a center of maritime traffic and wharves.
Harleston Village
Harleston Village is situated just west of downtown Charleston's business district on the historic peninsula.
Quote
The Village of Harleston, more recently called Harleston Village, was originally part of a grant made to John Coming and Henry Hughes in 1671-72. After the death of Coming and his wife, Mrs. Affra Coming, it was inherited by Mrs. Coming's nephew, John Harleston, and his descendants. The section bore the Harleston name when it was developed and streets were opened up in 1770.
Harleston Village's Colonial Lake was originally a mill pond for a succession of sawmills that were once in the area. For many years the lake was known as the Rutledge Street Pond. It acquired the name, Colonial Lake, in 1881, in honor of the "Colonial Commons" established in 1768. Some residents still call it "The Pond."
The park around the lake was developed in 1882-87.
College of Charleston
Founded in 1770, the College of Charleston is the oldest institution of higher education in South Carolina and the 13th oldest in the country. Several of the College’s founders played key roles in the American Revolution and in the creation of the new republic. Three were signers of the Declaration of Independence and another three were framers of the U.S. Constitution. With 9,866 undergraduates and 1,454 postgraduates packed into a compact urban campus, the streets around the college are some of the busiest in the downtown area. One interesting tidbit about this school is its female (five) to male (one) ratio. The College of Charleston is located on the border between Harleston Village and downtown Charleston.
South of Broad
Quote
South of Broad is the most exclusive part of Downtown and perhaps the entire state. Rows of palatial antebellum mansions line East Bay and Meeting Streets but you’ll find homes of all shapes and sizes on the quaint wandering streets. Perhaps the quietest neighborhood of Downtown, residents here enjoy the tranquility of the suburbs with the proximity of urban living, though this district is very popular with meandering tourists and horse drawn carriages.https://charlestoninsideout.net/downtown-neighborhoods-charleston-sc/south-of-broad-charleston-sc/
The Battery is a landmark defensive seawall and promenade surrounding by antebellum homes at the southern tip of Charleston's historic peninsula.
Medical District
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) was established in 1824 with seven physicians as faculty and 30 enrolled students. Student enrollments have jumped from 571 in 1965 to almost 2,500 students in the fall of 2006, not including post doctoral residents in medicine, dental medicine and pharmacy. Today, the medical campus occupies 82-acres just west of downtown Charleston.
Random Charleston
The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge across the Cooper River opened on July 16, 2005, and is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the Americas. The bridge links Mount Pleasant with downtown Charleston, and has eight lanes and a 12-foot lane shared by pedestrians and bicycles. It replaced the Grace Memorial Bridge (built in 1929) and the Silas N. Pearman Bridge (built in 1966). They were considered two of the more dangerous bridges in America and were demolished after the Ravenel Bridge opened.
The Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at the mouth of the Cooper River on the Charleston Harbor, across from Charleston.
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Patriots Point Development Authority was established in the mid 1970's to develop a naval and maritime museum on Charleston Harbor with the center piece of the museum being the World War II aircraft carrier, the USS YORKTOWN. Patriots Point has become one the state's major tourist attractions with more than 270,000 visitors each year. The YORKTOWN boasts one of the largest education and overnight camping programs in the nation, with more than 40,000 school age children attending these programs each year. The Patriots Point Development Authority Board also oversees the stewardship of over 350 acres of property on Charleston Harbor, much of which is currently under lease for a golf course, a hotel, and a collegiate athletic complex.https://www.patriotspoint.org/about_us/
The Port of Charleston consists of five terminals. Three are on the Harbor and the other two are on the Cooper River just north of Charleston's bustling harbor. The port is ranked number one in customer satisfaction across North America by supply chain executives. Port activity, behind tourism, is the leading source of Charleston's revenue.
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The Port of Charleston, owned and operated by the South Carolina Ports Authority, is one of the largest ports in the U.S. The Port of Charleston consists of five terminals. Despite occasional labor disputes, the port is ranked number one in customer satisfaction across North America by supply chain executives. Port activity at the two terminals located in the City of Charleston, is one of the city's leading sources of revenue, behind tourism.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston,_South_Carolina
Today the Port of Charleston boasts the deepest water in the Southeast region and regularly handles ships too big to transit through the Panama Canal. A next-generation harbor deepening project is currently underway to take the Port of Charleston's shipping channel deeper than 45 feet at mean low tide.
Union Pier, in the City of Charleston, is a cruise ship passenger terminal and hosts numerous cruise departures annually. In May 2010, the Carnival Fantasy was permanently stationed in Charleston, offering weekly cruises to the Bahamas and Key West, eventually to include Bermuda. With the addition of the weekly Carnival Fantasy sailings, Union Terminal hosted 67 embarkations and ports of call in 2010.
A new terminal is being built on the former Naval Station, in the City of North Charleston, to accommodate the growing needs of the port.
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The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly referred to simply as The Citadel, is a state-supported, comprehensive college located in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, founded in 1842. It is one of the six Senior Military Colleges in the United States. It has 16 academic departments divided into five schools offering 18 majors and 35 minors. The core day program consists of military cadets pursuing bachelor's degrees who are required to live on campus for all four years. The evening program, known as The Citadel Graduate College, includes a large postgraduate program and a small number of part-time students pursuing undergraduate degrees. The Citadel is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Citadel,_The_Military_College_of_South_Carolina
Upper King & Meeting Streets
In recent years, revitalization, redevelopment and infill have engulfed King and Meeting Streets just north of downtown Charleston.
Article by Ennis Davis