Join Author Leigh Jones Handal for a talk about her book Lost Charleston in the Middleton Place Pavilion. From the dawn of the photographic era, the book chronicles through photographs and short essays the markets, mansions, hotels, restaurants, church towers and cherished businesses that time, progress, and fashion have swept aside.
The free talk will be held in the Pavilion at 6:30 pm and light refreshments will be served. Q&A with the author will follow the talk. Plan to arrive early to enjoy dinner at the Middleton Place Restaurant at 5 pm (call 843-266-7477 for reservations).
About the book:
The miracle of Charleston is that despite the very worst that man and nature has thrown at it–from earthquakes to hurricanes, great fires to Civil War bombardment–so much of the city has been preserved. Lost Charleston shows what else could have been on display for tourists to visit had events been otherwise. Using classic archive images, Charleston’s greatest architectural and cultural losses are documented in chronological order from 1861 through to 2018.
Apart from the grand buildings there are also elements of Charleston life precious to Charlestonians that have disappeared over time, many of which will still resonate with the local community. These include beloved local restaurants, annual festivals, the fishing fleet that DuBose Heyward wrote about in his novel Porgy, a famed local football team, trolley cars, and the Piggly Wiggly store. Plus there’s the Jenkins Orphanage Band whose dance moves gave the city its most famous export: The Charleston!
About the author:
A native South Carolinian, Leigh Jones Handal has been an avid student of Lowcountry history since she was a Brownie Scout. She is co-editor of the City of Charleston’s official Tour Guide Training Manual, and her newest book, Lost Charleston, released Sept. 3, 2019, is on sale now. Leigh organized Historic Charleston Foundation’s annual spring house and garden tours for 13 years (1998-2010), as well as the Preservation Society of Charleston’s fall home tours (2014). A graduate of the College of Charleston, Leigh has been a licensed tour guide for more than 20 years.