Craig Garrison

Carriage steps were important and functional streetscape features in Charleston South Carolina during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. In the summer of 2013, 105 extant carriage steps were located in the historic district of downtown Charleston. Their presence on the street today is a reminder of the long history of this place and a testament to the value of preservation that keeps them there, even though their function is no longer relevant. They represent a critical vestige of a liminal space in Charleston's self-conscious and historic presentation of itself. As transportation progresses over time so do social patterns that develop. These artifacts were not only static in assisting the high step of a carriage, they were also dynamic on the street in the way they guided people and carriages from one point to the other. When analyzed as a collection they offer insights into different architectural and social patterns that developed around early urban settings, specifically-how the private domestic and economic world of built structures addressed and interacted with the public, open environment of the street and the relationship of streets to approaching visitors.

Carriage steps were important and functional streetscape features in Charleston South Carolina during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. In the summer of 2013, 105 extant carriage steps were located in the historic district of downtown Charleston. Their presence on the street today is a reminder of the long history of this place and a testament to the value of preservation that keeps them there, even though their function is no longer relevant. They represent a critical vestige of a liminal space in Charleston's self-conscious and historic presentation of itself. As transportation progresses over time so do social patterns that develop. These artifacts were not only static in assisting the high step of a carriage, they were also dynamic on the street in the way they guided people and carriages from one point to the other. When analyzed as a collection they offer insights into different architectural and social patterns that developed around early urban settings, specifically-how the private domestic and economic world of built structures addressed and interacted with the public, open environment of the street and the relationship of streets to approaching visitors.