Cathedral of St John the Baptist

March 8th, 2010 by Lois

The largest and most elaborate of Charleston’s antebellum religious buildings was dedicated in 1907. Today the long awaited steeple was installed. Glenn Keyes architect…..absolutely beautiful! Great job and congratulations to everyone involved.

Tully alley

February 22nd, 2010 by Lois

Clearly THE place to be is Coffee on St Philip St. Great rehab of a Charleston Single style house in Elloittborough. Check out our listing on Tully Alley located just down the street.

Lane and Smythe Style File: Case 001LSRELLC

February 27th, 2009 by Christy

Catching Ann Pope just walking into work today – she stylishly shows off her latest fashion finds. Blouse, GAP; Pant, Banana Republic; Shoes, Christian Louboutin; Glasses, Michael Kors; Bag, Longchamp

As always we encourage everyone at Lane and Smythe and our clients to, “Live Your Style.”

Photo by Russ

Rub a dub dub, 7 (fill in the blank) in a tub.

February 4th, 2009 by Christy

Living it up at Lois’ during our Christmas PAR-tay!

Something exciting happend!

January 26th, 2009 by Christy

Lois broke her toe. :(

She will be back in the full swing of things momentarily. Please send flowers and cards to 9 Broad. :)

A Broad Street Sunset

December 12th, 2008 by Christy

Lois Lane is responsible for this beauty!

Shepard, We heart you.

December 9th, 2008 by Christy

Being a young artist and attending The Art Institute of Charleston I was excited to see one of Charleston’s own in one of my favorite magazine’s, GQ. This month in the December 2008 issue Mr. Fairey has his own page.  In the quaint office of 9 Broad, my desk sits in front of a mantle with a very unique piece of art on a metal sheet done by Mr. Fairey. “RADICALS” – a 2 color vector style piece in four quadrants with portraits of Einstein, Warhol, Parks and King. I love it. It is such a part of my everyday life.

Mr. Fairey we have discussed you and your work many times at The Art Institute of Charleston! Congrats!

Russ Bratcher
Lane and Smythe Real Estate
In-House Graphic Designer

Ding dong merrily on high!

December 5th, 2008 by Christy

Does Boom Mean Bust?

November 10th, 2008 by Christy

CORBIS

How 109 historic places cope with tourism.

What happens when you match travelers with historic places? Once upon a time, it seemed, only happy endings. The travelers loved discovering well-preserved cities and towns. The destinations reaped financial rewards. Historic preservation was the ultimate winner.

In some locations, however, the situation soured as visitation soared. Popularity spawned crowding, pollution, sprawl, and overdevelopment-vexing residents and visitors alike. Historic sites began to look worse for wear, their authenticity sometimes blurred by the local temptation to “give’em what they want,” even if it wasn’t genuine.

So much for happy endings.

Still, mass tourism doesn’t have to make a mess. Some destinations, having tussled with everything from noisy tour buses to pushy bauble hawkers, have learned to manage crowds with aplomb-avoiding town-tourist conflicts and environmental degradation while keeping history real.

Do you wonder how the world’s top historical attractions are coping these days? Which ones do a good job of protecting their heritage and environment? Which have slipped? To answer these questions, the national Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations conducted a survey that rated the stewardship skills of 109 places worldwide. Each is a city, town, neighborhood, or landscape of considerable historical value.

A panel of 280 experts-from fields such as preservation, tourism, ecology, site management, travel writing, cultural studies, and archaeology-assessed the destination. (The panel’s criteria were environmental quality, condition of historic buildings, cultural integrity, aesthetic appeal, quality of tourism management, and future outlook.) Each location was given a numerical score, best to worst. The results appear in the November/December 2008 issue of National Geographic Traveler, with additional panelist comments available online at nationalgeographic.com/traveler.

Of particular interest to U.S. preservationists are the survey’s American destinations. Preservation spoke to residents in five featured locales: Ashland, Ore.; Charleston, S.C.; Galena, Ill.; Lancaster County, Pa.; and Santa Fe, N.M.

See what these residents told us, and learn how the National Trust for Historic Preservation can help communities become better stewards of their local heritage, at PreservationNation.org/magazine.
Fleming, Kevin. “Does boom Mean Bust?” Preservation 1 November 2008: 12-13.

Turtle, Turtle!

October 14th, 2008 by Christy

Lois Lane saves a crossing turtle!
Cooper River – Charleston, SC