11-10-23

Well the in person 2023 Charleston conference is over until we start the virtual clone of the conference! Tune in November 28 or thereabouts!  I remember the big hullabaloo over the construction of Charleston Place hotel. It took years and lots of political wrangling. We had moved to Charleston in 1977.  Back then, the only restaurant was the Greek Old Towne on King Street.  We had been here ten years and it was a totally different undiscovered destination. We stayed at Two Meeting Street for $12 a night! But when the wrangling was over and the construction of Charleston Place was approved, it was1986 and Charleston was becoming a tourist destination.  Charleston Place has gone through many names and owners – Charleston Place, The Belmond, The Omni Charleston. I believe it is now owned by Beemonk Capital, the family office of Charleston billionaire and philanthropist Ben Navarro. But I digress. Now we have too many hotels and there is always wrangling about new buildings and regulations and we now have the aggressive BAR, the Board of Architectural Review. The Post and Courier is always full of news of new hotels. There have been recent articles about the Bennett, which Fodor’s Travel Guide listed among the 60 best in the world. Me, I just fondly remember the inexpensive room at Two Meeting Street.

Have you ever read the book Rich in Love by Josephine Humphries? Jo was the coordinator of Volunteers for the Charleston Spoleto Festival when it was just getting off the ground in 1977. Jo wrote this wonderful book which was also a movie. I learned that John Tagler once stayed in Two Meeting Street when they were filming the movie! What a coincidence!

I was gratified to see that we are getting comments on Tea Time. From Jennifer Dewar on October 27, 2023 at 1:19 pm. For tuba fans, I invite you to Tennessee Technological University’s “Tuba Collection” webpage, thanks to our now retired and renowned tubist, professor R. Winston Morris: https://www.tntech.edu/tubacollection/biography.php. Tour our tuba museum, courtesy of Dr. Charles McAdams photography.