The South - Eastern USA - page 667

Gibbes Museum of Art GALLERY
( www.gibbesmuseum.org ; 135 Meeting St; adult/child $9/7; 10am-5pm Tue-Sat, 1-5pm Sun)
Houses a decent collection of American and Southern works. The contemporary collec-
tion includes works by local artists, with Lowcountry life as a highlight.
Old Slave Mart Museum MUSEUM
( www.nps.gov/nr/travel/charleston/osm.htm ; 6 Chalmers St; adult/child $7/5; 9am-5pm Mon-
Sat) African men, women and children were once auctioned off here, it's now a museum
of South Carolina's shameful past. Text-heavy exhibits illuminate the slave experience;
the few artifacts, such as leg shackles, are especially chilling. For first-hand stories, listen
to the oral recollections of former slave Elijah Green.
Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon HISTORIC BUILDING
( www.oldexchange.org ; 122 E Bay St; adult/child $8/4; 9am-5pm; ) Kids love the dun-
geon, used as a prison for pirates and for American patriots held by the British during the
Revolutionary War. The cramped space sits beneath a stately Georgian Palladian customs
house completed in 1771. Costumed guides lead the dungeon tours.
Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim SYNAGOGUE
( www.kkbe.org ; 90 Hasell St; tours 10am-noon & 1:30-3:30pm Mon-Thu, 10am-noon & 1-3pm Fri,
1-4pm Sun) The oldest continuously used synagogue in the country. There are free docent-
led tours.
The Battery & White Point Gardens GARDEN
The Battery is the southern tip of the Charleston Peninsula, buffered by a seawall. Stroll
past cannons and statues of military heroes in the gardens then walk the promenade and
look for Fort Sumter.
Rainbow Row NEIGHBORHOOD
Around the corner from White Point Gardens, this stretch of lower E Bay St is one of the
most photographed areas of town for its candy-colored houses.
Historic Homes
About half a dozen majestic historic homes are open to visitors. Discounted combination
tickets may tempt you to see more, but one or two will be enough for most people.
Guided tours run every half-hour.
Aiken-Rhett House HISTORIC BUILDING