Christmas Morning

It’s very early Christmas morning and all through the house…and outside…it is very quiet, as it should be. 

Soon the family will be up and the many gifts will be opened. But one gift is missing. Our younger son did not make it home from Chicago after testing positive for Covid two days ago. He says he feels fine, that it started with a cold. His brother came home with a cold but it seems to have run its course, but not before it passed on to me, apparently/allegedly. Son No. 1 did his second Covid test yesterday since being home. Both came back negative. 

Defending My Favorite Watering Hole!

 

Charleston’s Dewberry Hotel on Meeting Street across from historic Marion Square is an excellent example of successful real estate repurposing. The original structure was built in the 1960s as a federal building housing offices most of us would rather avoid such as the FBI and IRS. (I went there to interview an FBI official for a news story I did at Channel 5 TV back in the early 1990s). 

That building was closed and evacuated in the 1990s due to dangerous asbestos problems. After a really long time vacant the Dewberry Hotel opened several years ago. 

A real drawing card for people staying and not staying in the fine rooms here is the rooftop Citrus Club. A few weeks ago Alesia and I took there our friends from Virginia, Rodger and Tina Slate (see them above). 

Eight stories high on top of the Dewberry Hotel the Citrus Club offers majestic views of Charleston’s historic district and the sunset views from up there are very special. To me, it is easily one of Charleston's coolest places and most romantic too! 

Downtown Delight- The Dewberry Hotel

 

It should be on the shortlist of most successful repurposed buildings in Charleston’s long history. 

In this photo the Dewberry Hotel at 334 Meeting St. doesn’t look too differently from the staid federal government building that stood tall by Marion Square for decades. 

Closed back in the 1990s for asbestos problems the structure was empty and dormant for nearly 20 years. 

But several years ago hoteliers took over and transformed the site into a swanky and pricey five-star place of comfort and class. 

Rooms regularly go for more than $400 a night. What guests receive at such cost are first-rate accommodations and service in a primo downtown location.