Talking to the Dead

Abstract

tiently exclaimed when I recounted my experience of nearly fainting in Charleston’s City Market during a middleschool fi eld trip. In preparation for the trip, we received information about the numerous historic homes and museums that make up a part of Charleston’s rich heritage. Upon arrival, we went to the Battery on Charleston Harbor, the place where Charleston residents witnessed the fi rst shots of the Civil War at nearby Fort Sumter. It was not my fi rst time visiting downtown Charleston, but I was fascinated by the cobblestone streets and captivated by the feeling that I had stepped back in time. That sense of being a part of history remained with me for the duration of the excursion. The experience of recognizing my own place in historical time became an especially distinct reality, however, when we visited the City Market. Built between 1804 and the 1830s, the City Market had always been utilized as a space for the public selling and trading of goods. Comprising three buildings located between four crossstreets, the City Market continues to be a tourist hotspot in the downtown area today, and is open 365 days a year. Each corner within the City Market contains more than one hundred openair sheds fi lled with clothing, jewelry, antiques, toys, souvenirs, food items, paintings, and crafts of all kinds for sale. For those without a vendor’s permit for space inside the City Market proper, stands also take up considerable space between the A, B, and C Buildings. In addition to being close to historic hotels like the Andrew Pinckney Inn and the Planters Inn, as well as such contemporary lodging as prologue