The Public Broadcasting Service gave a shoutout to two Charleston landmarks in a documentary that aired over the weekend.
“America: the Land We Live In,” followed hosts as they track down historic spots illustrated in the 19th-century book “Picturesque America,” which is considered one of the nation’s earliest travel guides. The film highlighted the “then and now of each 150-year-old location, while also discovering the culture, history and beauty in each place,” according to PBS.
Drayton Hall claimed a special segment. Its spot included the history of its giant live oak rooted in a drawing from the book.
“It was exciting to go through historic archives to search for records that could help identify the tree. We’ve never seen the drawing in this book before, so it’s a glimpse of visitors to the property in the late 1800s,” said Patty Sailer, a spokeswoman for Drayton Hall Preservation Trust.
Also featured was a peninsula property at 20 S. Battery. Now an 11-room boutique hotel after a major renovation by owner Jack Shaeffer in 2020, it was a private mansion when it was completed in 1843. It’s known as “birthplace of preservation,” as it was the home of Susan Pringle Frost, who helped establish what later became the Preservation Society of CHarleston, the oldest advocacy group of its kind in the country.
