Many years in the planning, the 22-acre park was built at a cost of $14 million and opened to the public on July 4, 2009. One of its most impressive features is its 1,250-foot fishing and pedestrian pier, the longest such facility in the Lowcountry and one of the longest in the Southeast. The pier is constructed of tabby concrete – oyster shells mixed with concrete – an important, traditional building material throughout the Charleston area.
Fun, Fishing and a Shrine to Fallen Heroes

Partly as a practical matter but also as homage to the past, the pilings that supported what was once the Silas Pearman Bridge were cut down and now form the base of the Memorial Waterfront Park pier. East Cooper residents now travel to Charleston on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, a spectacular span opened in 2005 that rises above the park and provides welcome shade from the sometimes scorching South Carolina sun. The dominant feature of the park is its colorful and innovative children’s area. Well-lighted and featuring numerous security cameras, the playground boasts a host of unusual and safety-oriented attractions for the kids and comfortable seating areas nearby for their parents. The perimeter of the playground is discreetly fenced, with access only to the rest of the park, not to nearby roads or parking areas.

As a tribute to Mount Pleasant’s heritage as a home port for working shrimpers, the playground features a kids’ shrimp boat, part of a complex of bridge-like structures that mimic the Ravenel Bridge overhead. These bridge-like structures are complete with slides, stairs and netting attached to the shrimp boat so kids can climb easily from one to another. Beneath it all is a light blue rubber pad, for safety and to represent the blue waters that surround Mount Pleasant.

At the park, a tidy shop sells snacks, gifts and tackle and rents fishing gear for use on the pier, and there are plenty of restrooms and picnic areas, as well as a visitors’ center. A sweetgrass pavilion educates visitors about the Gullah tradition of sweetgrass basket making and to honor the artisans who continue that tradition today along a designated section of U.S. Route 17.

As the park’s name suggests, its outstanding feature is the memorial itself. Dedicated to the serviceman and women from Mount Pleasant and its precursor, Christ Church Parish, who lost their lives fighting for the cause of freedom, it was created at a cost of nearly $1 million. The memorial includes a reflective pool, brick-lined paths and a sculpture by celebrated artist Raymond Kaskey, whose other architectural sculptures include the National World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Kaskey’s Mount Pleasant work is a bronze female figure representing contradictory emotions of loss and hope. In her left hand, she holds a tri-folded flag – similar to the one presented to grieving widows and mothers. Her right hand rests upon a World War II helmet, supported by a rifle.

For family fun, fishing, an evening of entertainment or the opportunity simply to relax and reflect, Memorial Waterfront Park is a special attraction in a town that thrives on offering its residents and visitors nothing but the best.

Daniel Island’s developers incorporated many historic design features of the neighborhoods of downtown Charleston. The homes are set close to the quiet, meandering streets to enhance the neighborly feel and feature large covered porches, ideal for chatting with neighbors. Wide sidewalks crisscross the island, making walking to stores, schools and parks a practical proposition. Everything residents need, from dry cleaners to dentists, is available on the island.

It wasn’t always so. Named in honor of Robert Daniel, an early governor of South Carolina, the island was at one time made up of several large plantations. Harry Frank Guggenheim bought the island to use for cattle farming and as a family hunting and fishing retreat in 1947. When he died in 1971, the land was passed on to the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.

"... Just minutes from Mount Pleasant, downtown Charleston, area beaches and the Wando River, Daniel Island’s prime location offers residents almost unlimited recreational and cultural opportunities...."

Though Daniel Island is a collection of carefully planned communities, considerable work has gone into maintaining the rural feel of the island. Large thickets of live oaks, draped with Spanish moss, and towering palmetto trees remain untouched, giving the newly developed island a well-established look and feel.

Daniel Island features several spacious parks with playgrounds and open grassy spaces and is home to a golf course designed by Tom Fazio that is rapidly earning a reputation as one of the best courses in the area. Each April, the world’s best female tennis players compete in the Family Circle Cup at Daniel Island’s Family Circle Tennis Center. The stadium also hosts Davis Cup matches and is a popular venue for outdoor concerts. Blackbaud Stadium, one of the country’s premier soccer-specific stadiums and the home ground for the Charleston Battery, is also on Daniel Island.

Just minutes from Mount Pleasant, downtown Charleston, area beaches and the Wando River, Daniel Island’s prime location offers residents almost unlimited recreational and cultural opportunities.