The Best Weekly Markets in the Southeast

Mar 9, 2016 • Mike Field

Article by Michael Field

CHARLESTON FARMERS MARKET - CHARLESTON, SC

Since 1989, the Charleston Farmers Market brings thousands of locals and tourists into downtown Charleston every Saturday from April through December. The market is living a microcosm of the renaissance that has changed King Street from a derelict and foreboding downtown commercial district, to the South’s premier destination. The area bustles with life around the clock where two and three story mixed use buildings open up to a vibrant streetscape filled with world class farm-to-table restaurants and unique, locally-owned retail establishments.

Photo Credit: Charleston Farmers Market

The beginning of the King Street revival has generally been linked to the construction of the Charleston Place hotel and retail complex in 1986. Three years later, Mayor Joe Riley, who recently retired after more than 40 years of leading the city, started the Charleston Farmers Market in 1989 through a partnership with the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service. Riley’s leadership as mayor serves as a textbook case study on how the health of our city centers is a function of their design. When the design of an urban environment is allowed to be altered in a way that de-prioritizes the pedestrian and an active street life, success is rarely attainable.

Photo Credit: Charleston Farmers Market

The market is currently a function of the City of Charleston’ Office of Cultural Affairs, Special Events Committee, and the Parks Department, and held in Marion Square. Marion Square is a 10 acre greenspace in downtown Charleston that has undergone a series of renovations since being first conveyed to South Carolina in 1758. Its most recent refresh occurred in 2001, around the time of a massive streetscape enhancement project along King Street, which was completed in phases from 2000-2009.

Photo Credit: Charleston Farmers Market