Group Labels Charleston as Threatened

Charleston’s historic district is listed among 67 sites in the world most threatened to lose valued historic significance due to development.

The list, released this week by the World Monument Fund, lumps the city’s historic district with a 13^th Century Hopi settlement in Arizona and a 5^th Century Buddhist Temple in China, among others.

The city can blame an expanding cruise tourism business for the designation, but not everyone agrees that the designation is justified.

“Charleston Historic District … now accommodates massive cruise ships that release throngs of tourists into the city. The waves of increased visitors impact the city’s urban and social fabric,” the fund writes on its website.

Read more about the ongoing cruise debate.

“Its protection is of national importance, not only because of its diverse architectural heritage, but also because of its critical role in the development of historic preservation policy in the United States,” the website states.

The port and Mayor Joe Riley, however, told the Post and Courier that cruise travel amounts to just 3 percent of yearly tourism in the city, and that cruise-ship opponents lobbied to have the city placed on the list.

"That designation has nothing to do with reality," Riley told the Post and Courier. "I know they were lobbied, lobbying choreographed by (Coastal Conservation League executive director) Dana Beach and so they've been sold a bill of goods. ... It's very unfortunate."

In June, Charleston was placed on a similar list put out by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Read more on the cruise-ship debate and the Carnival Fantasy.