MYSTERY PHOTO:  Look familiar?

This image should look familiar, but what is it?  Send your guess to:  editor@charlestoncurrents.com.  And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.

Our previous Mystery Photo

The Aug. 13 mystery was the gazebo, or bandstand, built in Charleston’s Hampton Park  for the S.C. Inter-State and West Indian Exposition of 1901-02.

This week’s Mystery Photo detectives included Marnie Huger of Richmond, Va.; But Ferillo of Columbia; Stephen Yetman and Gwen McCurdy, both of Charleston; Les Schwartz; Archie Burkel and Paul Hedden, both of James Island; Bill Segars of Hartsville; and George Graf of Palmyra, Va.

Several people shared that the expo was held to promote Charleston business, but was generally considered a bust (even though President Teddy Roosevelt attended).  Graf provided some other interesting information about the land that now is a 60-acre park.  “ According to charlestondaily.net:

• “From 1792 – 1900, Hampton Park was a horse racing track called Washington Race Track.  It was started by the South Carolina Jockey Club.  Though the track was historically closed in 1900, the last race was in 1877 due to the damage caused by the Civil War.
• “During the Civil War, the land was used as a prisoner of war camp for Union Soldiers being moved from Andersonville, Georgia to Florence, South Carolina.  Over 200 died due to illness and are buried in unmarked graves near the parking lot on the Wagoner Terrance side.
• “In 1901, several businessmen decided to hold a regional trade exposition in Charleston and bought the land from the Charleston Library Society for part of the grounds.  The Expo was considered a failure by many but in 1902 Teddy Roosevelt came to the event and one year, the actual Liberty Bell made an appearance.  Officially called the South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition, this event brought new business to Charleston including the American Cigar Company and United Fruit Company.
• “The Boston Bean Eaters (today known as the Atlanta Braves) held two weeks of spring training in the park in 1905, and lost to the Detroit Tigers.
• “Mr. Archer Huntington donated $1000 and a collection of exotic animals from his personal collection at Brookgreen Gardens to get a zoo started in 1932.  zoo included lions, bears, and native species in a series of big chain link cages located between the current bandstand and the Cleveland Street entrance.  By 1972, the zoo was in such bad condition, it was deemed in violation of new federal codes of animal welfare treatment and was soon closed.”

Send us a mystery:  If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!)   Send it along to  editor@charlestoncurrents.com.