Beaufort SC ranked as 12th Best Small Town Art Destination by American Style

Posted by Todd Covington on Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 at 7:21pm.

In the June edition of American Style magazine, Beaufort was named the 12th best small town art destination in the US.  If you've visited our sleepy little town, you know why.  Amongst the quaint Mom n' Pops stores are a myriad of art galleries throughout the city.  Bay Street is home to a large number of the local galleries.  The ranking of twelfth is up two spots from fourteenth in 2008. 

Is you think the small town category is no big deal because of it might be less competitive, consider that Beaufort beat out well known artsy towns such as Aspen, Colorado; Laguna Beach, California; and Naples, Florida.  Art connoisseurs can rest assured that when visiting Beaufort SC, they won't be disappointed.

The 2009 poll marks the 12th Reader's Choice contest for Top 25 American Art Destinations.  When voting, readers are asked to pick destinations that are exciting, reliable, and budget-minded.  American Style uses three categories.  These being Top 25 Big Cities (population of 500,00 or greater), Mid-Sized Cities (population 499,000 to 100,000), and Top 25 Small Towns (population less than 100,00).  Below are the full results.

BIG CITIES
1. New York, N.Y.
2. Chicago, Ill.
3. Washington, D.C.
4. San Francisco, Calif.
5. Albuquerque, N.M.
6. Boston, Mass.
7. Seattle, Wash.
8. Atlanta, Ga.
9. Philadelphia, Pa.
10. Los Angeles, Calif.
11. Portland, Ore.
12. Baltimore, Md.
13. Denver, Colo.
14. Phoenix, Ariz.
15. Austin, Texas
16. Charlotte, N.C.
17. Columbus, Ohio
18. Nashville, Tenn.
19. San Diego, Calif.
20. Tucson, Ariz.
21. San Antonio, Texas
22. Las Vegas, Nev.
23. Milwaukee, Wis.
24. Dallas, Texas
25. Houston, Texas		 MID-SIZE CITIES
1. Buffalo, N.Y.
2. Chattanooga, Tenn.
3. Pittsburgh, Pa.
4. Scottsdale, Ariz.
5. New Orleans, La.
6. Charleston, S.C.
7. Savannah, Ga.
8. Cleveland, Ohio
9. Ann Arbor, Mich.
10. Minneapolis, Minn.
11. Alexandria, Va.
12. Miami, Fla.
13. Tacoma, Wash.
14. St. Louis, Mo.
15. Athens, Ga.
16. Kansas City, Mo.
17. Colorado Springs,Colo.
18. Providence, R.I.
19. Salt Lake City, Utah
20. Honolulu, Hawaii
21. Rochester, N.Y.
22. St. Petersburg, Fla.
23. Cincinnati, Ohio
24. Raleigh, N.C.
25. Tampa, Fla.		 SMALL CITIES
1. Santa Fe, N.M.
2. Asheville, N.C.
3. Sedona, Ariz.
4. Taos, N.M.
5. Saugatuck, Mich.
6. Key West, Fla.
7. Berkeley Springs, W.V.
8. Boulder, Colo.
9. Carmel, Calif.
10. Corning, N.Y.
11. Sarasota, Fla.
12. Beaufort, S.C.
13. Chapel Hill, N.C.
14. Burlington, Vt.
15. Annapolis, Md.
16. Aspen, Colo.
17. Laguna Beach, Calif.
18. Northampton, Mass.
19. Eureka Springs, Ark.
20. Brattleboro, Vt.
21. New Hope, Pa.
22. Naples, Fla.
23. Cumberland, Md.
24. Berea, Ky.
25. Portsmouth, N.H.

Tags

Print

3 Responses to "Beaufort SC ranked as 12th Best Small Town Art Destination by American Style"

Chris Somers wrote: Todd,

Congrats to Beaufort ! That is awesome recognition. My wife and I really enjoy the small artsy towns. We also love the big ones as we live in Philadelphia. Am glad to see Philly's ranking ! New Hope, PA is also a super place. Now if that ranked below Beaufort, than Beaufort must be an amazing place ! Have heard a lot of good things so they must be true ! Nice blog post.

Posted on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 8:32am.

Kara Casamassina wrote: Hey Todd! Kudos to Beaufort for being selected! Awesome! With so many great art-destinations in our beautiful state , it certainly is an honor for your coastal city!
Talk to you again soon :)

Posted on Friday, May 8th, 2009 at 1:18pm.

Todd wrote: Thanks Chris and Kara for commenting. Yes, I agree that it is a great honer for Beaufort. It helps with tourism and a influx of money for our area. Beaufort is such a great secret for now. While I love the awards, I hope Beaufort stays small forever. It truly is a slice of paradise.

Posted on Friday, May 8th, 2009 at 1:41pm.

Leave a Comment