Evening Post Books and Buxton Books present RILEY FORTY-
Joe Riley and the City He Shaped: A Live Panel Conversation and Memoir Celebration
at Dock Street Theatre
Tue, Jan 27 at 7pm
PANEL DETAILS JUST ANNOUNCED: Join us in welcoming Bratton Riley, Brian Hicks, Kendra Stewart, Harry Lesesne, Jean Toal, Frances Cantwell, and Bernard Powers to the stage to discuss Joe Riley's impact!
Evening Post Books and Buxton Books present...
RILEY FORTY: Joe Riley and the City He Shaped
A Live Panel Conversation + Memoir Celebration
An Evening at Dock Street Theatre
Tuesday, January 27 • 7:00 PM
Theatre open at 6:30 PM
Dock Street Theatre
For forty years, Charleston was shaped by intention.
On January 27, that story comes to the stage in a lively, one-night-only panel conversation exploring the leadership, decisions, and civic imagination that shaped modern Charleston — through the eyes of former mayor Joe Riley.
Presented by Evening Post Books, Dock Street Theatre, and Buxton Books, this special evening celebrates the launch of Riley’s inaugural memoir, Windows on Washington Square, and brings together voices reflecting on a legacy that continues to define the city.
This is not simply a book event.
It is a major cultural moment for Charleston and the region.
A love letter to the city — and a rare, first-person account
For four decades, Mayor Joe Riley helped guide Charleston through extraordinary transformation — reviving its historic core, expanding public spaces, supporting the arts, strengthening preservation, and rebuilding after disaster. But behind every landmark vote and public achievement were the quieter moments rarely seen by the public: the debates, doubts, compromises, and flashes of clarity that shaped the city’s path forward.
Windows on Washington Square is a rare, first-person account of how Charleston became the city we recognize today.
Written in his own voice, Riley reflects on designing Waterfront Park, revitalizing King Street, expanding affordable housing, and advancing a preservation ethic that would become a national model — not as a checklist of accomplishments, but as lessons in collaboration, conflict, conviction, and care.
He recounts leading Charleston through Hurricane Hugo and navigating the profound, collective grief following the Mother Emanuel AME Church massacre, offering insight into how a city steadies itself — and chooses its values — when the world is watching.
Alongside these defining public moments are deeply personal ones: dinner table conversations, afternoon swims with his sons, and the steady presence of his wife, Charlotte, whose support anchored both the weight and the hope of his work.
This is the story of how a city was built not only in its streets and parks, but in its choices, relationships, and shared belief in what it could become.
Why this evening matters
You cannot walk through the city for more than one minute without encountering Joe Riley’s vision.
The Pineapple Fountain.
Waterfront Park.
Spoleto Festival USA.
The pieces of slate we walk on Downtown.
A commitment to public beauty, civic life, and human-scaled design that reshaped Charleston — and influenced cities across the country.
The New York Times once described Riley as potentially the most loved politician in America. Through the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, his ideas helped redefine how cities think about livability, public space, and the responsibility of leadership.
Given Mayor Riley’s extraordinary legacy and the substantial interest surrounding this memoir, Windows on Washington Square is already being recognized as a significant release and this evening is expected to be one of the defining cultural gatherings of the year in Charleston.
The evening at Dock Street Theatre
This program brings together the launch of a landmark memoir and a live, onstage conversation inspired by the ideas, values, and civic imagination that shaped Charleston’s modern identity.
The evening will feature a thoughtful and lively panel discussion with some of the city’s most influential cultural and civic voices, centered on the themes of Windows on Washington Square and Mayor Riley’s enduring impact. Expect personal anecdotes from behind the mayor’s podium, and behind-the-scenes insight into what it took to help transform a city over four decades.
Announcing RILEY FORTY Panelists:
An evening of reflection and conversation inspired by Joe Riley’s memoir, Windows on Washington Square, featuring voices who knew his leadership, his city, and the moments that shaped both.
Bratton Riley
Bratton Riley is Joe Riley’s son and a civic advocate who brings a personal and generational perspective to the legacy of Joe Riley and the city he helped shape.
Brian Hicks
Brian Hicks is a longtime columnist and reporter for The Post and Courier whose work has chronicled Charleston’s evolving identity for decades. He is author of the Joe Riley biography, The Mayor, and spent Riley’s last year in office traveling with him.
Kendra Stewart
Kendra Stewart heads the Riley Center for Livable Communities at the College of Charleston, bringing a thoughtful lens to the people, places, and civic ideals that shape the Lowcountry.
Harry Lesesne
Harry Lesesne served as a senior advisor to Mayor Joe Riley during the later years of his administration, offering firsthand insight into the leadership decisions of Joe’s legacy. He now serves as President of the Darla Moore Foundation.
Jean Toal
Jean Toal is the former Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court and a trailblazing figure in the state’s legal history. Toal is a lifelong friend of Riley, from the playgrounds to USC Law School to the Statehouse, and ruled on many of Charleston’s precedent-setting legal challenges in the age of Riley.
Frances Cantwell
Frances Cantwell is a seasoned Charleston attorney and former leader in the local bar community, known for her work on city legal matters that intersect with the governance themes explored in Windows on Washington Square. Cantwell was a city attorney in the Riley administration, and her work on key Riley battles is largely credited with rewriting South Carolina annexation law.
Bernard Powers
Bernard E. Powers Jr. is a historian and professor emeritus at the College of Charleston. He is the inaugural director of the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston. At Riley’s request, he served as interim director of the International African American Museum.
While Joe Riley is unable to join us in person, his historic leadership will be brought to life through a dynamic conversation between his beloved family, trusted colleagues, friends, and historians to reflect on the significance of his memoir and the legacy it captures.
General Admission
Includes general seating in the Dock Street Theatre.
Refreshments
Enjoy a complimentary tea refreshment post-event in the box office, sponsored by Oliver Pluff. Oliver Pluff is a local tea and coffee company and has just opened up a storefront on King Street.
Books will be available for purchase on-site from Buxton Books.
If you prefer to secure your copy in advance, books may be purchased online at eveningpostbooks.com or picked up in person at Buxton Books on King Street prior to the event.
A limited first edition
Windows on Washington Square released on January 6, 2026.
The first printing includes:
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500 hardcover copies
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100 Collector’s Edition copies, signed and numbered by Joe Riley and ornamented with a custom bookplate
Once this hardcover run is gone, there will not be another. Buxton Books will have copies available at the event while supplies last.
Praise for Windows on Washington Square
“This is the story of a mayor who changed not just his city, but the way cities are built in America...”
— Trinity Simons Wagner, Executive Director, Mayors’ Institute on City Design
“A beautiful memoir that transformed one of America’s oldest cities into one of its most beloved...”
— Kendra Stewart, PhD, Director, Riley Center for Livable Communities, College of Charleston
“Joe Riley was the Mayor’s Mayor — the gold standard...”
— Stephen Benjamin, JD, Former Mayor of Columbia, SC
“Few American cities so fully express the vision of one political leader as Charleston...”
— Kerry Taylor, PhD, Associate Professor of History, The Citadel
Dock Street Theatre seats just over 400 guests. Given the scale of Mayor Riley’s legacy and the level of interest in this memoir, this event is expected to sell out.
This is an evening to bring your family, your neighbors, and anyone who loves this city and wants to better understand how it became what it is today.
Tickets are limited. Reserve yours now.
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