13 replies to this topic

[mallguy]

In light of so many new projects downtown, I thought it would be interesting to have a "share your memories"-type thread.  Of buildings in Greenville that are lost (whether repurposed, demolished, etc.), which ones do you miss and why?  Which ones do you not miss and why?

Ones I miss:
Greenville Mall (1995 incarnation)- it was a very pleasant place, with attractive architecture, higher-end stores and no crowds.

Ones I don't miss:
The old West End (before the mid-1990s)- pure urban blight, and with absolutely no reason to go there.  The redevelopment of the West End has been amazing, and it all seems to have started with the city developing that market-type building (forget the name).

Ones I'm neutral about:
McAlister Square (as a mall)- I grew up shopping there but in retrospect it wasn't that great; it was convenient, attractive enough and wasn't crowded, but has Haywood grew in stature, it didn't really have any stores that you couldn't get anywhere else.

[GVLbikeNboard]

Well, I never was able to see the old city hall since it's long gone, but it's a shame it was torn down. Wish I could see it today.

Edited by p2y2r7o, 05 August 2011 - 04:58 PM.

[Greenville]

Tearing down the old City Hall building was a big mistake, for sure.

I would also like to know more about the Woodside building that was torn down - especially why it was torn down.  Was it poorly constructed or something?  I don't understand why a perfectly good (and large) building would be torn down otherwise.  

[B&R]

One building I miss is the old train station.  It was an impressive building in its day.  And then they replaced it with a smaller, nondescript shack.  That is what hurts about it.  At least when they tore down the old City Hall they replaced it with something that provided a big increase in working space and added to the skyline.  You lost something but you gained something else.  

I am not sure about the situation with the Woodside building.  It was the tallest building in the Carolinas when it was built in 1923. It was an attractive building both from a distance and at ground level.  I seem to remember reading that renovating it would have been expensive.   It was a shame they couldn't keep it when they built the Wachovia Plaza.

[GVLbikeNboard]

Is this the train station? If so...wow, they really did downgrade.





And I also wonder about the Woodside building if anyone knows. I guess I've seen it in old photos but never really questioned what it was, or just overlooked it (how i could overlook that, i don't know!).

Edited by p2y2r7o, 05 August 2011 - 10:57 PM.

[mallguy]

p2y2r7o, on 05 August 2011 - 10:56 PM, said:

Is this the train station? If so...wow, they really did downgrade.

Yes.  I remember it from when the Southern Railway still ran passenger trains, and it was a classic train station, but I think that in its later years the tower was removed or something.

It is too bad that City Hall was torn down; I think that it still stood for a bit after that olive green-ish city hall tower was built, and so it didn't "have" to be torn down.  At least now we have a nice Marriott filling its old location.  (FWIW, my parents said that City Hall was ugly in real life- just their view, but that's what I'm told.)

Edited by mallguy, 06 August 2011 - 07:01 PM.

[Greenville]

I did some research, and it turns out that the Woodside building was torn down since it violated the height restriction for buildings immediately fronting Main Street.  

[mallguy]

Greenville, on 06 August 2011 - 07:04 AM, said:

I did some research, and it turns out that the Woodside building was torn down since it violated the height restriction for buildings immediately fronting Main Street.  

Disaster then- too bad it wouldn't have been grandfathered in.

I am now intrigued and took a look at some old postcards of Greenville.

I don't miss the old library downtown, next to the new one.

Textile Hall was kind of interesting, but I don't recall it being used for anything much, at least in the '70s and '80s.

I don't miss Memorial Auditorium.

I am intrigued by the old Furman campus, where County Square is.  No wonder there was an outcry when it was demolished- surely it could have been redeveloped into some type of residential/commercial complex.  It seemed to have attractive architecture.  Same for the college buildings where the old library is, downtown.

I am also intrigued by the Hotel Greenville downtown (now the Greenville Summit- the yellow-ish brick building), across from First Presbyterian.  It's always been a sort-of dive, even when I recall it being a hotel, in the '70s, but surely someone could buy it, redevelop it and turn it into something very desirable.  It has a great location and surely the interior has some interesting parts in it, although I've never been inside.

Edited by mallguy, 06 August 2011 - 07:38 AM.

[GvilleSC]

Something I DON'T miss is the actual CocaCola bottling plant (only the plant portion, not the admin building that we thankfully still have). That extension to Heritage Green is great!

And, I really am not sure I fully know what the Furman campus downtown was like, but I second that it was probably a great loss.

Edited by GvilleSC, 06 August 2011 - 12:49 PM.

[Galley]

I've never seen any photos of Furman in downtown Greenville.  Please share, if you've got any!

[mallguy]

Galley, on 07 August 2011 - 01:56 PM, said:

I've never seen any photos of Furman in downtown Greenville.  Please share, if you've got any!

I don't but there are plenty online.  It looks like an attractive campus with turn of the (last) century architecture.  Much more attractive than unsightly County Square.

Surely these days a college campus would be redeveloped into something better.

[Birdbrain]

One lost item that could be "interesting" in its return: Trolleys. Actual rails and sparks or cables.  It could be a tourist draw, the mass transit angle makes it "green," and it would add a new wrinkle of "quaintness" to downtown.  
Naturally, I'll be the first guy stuck behind one of these dinosaurs in traffic, beating my head against the wheel for even thinking such a thing.  :-)

[mallguy]

Birdbrain, on 10 August 2011 - 06:53 AM, said:

One lost item that could be "interesting" in its return: Trolleys. Actual rails and sparks or cables.  It could be a tourist draw, the mass transit angle makes it "green," and it would add a new wrinkle of "quaintness" to downtown.  
Naturally, I'll be the first guy stuck behind one of these dinosaurs in traffic, beating my head against the wheel for even thinking such a thing.  :-)

A "heritage" streetcar such as the one that Charlotte had for a while would definitely be interesting.  Maybe one combining the baseball stadium all the way to N. Main would do fine, along one of the streets that parallels Main?

[Birdbrain]

mallguy, on 04 September 2011 - 03:05 PM, said:

A "heritage" streetcar such as the one that Charlotte had for a while would definitely be interesting.  Maybe one combining the baseball stadium all the way to N. Main would do fine, along one of the streets that parallels Main?

I was reading some old News/Piedmont papers helping my kid on a project.  Wish I had kept the date/details, but they were actually thinking (or perhaps one person suggested) a Monorail for downtown.  You know, to go with the flying cars and robot servants?  Got to love it.  :-)