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Unity Park (New 160 Acre West End Park)

btoy

By btoy
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distortedlogic Town

distortedlogic

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If we really want to think outside the box, perhaps the tower could also serve as a visitor center for Greenville. Combine them.  Each level a person ascends could have some interactive presentation about Greenville and the Upstate. A "mainstreet level," an "outdoor level", one for international businesses, one highlighting each of Greenville's sister cities, etc; sort of a "museum/visitor center/observation tower in one. Then it culminates on the top level with the real view and experience about 250 feet up. There could be a scenic elevator one could ride to the top for handicap accessibility, or others could ride it for a buck. There are lots of ways this could be done to make it truly unique. I think think there would be lots of companies that would want to contribute money to something like that, maybe even some from our sister cities.

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gman
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I just got back home from a walk on the SRT from the Cancer Survivors Park to the Commons area. I have one word for Unity Park. “Spectacular.” Seriously folks, we are so lucky to have a downtown and p

gman430
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SVL
SVL

Unity Park marks one year anniversary with Reedy River Wetlands Preserve  

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hauntedheadnc Hamlet

hauntedheadnc

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10 hours ago, Galley said:

The Ambassador Hotel sign is gone. :tw_cry:

I had no idea this even existed until seeing this thread.  What on earth was a sign for a hotel in Minnesota doing on a building in Greenville?

...And that blows.  Something like that could have added a real touch of character to the park.  What a damn shame.  

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Exile Hamlet

Exile

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8 minutes ago, hauntedheadnc said:

I had no idea this even existed until seeing this thread.  What on earth was a sign for a hotel in Minnesota doing on a building in Greenville?

...And that blows.  Something like that could have added a real touch of character to the park.  What a damn shame.  

 Pretty sure it was a backdrop for scenes in Leatherheads.

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bikeoid Whistle-Stop

bikeoid

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5 hours ago, Exile said:

 Pretty sure it was a backdrop for scenes in Leatherheads.

Yes  from a caption:  This sign is approx 1177 miles from Duluth, Minn. It is painted on the side of a building in Greenville, SC.

In 2007 Greenville and other parts of the upstate through movie magic became Duluth, Minn. in ”Leatherheads", a football comedy set in the 1920’s. Starring George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, and John Krasinski.

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GVLer Whistle-Stop

GVLer

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I still have not become optimistic about how this will turn out. The bar was set so high with Falls Park I am having a hard time envisioning how this flat and low site with a straight and skinny river (ditch) will have strong aesthetic appeal. Hoping very much to be proven wrong.

 

 

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vicupstate Metropolitan Area

vicupstate

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38 minutes ago, LBT said:

I still have not become optimistic about how this will turn out. The bar was set so high with Falls Park I am having a hard time envisioning how this flat and low site with a straight and skinny river (ditch) will have strong aesthetic appeal. Hoping very much to be proven wrong.

 

 

I doubt it will TYPICALLY have the crowds that Falls Park does, although concerts, etc. would be an exception.  If it gets the use that Cleveland Park gets, I will consider it a success. A key thing will be to have a residential base within walking distance, which is the plan.  The drive-in/destination crowd will always be there but the walk in crowd needs to be sufficient too.  Keeping it well maintained will be critical as well.    

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GVLover Whistle-Stop

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I wouldn't be surprised if Falls Park is among the top 100 busiest parks in the country, in fact I would be more surprised if it wasn't. It's not exactly a fair comparison between Unity and Falls and the visitor numbers will reflect that. Hopefully once the new conference center + museums are built, they'll be busy and Unity park can attract some of that traffic since its not too far away via the SRT. 

Edited by GVLover
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distortedlogic Town

distortedlogic

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1 hour ago, LBT said:

I still have not become optimistic about how this will turn out. The bar was set so high with Falls Park I am having a hard time envisioning how this flat and low site with a straight and skinny river (ditch) will have strong aesthetic appeal. Hoping very much to be proven wrong.

 

 

The river really is anticlimactic in this section, at only a few feet across and no rapids or falls. It almost reminds me of those aquaducts you see out west. It cannot be the focus of this park like as is the case with Falls park. The park itself will have to be the focus with the "river" being an afterthought link to Falls Park. I think there are plans to widen the river in a section to its original width and curvature,  but i dont know how much, nor how much difference it will really make. 

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goodbye Metropolitan Area

goodbye

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1 hour ago, GVLover said:

I wouldn't be surprised if Falls Park is among the top 100 busiest parks in the country, in fact I would be more surprised if it wasn't. It's not exactly a fair comparison between Unity and Falls and the visitor numbers will reflect that. Hopefully once the new conference center + museums are built, they'll be busy and Unity park can attract some of that traffic since its not too far away via the SRT. 

The SRT does (or will) go right through Unity Park.  The new park will become an extension of the greater park system along the SRT, which bodes well for its level of recreational activity.  These parks are among the City of Greenville's most valuable assets.  I am excited about the prospect of future greenway expansion to include Runway Park, Lake Conestee, BridgeWay Station, and beyond.

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Exile Hamlet

Exile

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2 hours ago, distortedlogic said:

The river really is anticlimactic in this section, at only a few feet across and no rapids or falls. It almost reminds me of those aquaducts you see out west. It cannot be the focus of this park like as is the case with Falls park. The park itself will have to be the focus with the "river" being an afterthought link to Falls Park. I think there are plans to widen the river in a section to its original width and curvature,  but i dont know how much, nor how much difference it will really make. 

There aren't any tributaries in this area, so Riverplace doesn't have any water that Unity Park won't. Doesn't seem to be any reason they can't mimic what's been done in Riverplace, where it gets >80 feet wide (per the Google Earth ruler). Still might not be enough to be focal, though.

And since you speak of aqueducts, a bit of  :offtopic:  trivia. I just finished reading "The River of the Carolinas: The Santee" by Henry Savage (1957), and to my surprise discovered that the original Santee canal, which opened  ~1801, included overpasses over creeks between the Santee and the Cooper Rivers. Had no idea they were able to do that kind of thing back then, even if on a small scale. It was a bit of a boondoggle, though.

Greenville only gets one small mention in the book. The Saluda in general is the least covered headwater, and the Reedy isn't mentioned at all; but Piedmont and especially Pelzer get big mentions. Greenville actually gets more mention (but not that much) in the sister volume, "The Savannah" by Thomas Stokes (1951).

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gman430 Megalopolis

gman430

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4 hours ago, LBT said:

I still have not become optimistic about how this will turn out. The bar was set so high with Falls Park I am having a hard time envisioning how this flat and low site with a straight and skinny river (ditch) will have strong aesthetic appeal. Hoping very much to be proven wrong.

 

 

I’ve always expected this park to be more like Cleveland Park than Falls Park upon completion due to its size, layout, and surrounding topography. 

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distortedlogic Town

distortedlogic

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1 hour ago, Exile said:

There aren't any tributaries in this area, so Riverplace doesn't have any water that Unity Park won't. Doesn't seem to be any reason they can't mimic what's been done in Riverplace, where it gets >80 feet wide (per the Google Earth ruler). Still might not be enough to be focal, though.

 

Well I guess this section is deeper then; it can't be more than about 15 feet wide is some sections here. I guess it could be widened with the extra sand being used to make it shallower, but that almost seems like a pointless and exorbitant cost. 

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cabelagent Hamlet

cabelagent

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6 hours ago, distortedlogic said:

Well I guess this section is deeper then; it can't be more than about 15 feet wide is some sections here. I guess it could be widened with the extra sand being used to make it shallower, but that almost seems like a pointless and exorbitant cost. 

Anyone know water depth through that area?

Edited by cabelagent
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SVL Hamlet

SVL

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https://unityparkgreenville.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2264

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Construction of the bridge foundation will begin in February 2021 and construction of the bridge is expected to take place from May through July. The surrounding walkways and infrastructure, including LED lighting, will be added later in 2021.

We should start to see the bridge soon according to this time line. Pretty exciting!

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