Best Public Space in SC

[Spartan]

What are South Carolina's best public spaces and parks? In general, they should be publicly accessible parks/plazas, etc. and in an urban setting. So, state parks, national parks, etc. would not fit in this list. The other thing I left off the list is stadiums - whether or not they should be added is a discussion worthy issue IMO.

 

Some places to consider:

 

• The Battery (White Pointe Garden) - Charleston
• Marion Square - Charleston
• Waterfront Park - Charleston
• Falls Park - Greenville
• Bowman Field - Clemson
• Myrtle Beach's Boardwalk
• Waterfront Park - Beaufort
• Finlay Park - Columbia
• The State House Grounds - Columbia
• The Horseshoe - Columbia
• Morgan Square - Spartanburg

 

 

 

 

[GvilleSC]

I'll offer a few more in Greenville for discussion:

-One Plaza --Civitas did a fantastic job from scale, function, flow. 

-Peace Center grounds 

-Heritage Green --under utilized as a public gathering space unfortunately

[gman430]

Coincidence Spartan only posted one for Greenville? I think not.

[GvilleSC]

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The other thing I left off the list is stadiums - whether or not they should be added is a discussion worthy issue IMO.

Stadiums lack the public access element, do they not?

[MAJIKMAN]

I would have to admit. If you don't live or even visited Greenville alot you wouldn't know about the other parks and plazas. The same can hold true for the places that Spartan had on his list. So don't be upset. It will take thousands of visits from out of town guest to make them household names. That goes for every city and town in SC, thats except for Charleston and Myrtle Beach. But it will get there.

I would have to admit. If you don't live or even visited Greenville alot you wouldn't know about the other parks and plazas. The same can hold true for the places that Spartan had on his list. So don't be upset. It will take thousands of visits from out of town guest to make them household names. That goes for every city and town in SC, thats except for Charleston and Myrtle Beach. But it will get there. And even in the case of the last two. There are still unknown places that only locals know about.

[GvilleSC]

It will be interesting to see if the City of Columbia spends the necessary money on Finlay. The potential is certainly there, but I would not group it with the likes of the State House grounds or the Horseshoe as the top public places in Columbia. The riverfront would come before it IMO. How would everyone else rank them in Columbia?

[GvilleSC]

For me, Charleston's best public spaces are the Battery and Waterfront Park. I like Marion Square, but there's something about its setup and design that isn't inviting or inspiring to me. A great green space and a welcome relief in the dense urbanity of downtown Charleston, but I would not list it as my top 2 in the Holy City.

[MAJIKMAN]

It will be interesting to see if the City of Columbia spends the necessary money on Finlay. The potential is certainly there, but I would not group it with the likes of the State House grounds or the Horseshoe as the top public places in Columbia. The riverfront would come before it IMO. How would everyone else rank them in Columbia?

Yeah they've been trying to get finlay together for a few years. I think it will get worked out. But their riverfront is arguably one of their biggest assets.

[krazeeboi]

For me, Charleston's best public spaces are the Battery and Waterfront Park. I like Marion Square, but there's something about its setup and design that isn't inviting or inspiring to me. A great green space and a welcome relief in the dense urbanity of downtown Charleston, but I would not list it as my top 2 in the Holy City.

 

I think the issue with Marion Square is that it's entirely too open and passive. If it were a larger version of one of Savannah's squares, that would be more ideal.

[GvilleSC]

I think the issue with Marion Square is that it's entirely too open and passive. If it were a larger version of one of Savannah's squares, that would be more ideal.

I believe you're correct!

[Spartan]

I forgot about One City Plaza. I haven't been there since they redid that plaza, but I hear nothing but great things. That said, even the old Pizza Bergamo was a quality space in its own right.

 

 

Coincidence Spartan only posted one for Greenville? I think not.

 

You know what they say about assumptions, right?

 

Believe it or not, I am actually a big fan of downtown Greenville. I consider Falls Park to be one of, if not THE best, public space in the state. You could argue that it's more accurately a cluster of several spaces that are all highly interconnected (the falls/Liberty Bridge, the Peace Center, RiverPlace, etc).

 

My intent was merely to get what I thought was a potentially interesting discussion started,not to make a comprehensive list. My apologies if I somehow offended you or other Greenvillians. My suggestion to you is rather than make a personal argument out of what was not intended as a slight, introduce some other places in Greenville that are worthy of consideration as great examples of public spaces.

 

 

Stadiums lack the public access element, do they not?

 

My thoughts exactly, though despite what some may think, I actually started to list Fluor Field as one of the best places, but the lack of public access is why it didn't make my list. 

 

 

I would have to admit. If you don't live or even visited Greenville alot you wouldn't know about the other parks and plazas. The same can hold true for the places that Spartan had on his list. So don't be upset. It will take thousands of visits from out of town guest to make them household names. That goes for every city and town in SC, thats except for Charleston and Myrtle Beach. But it will get there.

I would have to admit. If you don't live or even visited Greenville alot you wouldn't know about the other parks and plazas. The same can hold true for the places that Spartan had on his list. So don't be upset. It will take thousands of visits from out of town guest to make them household names. That goes for every city and town in SC, thats except for Charleston and Myrtle Beach. But it will get there. And even in the case of the last two. There are still unknown places that only locals know about.

 

In terms of pure name recognition, the Battery is probably the most well known along with the State House. And lest gman think I'm somehow slighting Greenville, my reasoning is that every child in South Carolina has to learn about the Battery and the State House from a relatively early age - and they've been doing so for over a 100 years. The places themselves have been around for even longer. Falls Park, while amazing, is quite new by comparison. Living in Charlotte, I'm surprised at how often I have to tell people about Greenville. Of course, once people go they won't shut up about it!

 

I personally like the Battery because of the history and scenery, but I think an argument can be made that it's not the best public space. Waterfront Park arguably offers more to the casual visitor.

[krazeeboi]

Beaufort's small, but nice Waterfront Park, is worth mentioning.

[clt29301]

There are a lot of nice open spaces in the SC towns.  My favorites are the Battery, The Statehouse and of course..........The Horseshoe at USC.  While the media seems to overlook the Horseshoe and its rich history, 10 of the 11 buildings on the Horseshoe are listed on the National Register for Historic Places, it is one of the premier college settings in the south (and one of the top places in the country for ESPN's Gameday).  Whether you like Carolina or not, it is easy to see how special this place is to the state of SC.

[GvilleSC]

I forgot about One City Plaza. I haven't been there since they redid that plaza, but I hear nothing but great things. That said, even the old Pizza Bergamo was a quality space in its own right.

You should come for a visit and check it out! It only gets better and better as more and more retail opens around it. I think the market booths and public restrooms that the City will be adding will toss an additional dimension of texture and layering to the plaza and Laurens Street.