Greenville, South Carolina
:
Greenville is the
county seat of and largest city in
Greenville County South Carolina,
United States. Greenville, with its historic homes and modern office towers, has been described as where "Old South" meets "New South". Greenville's
Combined Statistical Area (CSA) population is 1,185,534 according to 2005 estimates by the
U.S. Census Bureau. Greenville County is the most populous in the state at 407,383, but because its city limits enclose less than 30 square miles, the population of the city proper is 56,002 (
2000 U.S. Census). The city of Greenville is one of the most densely populated cities in the state, while Greenville County has the highest population density of any county in South Carolina. Greenville is the primary city of "
The Upstate" of South Carolina, an area that includes the six counties of northwestern
South Carolina along the borders of
North Carolina and
Georgia.
Greenville is on Interstate Highway
I-85 between Atlanta and Charlotte, with
I-385 and
I-185 servicing other areas of the metro.
I-26 is just to the northeast in
Spartanburg.
The area was part of the
Cherokee nation's protected grounds after the treaty of 1763 ending the
French and Indian War. No white man was allowed to enter, though some families already had settled just within the boundary, and white traders regularly crossed the area. The first white man to settle permanently in the area was Richard Pearis, who settled at the falls of the
Reedy River sometime after 1770. Paris Mountain, the mountain overlooking the city, is incorrectly named for him.
During the Revolution, the Cherokee (and Pearis) sided with the British. After a campaign in 1776, the Cherokee agreed to the Treaty of DeWitt's Corner ceding territory that includes present-day Greenville County to South Carolina.
Greenville was originally called Pleasantburg. Greenville County was created in 1786, but was called Greenville District from 1800 until 1868. The area is probably named for American Revolutionary General
Nathanael Greene.
Greenville is located at (34.844313, -82.385428).
Due to the strict annexation laws of South Carolina, Greenville proper is relatively small in population and size. However, its metropolitan area compares well with most medium-sized US cities. Greenville is in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains and is, therefore, graced with many hills and knolls. The highest point in South Carolina,
Sassafras Mountain, is nearby in the northern part of Pickens County, which adjoins Greenville County on the west. Paris Mountain, the second most prominent ridge in the area, is also home to many of the area's television and radio stations' towers. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, Greenville has a total area of 67.7
km² (26.1
mi²). 67.5 km² (26.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area that is 0.23% water.
|
Greenville's skyline from Lowndes Hill, current site of the Plantation at Pelham |
Main article: Government of the City of Greenville, South Carolina
The City of Greenville is governed by a mayor and city council.
As the largest city in the Upstate, Greenville offers many activities and attractions. Greenville's theatres and event venues regularly host major concerts and touring theatre companies. Four independent theatres present several plays a year.
Event Venues
*
Palmetto Expo Center, the largest convention center between Atlanta, GA and Washington, DC, has more than 315,000 square feet of exhibition space and 88,000 square feet of meeting and conference space. Many trade shows, conventions, and other events are held here each year.
*
Bi-Lo Center[
1], a 16,000-seat arena in downtown Greenville which hosts major concerts and sporting events each year.
*
Peace Center, a performing arts center that hosts touring Broadway shows, symphonies, concerts, and civic events. Known internationally for its excellent acoustics, the Peace Center is also home to the Carolina Ballet Theatre, Greenville Symphony Orchestra, and Greenville Chorale.
*
The Warehouse Theatre, a black box theater operating for over 32 years, is located in the Historic West End.
*The
South Carolina Governor's School For The Arts & Humanities, a state-funded residential high school for the Fine Arts and hosts many performances and exhibits put together by its student population.
Landmarks
*
Falls Park on the Reedy, a large regional park with beautiful gardens and home of the
Liberty Bridge, a pedestrian
suspension bridge. It is located on the
Reedy River just south of downtown Greenville in the West End historic district.
*
Greenville County Museum of Art is home to the highly acclaimed Southern Collection of art that features art of the South dating back to the 1700's.
*
Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery is located on the campus of
Bob Jones University, and is widely acclaimed as the finest collection of religious art in the Western Hemisphere. It features Italian, Spanish, French, English, Flemish, Dutch, and German sacred art from the 14th through the 19th centuries, from artists such as Rubens, van Dyck, Reni, Tintoretto, Le Brun, Cranach, Ribera, and Murillo, as well as period furniture, sculpture, tapestries, and porcelains.
*
Greenville Zoo, in Cleveland Park, is home to many examples of the world's wildlife.
*
Roper Mountain Science Center is a resource for area students, and is home to the largest planetarium in South Carolina.
*
Furman University Japanese Garden features a small teahouse.
Annual Events
*
InnoVenture each March helps build Communities of Innovation around corporations, universities, and emerging companies in the
Southeastern Innovation Corridor.
*
ARTISPHERE each April showcases the arts, reflects the area's international flair and maximizes existing arts programs by providing a diverse menu of experiences that center around the arts.
|
Pedestrian activity on Main Street during "Fall for Greenville" |
*
Fall for Greenville is a major festival held on the 1st weekend in October. This festival features local cuisine, live performances on several stages, and the Greenville Cycling Classic bicycle race.
*
Greek Festival is a major street festival that is held in May by members of the
Greek Orthodox Church that offer Greek food and cultural activities.
*
Arts in the Park is a major arts festival that takes place in Reedy Falls Park near downtown Greenville.
*
Reedy River Run a 10K race that is held in late February or early March.
*
The Red Party an annual dance party, held at the
History Museum of the Upcountry, a fundraiser for
AID Upstate, an AIDS Service Organization serving Upstate South Carolina (Anderson, Oconee, Pickens and Greenville counties). Currently, AU serves, on average, 750+ clients and families touched by HIV/AIDS.
Sports Teams
*
Greenville Drive a minor league affiliate of the
Boston Red Sox. The Drive started their first season in their new downtown ballpark on April 6, 2006
*
Greenville Grrrowl a minor league hockey team in the ECHL. Ceased Operations in July 2006.
|
Greenville's tree-lined Main Street |
Once the retail center of the region, Greenville's downtown district began to languish in the 1960s as shopping centers lured the retailers and customers to the suburbs. It was a dying downtown in the midst of a growing region. To meet the challenge, the City of Greenville set out to re-create a business environment and atmosphere conducive for supporting businesses, residential areas, and the arts.
It initially focused on improving its image through streetscape and traffic improvements, including narrowing main street from four lanes to two lanes; installing free, angled parking, trees, and light fixtures; and creating parks and plazas throughout downtown.
In the 1980s, Greenville turned to laying the foundation for their downtown vision and providing an example of business potential to encourage business re-location to downtown (Greenville Commons/Hyatt Regency). The city worked with consultants to develop and implement a downtown master plan and facilitated public-private investment partnerships which resulted in the city's first luxury convention hotel on Main Street.
Through the 1990s Greenville continued to strengthen its public/private partnerships to created strong anchors throughout downtown. The city redeveloped a languishing industrial area into an arts complex that incorporated historically significant buildings. It stabilized a stagnant historic district with a mixed-use project of shops, restaurants, and offices, which in turn encouraged residential use of vacant upper stories and former church classrooms.
Greenville's vision thirty years ago came to fruition in the form of a vibrant commercial district, offering residents and visitors ample green space, shopping and arts activities.
The
National Trust Main Street Center awarded Greenville a 2003 Great American Main Street Award on
May 19,
2003, during the National Trust's annual Town Meeting on Main Street conference held in
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Greenville's public elementary and secondary schools are part of the
Greenville County School District such as
Riverside High School. Greenville is also served by a number of private and religious schools. One important landmark of education, the
South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts & Humanities, is located in Greenville overlooking the
Falls Park on the Reedy.
Greenville is home to several colleges, universities, and technical schools:
*
Destiny Bible College*
Bob Jones University*ECPI College of Technology
*
Evangelical Institute*
Furman University*
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary*
Greenville Technical College*
Holmes Bible College*ITT Technical Institute
*North Greenville University
*
University Center of Greenville — a consortium of 7 universities offering limited programs in Greenville::*
Clemson University:*Furman University:*
Lander University:*
Medical University of South Carolina:*
South Carolina State University:*
University of South Carolina:*
University of South Carolina Upstate*Webster University
Since the
Civil War, Greenville's economy has been based largely on textile manufacturing - Greenville was once known as "The Textile Capital of the World." Low wages and favorable tax benefits have lured foreign companies to invest heavily in the area: Greenville is the North American headquarters for
Michelin and
BMW (who also built a major manufacturing plant just east of Greenville in the fast-growing suburb of
Greer,
Spartanburg County). These companies, and others such as
General Electric, have contributed to the area's sustained growth. Recently,
Clemson University,
BMW,
IBM,
Microsoft,
Michelin, and the
Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE) have combined to create the
International Center for Automotive Research (ICAR) along Interstate 85 in the City of Greenville. Also along Interstate 85, and surrounding ICAR,
The Millennium Campus is a 500-plus-acre office park set to attract major corporations and headquarters. One large company currently building a new headquarters there is
Hubbell Lighting, Inc., a global designer and manufacturer of residential and commercial lights. Across Interstate 85 from ICAR and The Millennium Campus, the new 1,100-acre mixed-use
Verdae Development is beginning to show signs of progression on phase I.
Lockheed Martin Aircraft & Logistics Center is a major aircraft maintenance facility located in Greenville at
Donaldson Center Industrial Air Park, a former U.S. Air Force base, also the home of 3M, Honeywell, Stevens Aviation, and a host of other businesses and organizations.
Greenville is a respected medical center, with the extensive
Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center being the main healthcare provider. GHSUMC is a non-profit academic medical center, and with five campuses it is one of the largest employers in the region. Bon Secours Saint Francis Hospital, Saint Francis Women's & Family Hospital, Greenville Children's Hospital, and Patewood Memorial Hospital are other prominent facilities in the city. Additionally, Greenville Shriners Hospital exclusively treats pediatric orthopaedic patients free of charge.
Greenville is located on the
Interstate 85 corridor, linking it to
Atlanta and
Charlotte, and
Interstate 26, which is in nearby
Spartanburg, linking Greenville to the Midwest. It also is located at the northern terminus of the
Interstate 385 corridor. The other freeways that converge in the area include
Interstate 185 and
U.S. Highway 123 (Calhoun Memorial Highway). Other major highways include
U.S. 25, Business U.S. Highway 25,
U.S. 29 and
U.S. 276. Main Street is home to many of the downtown area's shopping and dining destinations.
Greenville is also served by the
Greenville Transit Authority (GTA). GTA runs a bus system that serves the Greenville area and nearly all of Greenville County as well.
Amtrak's
Crescent train connects Greenville with the cities of
New York,
Philadelphia,
Baltimore,
Washington,
Charlotte,
Atlanta,
Birmingham and
New Orleans. The Amtrak station is situated at 1120 West Washington Street.
Greenville is served by two airports,
Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU) and
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), located in nearby
Greer. Greenville-Spartanburg International is the state's busiest airport, while Greenville Downtown Airport is the state's third-busiest.
In preparation for the future, city leaders are in the early planning stages for a comprehensive light rail transit system that will help ease the high traffic volume on interstates and roadways. Light rail in Greenville will link suburban commuter stations with urban destinations, office parks, and retail centers. Additionally, Greenville will be part of the proposed
Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor, which will run from Washington, DC to Birmingham, AL.
Greenville has a very strong arts community, enhanced by the following venues and organizations:
*
Peace Center for the Performing Arts*
Metropolitan Arts Council*
Fine Arts Center*
Carolina Pops Orchestra*
Greenville Symphony*
Greenville Little Theater*
The Warehouse Theatre*
Centre Stage*
Carolina Ballet TheatreThe Greenville News is the city's daily newspaper and also the Upstate's largest daily newspaper.
Greenville Journal: Weekly newspaper dealing with business, economic development, local events, and current issues relevant to Greenville.
Greenville Magazine: Monthly magazine which caters to Greenville middle- and upper-class lifestyle.
The Beat: Greenville's bi-weekly alternative newspaper. Formerly the award-winning
MetroBEAT, the Beat is a locally owned paper published in oversized journal format that provides coverage and opinions on local politics, arts and entertainment, and business as well as comprehensive reviews for CD's, books, and even houses of worship.
Upstate Link magazine The Upstate's young reader (20s-30s) newsweekly, which is owned by The Greenville News. The weekly publication started in early 2004 to counter The Beat. Because Link's content stands in a much different editorial range than The Beat, their only similarities are in physical size.
Greenville is part of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson-Asheville
DMA which is the nation's 35th largest television market. It is served by the following major network television affiliates:
*
WYFF 4 (
NBC)
*
WSPA 7 (
CBS)
*
WLOS 13 (
ABC)
*
WGGS 16 (
Christian Independant)
*
WHNS 21 (
FOX)
*
WNTV 29 (
PBS/SCETV)
*
WBSC 40 (
WB)
*
WASV 62 (
UPN)
Greenville is part of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Arbitron Metro which is the nation's 60th largest radio market with a person 12+ population of 813,700. It is served by the following major radio stations:
*90.1 WEPR-FM News and Classical (
PBS/NPR/SCETV)
*92.5 WESC-FM Country (
Clear Channel)
*93.3 WPLT-FM Alternative Rock (
Entercom)
*93.7 WFBC-FM CHR/Pop (
Entercom)
*94.5 WMUU-FM Easy Listening (Gospel Fellowship Association)
*96.7 WBZT-FM Rock (
Clear Channel)
*98.1
WHZT-FM CHR/Rhythmic (
COX)
*98.9
WSPA-FM A/C (
Entercom)
*100.5 WSSL-FM Country (
Clear Channel)
*101.1 WROQ-FM Classic Rock (
Entercom)
*102.5 WMYI-FM A/C (
Clear Channel*107.3
WJMZ-FM Urban (
Cox)
As of the
census of 2000, there were 56,002 people, 24,382 households, and 12,581 families residing in the city. The
population density was 829.4/km² (2,148.0/mi²). There were 27,295 housing units at an average density of 404.2/km² (1,046.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.12%
White, 33.94%
African American, 0.14%
Native American, 1.27%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander, 1.37% from
other races, and 1.11% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 3.44% of the population.
There were 24,382 households out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.7% were
married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.4% were non-families. 40.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 13.8% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,144, and the median income for a family was $44,125. Males had a median income of $35,111 versus $25,339 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $23,242. About 12.2% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 22.7% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.
Notable figures who were born in, lived in, or are otherwise associated with Greenville.
*
Jesse Hughes (of American rock group
Eagles of Death Metal) was born in Greenville in 1972.
*
Charles H. Townes (
1915-),
Nobel Prize-winning physicist; invented the
laser*
Jesse Jackson (
1941-), two-time presidential candidate, civil rights activist, and Baptist minister
*
"Shoeless Joe" Jackson (
1889-
1951),
Major League baseball player with the third-highest career batting average in history
*
Robert Reynolds "Bob" Jones, Sr.(
1883-
1968), evangelist, founder of Bob Jones University
*
Kevin Garnett, professional basketball player (
Mauldin, SC)
*
Browning Bryant, singer-songwriter
*
Peabo Bryson, singer
*
Thomas Quinton Donaldson,
Brigadier General during
World War I*
John O. Donaldson (son of Thomas), World War I
ace and
MacKay trophy winner; Donaldson Air Force Base was named for him
*
George Hincapie, professional cyclist
*
Jason Keller and
Butch Lindley,
NASCAR drivers
*
Edwin McCain, pop/rock singer-songwriter
*
Wayne Oates (1917-1999), psychologist who shaped pastoral counseling and coined the word 'workaholic'
*
Aaron Tippin, country music star
*
Josh White (c.
1915-
1969),
folk,
blues, and
gospel singer and guitarist
*
Dorothy Allison, author of
Bastard Out of Carolina.
*
Rudolph Anderson, only casualty in the
Cuban Missile Crisis.
*
Karl Sanders, guitarist and vocalist for influential
death metal band
Nile, noted for complex music and well-researched lyrics centered around ancient
Egyptian mythology.
*
Bergamo, Italy*
Kortrijk, Belgium*
Tianjin, China*
List of Neighborhoods in Greenville, South Carolina*
The Official Website of the County of Greenville*
The Official Website of the City of Greenville and the Greenville CVB *
Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce*
Greenville SC : business directory & community guide*
Greenville, SC Tourism Information*
Greenville County Museum of Art : Free to the public*
The Greenville News : Local Newspaper*
Greenville County Library System*
The Greenville Hospital System*
Greenville@UrbanPlanet.org Greenville Urban Discussion
