What do the Chamber of Commerce Building, Greenville County Courthouse, Monaghan Mill and the Poinsett Bridge have in common? They’re all listed on the The National Register of Historic Places (a national program started by the National Park Service under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.)
And, Greenville is on the search for properties that could potentially be added to the list.
An outside consulting company was hired to identify buildings construction between 1945 – 1975 in nine areas between May and June (so like, now). Properties that are listed on the National Register are eligible for preservation tax credits and grants. Plus, cities may also adopt historic preservation zoning for properties of historical or architectural significance (hello, Pettigru Street Historic District.)
Properties will be included based on architectural style, features, and historic significance. The city hopes to include 1,500 properties on the new survey, according to Ginny Stroud, Greenville City’s community development administrator.
In addition to the 75 historic sites and districts listed on the National Register (which may or may not have markers or plaques), there are 71 historic markers in Greenville County.
Here are three of our favorites:
Greenville Memorial Auditorium
🛠: Built in 1938 at the corner of East North Street and Church Street. (The project took only two years to complete despite the beginning of WWII, lawsuits, and disagreements over designs.)
💺: 5,400
🌟: Performers included James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
In the late 1990’s, 165 pounds of explosives brought the building down in only *7 seconds*. The land has been vacant since. The Bon Secours Wellness Arena (then, BI-LO Center) opened down the street in September 1998 at about triple the size with 15,951 seats.
Fun fact: Christ Church (Episcopal), pictured on the upper right is still there to this day and is listed on the registry.
📍 The Old Record Building
🛠: Built in 1820 on South Main St., across from the Poinsett Hotel, and served as a county courthouse then a record building until it was torn down in 1924.
🌟: The designer was Robert Mills, a famous Charleston architect and also designer of the Washington Monument.
P.S. In this picture, the circus was coming through Main St in front of the Old Record Building. Imagine being on your lunch break and seeing elephants walk by. 🐘
📍 Old Textile Hall
🛠: Built in 1917 on Washington St specifically for the Southern Textile Exposition, Inc. which showcased textile machinery and products. (Also hosted the annual Southern Textile Basketball Tournament.)
🌟: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and was torn down in 1992. Most trade shows and expos now are held at the TD Convention Center and the space where Textile Hall once was is home to St. Mary’s Church.
*All of these incredible photos are from the Coxe and Landing collections at the Greenville County Historical Society. Many of the old photographs are already accessible on the website and all of them are available to look through in Greenville Historical Society’s office. Later this summer, they plan to launch a new website, including 5000+ photos. Stay tuned!
