This week sees the opening of long-awaited Unity Park, which will be a monument to the “we find ways to work together” spirit of Greenville as well as a striking honor to the rich history of the Southernside neighborhood that will be its home.
The centerpiece of this once-in-a generation park is the Honor Tower, which pays tribute to the thousands of Greenville veterans and first responders who have tirelessly sacrificed for our collective benefit. This tower will be the crown jewel of the park, a Liberty Bridge for Southernside. It will offer the public stunning, panoramic views of Greenville and the mountains that can otherwise only be seen by the lucky few in high-rise offices or condos. This architecturally unique tower will attract national attention, tourism and result in new hospitality revenues to support Greenville’s continued, thoughtful growth.
A century in the making: Unity Park is here
Despite that, there is a small group arguing that the current tower should be scrapped for something more sensible, like more sidewalks, greenways and funding for the zoo. All of these are worthy uses of funds, but this is a false, either-or choice solely on the basis of cost. The consistent fiscal responsibility exercised by City Council is important and to be thanked for its part in Greenville’s success. But it is not the only driver of our success.
Greenville is a “Yes, and …” kind of place. Modern Greenville was built on a succession of big ideas from claiming the title of “Textile Capital of the World,” to boldly embracing foreign investment when our textile industry began to decline, to undertaking a decades-long commitment to create a world-class downtown. We are a place that succeeded by inviting people of different backgrounds to collaborate and work together to make Greenville a better place for all. THIS is what we are about, not just judicious spending on sewers, services and sidewalks.
The Honor Tower will be to the next generation what Liberty Bridge has been for the last 20 years. Our beloved Liberty Bridge faced similar criticism, but we’d be hard pressed to find anyone who’d now say that it wasn’t money well spent, especially given its incredible economic and aesthetic contributions.
Safety, sensibility and fiscal prudishness didn’t build the Lincoln Memorial, or the Eiffel Tower either. Most great civic monuments have faced opposition for very “sensible” reasons. In the end, these iconic structures are all huge parts of the home city’s brand. All have created economic and cultural value hundreds of times greater than their construction costs.
If we are proposing to elevate and honor Unity, should we elevate it with a plaza, a sidewalk or the Honor Tower? I think the answer is obvious, as do the private donors who will fund most of the funding gap. Who wants to be remembered as being against the next Liberty Bridge?
Let’s support the funding of the tower as the crown jewel of one of Greenville’s greatest civic project in a generation.
Rob Howell
Greenville, South Carolina
