Historic Greenville, SC - Evolves

New residential areas evolve

With the increase in wealth because of textile manufacture and other industries coupled with the establishment of a streetcar system, new residential neighborhoods came into being, such as the Hampton-Pinckney neighborhood (pictured), the Pettigru Street neighborhood, the Pendleton Street neighborhood, the James and Earle Streets neighborhood and the Overbrook neighborhood

Construction boom

The mid-20s brought the Poinsett Hotel (“Carolina’s Finest”), the Chamber of Commerce building, South Carolina’s largest furniture store and a theater.

Then, along came textile mill strikes and the Great Depression which affected Greenville just as they did the rest of the country. Construction came to a halt for several years and it was not until World War II and the building of Donaldson Air Force base just south of the City of Greenville that the economy in Greenville improved.

As the suburbs of Greenville showed great increase in both housing and businesses, the heart of the City suffered a great decline.

However, in the mid 1970s, Heritage Green, a cultural complex made up of The Little Theatre, Greenville County Library, the Greenville County Museum of Art and the Greenville Symphony Association, opened in downtown Greenville. Following this event, in 1979, came the building of the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

This downtown revitalization has continued as is exemplified by the creation of the Historic Falls Park on the Reedy. Today downtown Greenvillle draws visitors to its old town charm with a modern twist.