Washington Square | |
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Coordinates | 32°46′37″N79°55′50″W / 32.77694°N 79.93056°W |
Operated by | City of Charleston |
Washington Square is a park in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. It is located behind City Hall at the corner of Meeting Street and Broad Street in the Charleston Historic District. The planting beds and red brick walks were installed in April 1881. [1] It was known as City Hall Park until October 19, 1881 (the centennial of the Yorktown surrender), when it was renamed in honor of George Washington. [2] [3] The new name was painted over the gates in December 1881. [4]
The location of Washington Square once was the site of Corbett's Thatched Tavern. The city square was opened in 1818. [5] [6]
Along the east wall of the park is a monument to Gen. Pierre Beauregard, the Confederate general in charge of the city's defenses in 1862-1864. In 2004, the monument had repair work performed to correct a lean that had developed. [7]
In May 1901, a bust of Henry Timrod was unveiled in the park. [8]
In the center of the park is a memorial to the Washington Light Infantry. The memorial is made of Carolina gray granite and is a miniature version of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. The memorial is about forty-two feet high and is inscribed with the names of important military battles and the names of the unit's dead from the War Between the States. It was unveiled on February 23, 1891. [9] [10]
A statue of William Pitt the Elder was once located in Washington Park. The statue was moved to Washington Park from the Charleston Orphan House on Calhoun Street in 1881 and placed on a new pedestal of Fairfield County granite. [11] The statue suffered repeated damage, including a decapitation from a falling tree branch in November 1938, before being moved to the County Courthouse. [12] A statue of George Washington was later installed on the base of the Pitt statue following some local controversy. Plans for the new work began in 1992. The Washington statue was going to be a twice-life-size sculpture by Felix de Weldon. [13] Eventually, Jon Michel was chosen instead. The work, which cost $165,000, was unveiled on December 14, 1999. [14]
Marion Square is greenspace in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, spanning six and one half acres. The square was established as a parade ground for the state arsenal under construction on the north side of the square. It is best known as the former Citadel Green because The Citadel occupied the arsenal from 1843 until 1922, when the Citadel moved to the city's west side. Marion Square was named in honor of Francis Marion.
The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina, which includes the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Located in the capital city of Columbia near the corner of Gervais and Assembly Streets, the building also housed the Supreme Court until 1971.
Albert Wheeler Todd was an architect in Charleston, South Carolina. He is known for his neoclassical architecture, the design on his own home and of a home for Tristram Hyde. Todd was the senior partner at the firm of Todd & Benson which became Todd, Simons & Todd. Joseph F. Leitner worked with him. Todd also served in the legislature from 1910 until 1924 and was a State Senator.
Concord Park is a 9.1-acre development in Charleston, South Carolina, near the Cooper River and South Carolina Aquarium. The name is used to refer to a 5.4 acre public park planned for the center of the development, the 3.7 acre mixed-use development along the north and south edges, and the overall development.
Moultrie Playground is a public park in Charleston, South Carolina.
Remley Point Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Scanlonville community in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. It contains 41 marked graves ranging from 1867 to 1989, but residents claim there may be over 1,000 people, largely African American, buried there. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2p02.
The Jonathan Lucas House is a historic house in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Sword Gate House is a historic house in Charleston, South Carolina. Built in stages, the main portion of the house is believed to have been built around 1803, possibly by French Huguenots James LaRoche and J. Lardent. The house replaced a simpler house that was shown on a plat in 1803.
More than 160 monuments and memorials to the Confederate States of America and associated figures have been removed from public spaces in the United States, all but five since 2015. Some have been removed by state and local governments; others have been torn down by protestors.
John Caldwell Calhoun was an American statesman and politician from Abbeville, South Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Calhoun served within several positions inside state and federal governments. He is most notably remembered for his tenure as vice president from 1825 to 1832, serving under both John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson from 1825 to 1832. Calhoun was known most for his staunch defense of slavery inside the United States. He led the pro-slavery faction inside the Senate, fighting against abolition and wanted to expand slavery westward in the United States. Calhoun's most infamous words in his political career was in defense of slavery. Many southern politicians excused slavery as a "necessary evil"; however, in a speech on the Senate floor on February 6, 1837, Calhoun defended slavery as a "positive good." On March 31, 1850, John C. Calhoun died of tuberculosis at the Old Brick Capitol boarding house in Washington, D.C.
Confederate Defenders of Charleston is a monument in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. The monument honors Confederate soldiers from Charleston, most notably those who served at Fort Sumter during the American Civil War. Built with funds provided by a local philanthropist, the monument was designed by Hermon Atkins MacNeil and was dedicated in White Point Garden in 1932. The monument, standing 17 feet (5.2 m) tall, features two bronze statues of a sword and shield-bearing defender standing in front of a symbolic representation of the city of Charleston. In recent years, the monument has been the subject of vandalism and calls for removal as part of a larger series of removal of Confederate monuments and memorials in the United States.
The William Moultrie statue is a monumental statue in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Located in White Point Garden, the statue was unveiled in 2007 and honors William Moultrie, a general in the American Revolutionary War.
The Denmark Vesey Monument is a monumental statue in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. The monument was erected in 2014 in Hampton Park and honors Denmark Vesey, a freedman who lived in Charleston and was executed in 1822 for plotting a slave revolt. It was designed by American sculptor Ed Dwight.