Greenville Business Magazine 2009 October : Page 26
››quarterly update 26 GREENVILLE BUSINESS MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2009
>>quarterly update - Q&A with Mayor Knox White
GBM: This month marks the fifth anniversary of the opening of Falls Park. How has it changed downtown?
WHITE: From the day it opened, Falls Park became our “star” attraction. It gave our city a public gathering spot – something few American cities enjoy – and a genuine icon, the Liberty Bridge. It also unleashed a wave of new development in the West End. So, in many ways it both complemented our Main Street, while at the same time it transformed our downtown.
GBM: Why do you suppose the project was so successful?
WHITE: I think it’s because it was built around a unique natural feature, Reedy River Falls. The project is all about what Greenville has that no other city has.
GBM: But the project almost never happened?
WHITE: That’s right. For nearly 40 years the old highway bridge, the Camperdown Bridge, stood directly on top of the waterfall, so most residents never saw the falls and certainly could not appreciate its potential. The Carolina Foothills Garden Club labored for years building a garden around the falls, but their vision could never be fully realized as long as the bridge was there. Removing it was a tough sell. After all, how do you make a case for investing in a public garden around a waterfall few had ever seen? But after decades of false starts, we finally made it happen.
GBM: How did the city overcome the many obstacles?
WHITE: First, thanks to the garden club, we had a plan so we could say, “yes, the bridge is a convenience, but look what we can swap it for.” Second, we had some key supporters. I would especially single out Virginia Uldrick, the founder of the Governor’s School for the Arts. The Governor’s School had already taken the brave and improbable step of opening the school on the hill overlooking the park. Virginia saw the value of the falls. Her contacts with the governor and key legislators were invaluable to me. That’s how we gained possession of the bridge so we could take it down.
GBM: How did the pedestrian bridge idea evolve?
WHITE: Out of the need to make it easier for people to see the falls, which is below street level. The pedestrian bridge addressed that and the more practical need of connecting the two sides of the river. No one wanted to once again cover up the falls, so the key was to construct a bridge that actually complemented the falls. Miguel Rosales, the bridge designer, gave our park design committee a lot of confidence that he could do just that.
GBM: Does the Liberty Bridge live up to
expectations?
WHITE: Absolutely. It is stunning, a real work of art and engineering. The German engineers who attached the suspension cables used to joke that the bridge would either stay on the river or catapult itself to Spartanburg! I was relieved when it stayed on the river.
GBM: What is park’s most important legacy?
WHITE: Certainly the economic impact to downtown has been huge. The baseball stadium and Riverplace are a direct result of the park. But the real legacy is that the park raised the bar for our city. And it reminds us to open our eyes to our own special assets and build on those assets. This is how we will attract great people and great jobs to Greenville. People choose Greenville because of what Falls Park says about us.
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