LikeTheDew.com

Got wanderlust? Want to visit a cozy Southern city? Slake your desire to travel in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for this Piedmont city nestled against worn ancient mountains reinvented itself. How fitting that Spartanburg’s BMW plant built James Bond’s “Golden Eye” Z3 roadster. As the Germans say, “die Wiedergeburt.”

Yes, Europe has discovered Spartanburg, and so should you. Walk its streetscapes and see how The Renaissance Project reshaped the city’s personality.

In Textile Town, a Hub City Writers Project, Betsy Wakefield Teter, editor, recounts Spartanburg’s origins. “In 1816 a pair of Rhode Island brothers stopped their wagons along the Tyger River, cleared away trees and chinquapin thickets, and began construction on a rustic spinning factory. From those humble beginnings arose one of the nation’s mightiest textile communities.”

Five major railroad lines once crisscrossed here a century ago, earning Spartanburg the nickname “Hub City.” The Renaissance Project makes it a hub of a different sort. Here’s the scoop. A luxury hotel, conference center, nine-hole golf learning center, amphitheater, and art facilities—right in the heart of downtown. The Spartanburg Marriott at Renaissance Park offers first-class amenities. The restored Magnolia Street Station train depot serves as a Visitors Center. The old downtown Belk department store sports luxury apartments, office, and retail space. The Palmetto Building houses the Spartanburg County Historical Museum. And Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium (the Carolinas’ largest theater) offers an ideal venue for Broadway shows. Barnet Park’s six acres feature an interactive fountain (dancing water and gleeful kids!), and its Zimmerli Amphitheater hosts local and regional events.

Kathy Chandler has lived in Landrum 20 years, Spartanburg the past six. “I’ve watched Spartanburg grow and can’t believe what we offer compared to a short time ago. Cleveland Park offers a beautiful event center. Daniel Morgan Square has several new restaurants and shops. The new Wild Wing Café offers music from some great bands.” Chandler adds that “one never need look elsewhere for topnotch concerts, plays, ballet, or art and history displays. Here, you’ll find foreign films, the arts, the Little Theater, concerts, lectures, and dance. The Spartanburg City Auditorium features acclaimed performers, and then there’s the Music on Main series.”

Well, nothing new there. In an old building on Spring Street around 1970, rocker Tommy Caldwell found a key with a tag with a blind piano tuner’s name on it. “Let’s just call the band Marshall Tucker.” And so Spartanburg added its chapter to the Southern pantheon of rock and roll.

Downtown Spartanburg. Relax here, play here and plan outings to area attractions. See Walnut Grove Plantation and its colonial-era life. Sequester yourself among Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve’s birds, wildlife, and flowers. Visit Cowpens National Battlefield and Kings Mountain National Military Park where Patriots won pivotal Revolutionary War battles. Zoom into the future at North America’s only BMW museum—the crescent-shaped Zentrum. See BMW auto production and displays on BMW’s rich heritage in aircraft, motorcycles and automobiles.

Of course, there’s much more, including the grandeur of architecture. See 144 West Hampton Street, an arts and crafts cottage. Visit the renovated 1904 Inn on Main, the city’s first bed-and-breakfast.

Take the Downtown Walking Tour. Trek through history and culture. Let a sense of place absorb you here in the Piedmont, where all spokes lead to the city that’s reinvented itself. Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Note: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for the agreed-upon rules of civility. Comments do not reflect the views of LikeTheDew.com. Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click here to report a violation.

Leave a Comment

Click here to cancel reply.

What is CAPTCHA and why do I have to enter it to post a comment?

Quick answer: Look at the picture (below) that contains letters. Type those letters in the CAPTCHA Code box.

Longer explanation: Our comment system now requires a CAPTCHA test (an acronym for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart" for all comments (unless you have registered and are logged-in). CAPTCHA is an image of letters that is dynamically generated (click the speaker icon to hear it or the arrows to load another test that may be easier to read). The letters, because they're part of an image and not text (e.g. text that you could cut and paste), are difficult for a spambot or other computer program to read. Yet, a person has little trouble reading the letters in a captcha image and then typing them into the form. Using a captcha test on our website is a great way to ensure, for instance, that a person and not a spambot is filling out a web form (we used to get 100 or so spam comments every day which our volunteers had to wade through). Also, a captcha can make it difficult for a person to continuously resubmit form information and overwhelm our comment function. If you hate CAPTCHA, just register on LikeTheDew.com and login (registration is on the bottom left of our home page) and you won't be stopped by CAPTCHA.

CAPTCHA Code

You can add images to your comment by clicking here.

Notify me of follow-up comments via email.

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website