Washington Square (Charleston)

Last updated
Washington Square
WashingtonSquare.jpg
Washington Square (Charleston)
Type Urban park
Location80 Broad Street, Charleston, South Carolina
Coordinates 32°46′37″N79°55′50″W / 32.77694°N 79.93056°W / 32.77694; -79.93056
Area1.5 acres (0.61 ha; 0.0023 sq mi; 0.0061 km2)
Created1818
Operated by City of Charleston
OpenSunrise to Sunset
Washington Square Park's statue of William Pitt was photographed here in 1892. Washington Park 1892.PNG
Washington Square Park's statue of William Pitt was photographed here in 1892.
Washington Square Park's layout was shown on an 1880 plat. Washington Square Park - 1882.pdf
Washington Square Park's layout was shown on an 1880 plat.

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]

Washington Square was shown on a plat from 1800. Washington Square - 1800.jpg
Washington Square was shown on a plat from 1800.

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]

On November 10, 1950 a plaque dedicated to Francis Salvador was dedicated in the park during Charlestons Jewish Bicentenial celebration. [9]

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. [10] [11]

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. [12] The statue suffered repeated damage, including a decapitation from a falling tree branch in November 1938, before being moved to the County Courthouse. [13] 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. [14] Eventually, Jon Michel was chosen instead. The work, which cost $165,000, was unveiled on December 14, 1999. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Point Garden</span>

White Point Garden is a 5.7 acre public park located in peninsular Charleston, South Carolina, at the tip of the peninsula. It is the southern terminus for the Battery, a defensive seawall and promenade. It is bounded by East Battery, Murray Blvd., King St., and South Battery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion Square</span>

Marion Square is greenspace in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, spanning ten acres. The square was established as a parade ground for the state arsenal under construction on the square's north side. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Carolina State House</span> State capitol building of the U.S. state of South Carolina

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Park Terrace</span> Historic house in South Carolina, United States

Hampton Park Terrace is the name both of a neighborhood and a National Register district located in peninsular Charleston, South Carolina. The neighborhood is bounded on the west by The Citadel, on the north by Hampton Park, on the east by Rutledge Ave., and on the south by Congress St. In addition, the one block of Parkwood Ave. south of Congress St. is considered, by some, to be included. The National Register district, on the other hand, is composed of the same area with two exceptions: (1) the northeasternmost block is excluded and (2) an extra block of President St. is included.

Confederate monuments and memorials in the United States include public displays and symbols of the Confederate States of America (CSA), Confederate leaders, or Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War. Many monuments and memorials have been or will be removed under great controversy. Part of the commemoration of the American Civil War, these symbols include monuments and statues, flags, holidays and other observances, and the names of schools, roads, parks, bridges, buildings, counties, cities, lakes, dams, military bases, and other public structures. In a December 2018 special report, Smithsonian Magazine stated, "over the past ten years, taxpayers have directed at least $40 million to Confederate monuments—statues, homes, parks, museums, libraries, and cemeteries—and to Confederate heritage organizations."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Wheeler Todd</span> American architect

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brittlebank Park</span>

Brittlebank Park is a ten-acre park located between Lockwood Boulevard and the Ashley River in Charleston, South Carolina near Gadsden Creek. To the south is a condominium project and to the north is the minor league baseball stadium, the Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remley Point Cemetery</span> Historic cemetery in Charleston County, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Lucas House</span> Historic house in South Carolina, United States

The Jonathan Lucas House is a historic house in Charleston, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sword Gate House</span> Historic house in South Carolina, United States

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.

Corrine Jones Playground was formerly known as Hester Park because of its location along Hester Street in Charleston, South Carolina. The playground is located on a portion of the larger Buist Tract that had been used during World War II as housing for the influx of wartime workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Morgan Monument</span> United States historic place

Daniel Morgan Monument is a historic monument located at Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, South Carolina. The statue was designed by John Quincy Adams Ward and the monument erected in 1881. The monument commemorates the centennial of the victory at the Revolutionary War Battle of Cowpens and its hero, General Daniel Morgan. The statue stands on a columnar granite shaft on an octagonal base designed by noted Charleston architect, Edward Brickell White. In 1960, the monument was moved about 100 yards across Morgan Square to its east end. However, in 2005 as part of a larger project involving the redesign and reconstruction of Morgan Square, the monument was returned to its original position at the corner of West Main and Magnolia Streets and its original orientation, facing Cowpens National Battlefield.

<i>John C. Calhoun Monument</i> American monument

The John C. Calhoun Monument was a monumental statue in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. The monument was 115 feet tall, and stood at the center of Marion Square in Downtown Charleston. It depicted John C. Calhoun, a prominent American statesman and politician from Abbeville, South Carolina who served as Vice President of the United States from 1825 to 1832 and who was an adamant supporter of American slavery.

<i>Confederate Defenders of Charleston</i> Monument in Charleston, South Carolina

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of William Moultrie</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denmark Vesey Monument</span>

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.

References

  1. ↑ "The City Square". News and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. April 1, 1881. p. 4.
  2. ↑ Charleston, S. C. (1903). The Revised Ordinances of the City of Charleston, South Carolina. p. 312.
  3. ↑ "Odds and Ends". News and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. October 20, 1881. p. 4.
  4. ↑ "Odds and Ends". Charleston News & Courier. Dec 13, 1881. p. 4 (col. 1). Retrieved Dec 3, 2012.
  5. ↑ "A Chapter of Local History". Charleston News & Courier. March 3, 1881. p. 4. Retrieved Nov 20, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Washington Square". Charleston News & Courier. January 1, 1891. p. 8. Retrieved Nov 20, 2012.
  7. ↑ David Slade (Dec 2, 2004). "Setting Gen. Beauregard Straight". Charleston Post & Courier. p. B1. Retrieved Nov 20, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Monument to Henry Timrod Unveiled" (PDF). New York Times. May 2, 1901. Retrieved Nov 20, 2012.
  9. ↑ https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/sc/sc1200/sc1227/data/sc1227data.pdf
  10. ↑ "Graven in Granite". Charleston News & Courier. Jan 5, 1891. p. 8. Retrieved Nov 20, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Know Your Charleston?". Charleston News & Courier. May 28, 1934. p. 10. Retrieved Nov 20, 2012.
  12. ↑ "The Pitt Monument". News and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. April 26, 1881. p. 4.
  13. ↑ "Statue of Pitt Escapes Wind but Not Tree". Middlesboro Daily News. Nov 9, 1938. p. 4. Retrieved Nov 20, 2012.
  14. ↑ Sharon Strauss (June 7, 1993). "Placement of Statue Debated". Charleston Post & Courier. p. B1. Retrieved Nov 20, 2012.
  15. ↑ Robert Behre (Dec 15, 1999). "Washington Unveiled in His Square". Charleston Post & Courier. p. A1. Retrieved Nov 20, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.