![]() Among the library’s first holdings was Dr. Lionel Chalmers Kennedy, a well-known and respected physician who had died five years earlier. Helen Fayssoux Kennedy of the lot where her husband’s office once stood, Spartanburg’s first “public” library opened on October 17, 1885, on the top floor of a two-story building facing Kennedy Place in the central business district. Since 1885, when the Spartanburg County Public Libraries were first founded, there have been several locations around Spartanburg that have housed collections and offered library services to the public. On April 27, 2022, the Headquarters Library celebrated the 25th anniversary at its current location on South Church Street in downtown Spartanburg. Headquarters Library Announces Plans to Add Planetarium Learning Center Most likely, our downtown pedestrians are unaware of Spartanburg’s past challenges. According to OneSpartanburg, nearly 200,000 pedestrians are walking along Main Street every month. Twenty-five years later our downtown area is home to a new court complex, a planned city/county municipal building, commercial investment, and residential development. The new library was a significant anchor to revitalizing downtown Spartanburg. Construction of a new library was a private/public partnership demonstrating a core belief in Spartanburg’s downtown. In 1997, the library relocated from Pine Street to downtown Spartanburg. ![]() The Pine Street Library was built in 1961. The Andrews Building after implosion in 1977. The new development would have included two large office buildings, a convention center and a proposed ice-skating rink.Ī less than popular outdoor shopping mall, the collapse of the Andrews Building and the complexities of an unprecedented rate of inflation from 1977 to 1980 destroyed Spartanburg’s attempt to reinvigorate downtown. A small memorial plaque is located to the right of the door facing Morgan Square at One Morgan Square. On Saturday, October 8, 1977, a handful of men including crew and reporters were inspecting the building. This was accomplished by sawing all but a few beams, and once explosives were discharged, the building would collapse in place. A demolition crew from Oklahoma had prepared the steel beams for implosion. A key component to this development was the implosion of the Andrews (Chapman) Building. The next step was to develop “Spartan Square” fronting Morgan Square at Dunbar, North Church, and Magnolia Streets. Spartanburg leadership continued to attempt to develop a more active central retail district in downtown. Downtown Spartanburg’s “outdoor mall” in 1974. These three city blocks became Spartanburg’s “outdoor mall.” This concept struggled to grow in popularity with the advent of Westgate Mall, Hillcrest Shopping Mall, Poppy Square, Pinewood and Cedar Springs Shopping Centers and JM Fields and Sky City strategically located on Reidville Road and I-26. In 1974, East Main Street was closed from Converse to Church Streets. Spartanburg struggled to retain businesses. ![]() As shopping malls were built and area shopping districts grew, businesses moved away from downtown. From a hub of commerce to more of a pedestrian walkable retail district in the 1970s, this district competed with the rise of the shopping mall and adjacent shopping districts that took place at that same time. The new Inman Library opened in December 2022.ĭowntown Spartanburg has evolved over time. The Inman Library reopened in December 2022. The Libraries’ Board of Trustees identified the Inman Library and improvements to the Headquarters Library as two essential priorities. This strategy would not increase taxes and would provide the necessary capital to improve library services. Instead of requesting additional taxes to address library infrastructure the Board of Trustees requested the debt issued in 2000 be reissued after the final payment was made. The last payment on this debt was paid in January 2020. In 2000, County Council authorized $9 million in construction bonds to build the Chesnee, Cowpens, Cyrill-Westside, Landrum, and Woodruff Libraries. Further, it is their commitment to utilize Spartanburg’s tax revenue wisely and strategically. Spartanburg County Council and the Libraries’ Board of Trustees are committed to providing a first-class infrastructure to meet the informational, educational, and entertainment needs of Spartanburg County.
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