This SC park lets you ascend to the sky and see for miles in every direction

First it was an iconic pedestrian bridge over the Reedy River in Falls Park.

Now comes something equally unusual — a 10-story observation tower in Unity Park on land that was once a dividing line between segregated parks.

From it, you can see downtown Greenville and the Blue Ridge Mountains and everything in between.

Mayor Knox White said, “Unity Park was designed in partnership with the Southernside neighborhood. They wanted a signature feature in the new park as good as the Liberty Bridge.”

The idea for an observation tower was born.

“We even used a bucket truck for neighborhood leaders to choose the right height,” White said.

Named the Honor Tower in tribute to people who devoted their lives to public service, it was designed by architect Paul Endres of Los Angeles. He also designed the wetlands shelter at Unity Park, amid a number of bridges, houses and art work all over the world.

The design is intended to reflect the history of the textile industry and the smokestacks that fueled the plants.

There were some who thought the city shouldn’t be building such a thing when there were other challenges to meet.

It cost $11 million, $5.5 million from private donations, $3.5 million from local accommodations tax, $1 million from hospitality tax and $1 million from savings on the construction of the park itself.

It was named The Thomas and Vivian A. Wong Honor Tower due to a $1 million donation from entrepreneur and philanthropist Vivian A. Wong and her late husband.

Sharon Carlton and Heather Carlton-McInnis donated $500,000 to honor businessman and philanthropist Philip J. Carlton, who died in 2016. Carlton was the owner of the Mercedes-Benz dealership in Greenville and was known to give buses to organizations that serve disabled children, sending children with special needs to Disney World and paying for the funerals of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

The Philip J. Carlton Plaza near the tower is a memorial for first responders and military veterans.

In addition, the Webster Family donated money for the Lanny Webster Garden, the McKissick Foundation donated for the Noel P. McKissick Garden, the Surendra Family donated for the Ahimsa Garden of Peace honoring Surendra and Neelima Jain and Jan McCrary, who donated for a garden in honor of her grandchildren.

The tower opened Nov. 14, 2025.

“It’s so new most people outside of Gville don’t know,” White said.

There is a circular staircase of 176 steps attracting many looking for exercise and as well as a glass-walled elevator.

“Always a line on weekends to go up,” White said.

Unity Park is Greenville largest and newest park, built on a long-forgotten area on the western edge of Greenville, once home to a stockade, a public incinerator, a landfill and finally a maintenance shed for garbage trucks and other city vehicles.

It was prone to flooding from the Reedy River.

The 60-acre, $61 million park was envisioned by planners more than 100 years ago and is a promise that came due.

City Council member Lillian Brock Flemming, who represents the area the park is located in, has called it long delayed justice. Justice for all the children forced to play in the streets, including her own brother who was knocked unconscious by a white man’s car so many years ago. Justice for the hundreds of people forced from their homes by highway projects. Justice for a community long ignored.

A half-mile section of the Reedy River and adjacent wetlands was restored, hundreds of native trees planted, a historic Black baseball stadium renovated, three playgrounds built and the Swamp Rabbit Trail extended.