This SC university is among most beautiful in US, Condé Nast says. Here’s why

Furman University was among 54 colleges listed in Condé Nast Traveler’s most beautiful campuses in the United States.

The Greenville school was the only South Carolina university to make the list.

“The most striking feature of Furman’s lakeside campus is the six-story Florentine bell tower, but the Asia Gardens are the real treat,” Condé Nast said.

The bell tower was one of the first structures built on the campus when school leaders decided to move from downtown Greenville in the 1950s.

It was a rebuild of the tower on the downtown campus, which was established in 1851. The school was founded in Edgefield, then moved to Santee and Winnsboro before landing in Greenville.

The 28-acre Furman Lake was built at the same time.

Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean Architects of Boston designed the campus structures; Innocenti and Webel of New York handled the landscape architecture. More recently, Innoncenti also planned the landscaping around RiverPlace in downtown Greenville.

Perry, Shaw, Hepburn and Dean did the master planning and restoration of Colonial Williamsburg and has been involved in many educational projects over its 100-year history.

The land in northern Greenville County, now covering 940 acres, was largely a blank slate when construction began using handmade Virginia brick for most of its 36 buildings.

Furman has some unusual features as well, including a replica of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin built in 2009 by students during May X, a three-week term after spring semester that allows students to explore a wide variety of subjects. It sits the same distance from Furman Lake as Thoreau’s cabin did from Walden Pond.

The Asia garden mentioned by Condé Nast was designed by Mark Byington of Innocenti Webel.

“Thanks to the South’s warmer climate, the weather allows for a wide array of Japanese and Chinese plants to grow lush,” the magazine said. “The free garden is filled with bamboo, azalea, Japanese maples, and more — making the walk to class in that humid Southern heat a little more pleasant.”

Furman also has 13 miles of paved trails through woodlands, a planetarium, an 18-hole golf course, and the Place of Peace, the first Japanese temple to be dismantled and reconstructed in America. A popular spot on campus, particularly for weddings is the Janie Earle Furman Rose Garden that has some 800 rose bushes, a 19th-century gazebo and fountain.

Furman was cited last year by Architectural Digest as one of 64 most beautiful campuses in the United States. Like Condé Nast, Architectural Digest’s list was unranked.

In 2023, Travel and Leisure Magazine ranked Furman 23 of 25 prettiest colleges. Stanford University in California was No. 1.

This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 6:00 AM.