The first phase of a multi-million-dollar transformation of the historic public square in the center of downtown Spartanburg is set to get under way in early 2024. The plan includes closing two streets to traffic and building space for public performances and outdoor restaurant seating. It covers the area known as Morgan Square and is estimated to cost $15 million to be paid by the city’s accommodations tax. Phase two would extend the square by several blocks and tie into a baseball stadium under construction for a Single A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
There is no cost estimate for that phase, but Spartanburg City Council members during a meeting Monday broached the idea of raising money from private citizens and groups and of seeking federal grants. City Manager Chris Story said the second phase could likely require moving the city’s clock tower, which has moved several times since the Seth Thomas works were installed in 1881. The clock, which originally cost $966.02, was at the peak of a tower in a building that housed the town offices, post office and opera house.
That building was sold in 1906 and torn down the next year and the clock was moved to the courthouse tower. That courthouse was torn down in 1958 and the clock was stored for 20 years. It was resurrected in the 1970s as Spartanburg planned for its bicentennial. It was installed in its own tower designed by the Chicago architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, which also designed the Greenville Spartanburg Airport. That was 1979 and was paid for by private donations and federal community development grants. Story said in an interview it’s not certain where the clock would go. He said there has been “strong public support” for the overall Morgan Square plan, which is designed to be pedestrian friendly and a space flexible enough to be used for a variety of purposes, including small and large music events, yoga classes, children’s reading time. A lengthy process was undertaken to ensure the space was what residents wanted, Story said.
