Landmarks contribute to the identity of a city.
New or historic. Big or small. Natural or man-made. Each structure is an identifiable symbol for residents and a destination for visitors. Downtown Greenville is home to many, including Liberty Bridge, the Peace Center and the Medusa Tree.
Honor Tower will soon rise 10 stories above Greenville’s Unity Park, joining that list of local landmarks. A groundbreaking for the long-planned observation tower was held June 11.
The idea for Honor Tower originated in the early planning for Unity Park more than 10 years ago. Greenville Mayor Knox White said the goal was for the tower to be the visible symbol for the park, similar to Liberty Bridge in Falls Park.
“It’s going to be an iconic piece of art in our city,” White said.
The 125-foot tower will include an observation deck at the 99-foot level, offering visitors sweeping views of downtown Greenville and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The deck will be surrounded by screening.
Paul Endres with Endrestudio, a California-based design studio, created the first concepts for the tower in 2016. The tower’s design went through many modifications to decrease its cost. The final design features a wooden outer structure with a contemporary, spiral design. The tower will be internally lit, creating a beacon in the heart of the park.
“It’s completely unique,” Endres said. “We don’t know of any tower like this anywhere in the world.”
Visitors will be able to climb the tower’s 176-step floating stairway or take the elevator to the observation deck. The elevator will have glass front and rear walls so visitors can view the structure’s interior.
Iconic symbol
Unity Park, which opened in May 2022, sits on the former location of two segregated parks: Mayberry Park and Meadowbrook Park. Honor Tower will be positioned directly between these sites, near the Reedy River.
Mary Duckett, president of Southernside Neighborhoods in Action, said the tower’s placement will symbolize the unification of the area.
Honor Tower’s name pays tribute to military veterans and first responders. White said the city saw a need to create a space where the community could come together for memorials and ceremonies honoring these individuals.
A public ceremonial plaza called the Philip J. Carlton Memorial Plaza will be used to host these events at the tower’s base. Endres said the plaza was designed to host between 150 to 200 people. Gardens will also surround the plaza in a spiraling formation, mimicking the twisting design of the tower.
Project details
Greenville City Council approved a $11 million budget for the tower in June 2022.
Approximately $5.5 million was raised to date from private donors including a $1 million donation from Vivian Wong and her late husband, Thomas. For their donation, the tower’s official name is the Thomas and Vivian A. Wong Honor Tower.
White noted that the tower drew more individual private dollars than any other feature of the park. The remaining balance for the tower will be funded by the city.
Construction of Honor Tower has been underway for the last month with site utilities, grading and foundation work. The tower should take around 14 months to complete. Harper General Contractors is overseeing the tower’s construction.
“The tower is expected to be complete by August 2025,” said Neil Wilson, senior project manager with Harper General Contractors.
While the tower’s construction is underway, work will also soon start on Mayberry Park. The new youth baseball field will be adjacent to the tower. Construction will begin in August and is expected to be completed by spring 2025.
Private donors
Honor Tower
Observation Deck
Plaza
- Sharon and Heather Carlton in memory of Philip J. Carlton
- AT&T
Garden
- The Webster Family — Lanny Webster Garden
- Surendra and Neelima Jain — Ahimsa Garden of Peace
- The McKissick Foundation — Noel P. McKissick Garden
- Jan McCrary — Grand Garden of Hope
U.S. Flag
- Emilie and John Pazdan
Pillar
- AT&T
- Harper Corp.
- Aughtry Family Foundation
- Donna and Bo Gossett
- Prisma Health
- Nancy and Rick Pennell
Steps for Vets
Bench
- The Estevez Family
- Jordon Construction
- Lee and Associates
- Proactive MD
- The Taylor Family
- The Yeargin Family
Additional contributors
- The Andre Bauer Family
- Greenville County
- VisitGreenvilleSC
Initial idea
The late Tom Keith, a landscape architect with Greenville’s Arbor Engineering, created the first conceptual renderings in 2006 for what is now Unity Park. Keith also was the lead designer of Falls Park. In his original idea for the park, Keith included a tower that would serve as the park’s iconic symbol. Greenville Mayor Knox White and the city used this idea and community input to create the plan for what is now Unity Park.
Panoramic views
Honor Tower will feature an observation tower at the 99-foot level. Paul Endres with Endrestudio said the observation deck will create a unique experience for the community. The level at which the observation deck was placed was meticulously chosen. Endres said it was a long process that included using lifts and drones to see which height offered the best views.
Related – Unity Park Honor Tower: An interview with architect Paul Endres
“We had views of all of the different elevations, and it was decided that we didn’t want to go any lower than 99 feet or about 100 feet because you wouldn’t have views of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains and the downtown city,” Endres said.
Tower operations
The Honor Tower observation deck will have specific hours of operation for visitors. There will be a ticket system to ensure there is no overcrowding. Whether there will be an entrance cost for the tower is still up for discussion, according to the city of Greenville.
By the numbers
Total cost: $11 million
Height: 125 feet
Weight: 250,000 pounds
Steps to the observation deck: 176
City leaders and two dozen donors broke ground on the 10-story Thomas and Vivian A. Wong Honor Tower at Unity Park.
The tower will pay tribute to military veterans and First Responders who save lives, keep us safe and make our community a better place to live.
pic.twitter.com/dqSAccGhkt
— City of Greenville (@CityGreenville) June 11, 2024
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