Glencairn Garden, 725 Crest Street, Rock Hill

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS SC-7. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Originally an early twentieth-century private backyard, Glencairn now functions as a public landscape for the residents of Rock Hill and the surrounding areas. Its fountains, footpaths, trees, and flowers collectively form a space that welcomes families and community members, and provides a medium for gatherings like the Come-See-Me festival, a Rock Hill tradition since the early Its evolution from a private garden to a planned gathering space that continues to alter to reflect the needs of the community speak to Glencairn s integrity and relevance. Description: The Glencairn Garden includes ponds, hills, streams and an incredible variety of flora. The site is fully accessible on foot and partially accessible by bike.

There are two large cascading fountains, four bridges across the streams, and a multitude of small garden features that are dedicated to individuals or a group. The cascading pools near the Come See Me Festival headquarters create a sense of free flow that complements the purpose of the festival, an event that encourages tourists and others to visit Rock Hill. Each stepped entrance to the park, predominately on the west end, has dedication plaques to businesses who provided funding for improved accessibility in Glencairn. All the signage was modest, clean and unobtrusive.

Additions have been made throughout the site since the garden was started in Plaques and commemorative benches, fountains and trees have been sprinkled around the eleven acre garden over time but somehow all form a cohesive space today. Other modern additions include trash and recycling cans and a restroom facility. A military memorial at the northern tip of the park is a newer addition, as is the Victory Garden and grouping of children in bronze, all in the northern section of the park. The current physical condition of the park is good, and will be excellent once path repair construction and pond maintenance are completed. The bridges were all in good shape, but in some sections with stairs, tree roots have begun to damage the bricks and compromise the integrity.

Extensive tree banding suggests the presence of cankerworms in an unknown portion of the trees but also suggests frequent and regular maintenance of the park. Lastly, a point of concern for the park exists in the speed limit and level of traffic on Charlotte GLENCAIRN GARDEN HALS NO. PAGE 2 Avenue, which is the park s western boundary. There is only one crosswalk across the road and the cars fly past at prodigious speeds; these concerns, coupled with poor visibility along the hilly and curved road, create a worrisome atmosphere when visitors attempt to enter or exit the park on the western side. History: Rock Hill s 11 acre Glencairn Garden began in as the 6 acre backyard garden of David and Hazel Bigger.

In David Bigger s widow deeded the garden to the City of Rock Hill and in the garden was transformed into a public space by landscape architect Robert Marvin. With the guidance of Robert Marvin until his death in and the Master Plan for the Garden, today Glencairn Garden contains thousands of azaleas a tiered fountain, Japanese footbridge, and trails passing beneath canopies of dogwood, stately oaks, cherry trees, Japanese maples camellias, crepe myrtles, day lilies, lily ponds and thousands of bulbs . In the Garden was the inspiration for the Come-See-Me Festival. The Festival, which continues as a popular South Carolina festival today, functioned as a community volunteer project that attracted visitors to Rock Hill while the flowers of Glencairn Garden were in full bloom.

The Bigger House, the original bungalow style house of David and Hazel Bigger, is located at 725 Crest Street and functions as the Garden s welcome center as well as the administrative office for the Come-See-Me festival.

Source document Quoted word for word from HALS SC-7. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Jean Stoll, Rachel Walling, Meghan White Students with Clemson University/College of Charleston 292 Meeting Street Charleston, SC Andrew Kohr, Faculty Sponsor March 9, Entry HALS Challenge: Documenting Modernist Landscapes GLENCAIRN GARDEN HALS NO. PAGE 3 Crest Street entrance to Glencairn Garden (Jean Stoll, Paths at Glencairn (Rachel Walling, GLENCAIRN GARDEN HALS NO. PAGE 4 View of pond and stage (Jean Stoll, The Bigger House (Jean Stoll, GLENCAIRN GARDEN HALS NO. PAGE 5 Tiered Garden (Rachel Walling, Glencairn commemorative plaque (Jean Stoll, GLENCAIRN GARDEN HALS NO. PAGE 6 Tiered Come-See-Me Festival Fountain (Jean Stoll, View into park from the street (Jean Stoll, GLENCAIRN GARDEN HALS NO.

PAGE 7 View downhill at bridge feature (Jean Stoll, Glencairn plantings (Rachel Walling, GLENCAIRN GARDEN HALS NO. PAGE 8 View of Bridge and Water Feature (Jean Stoll, Statue feature (Rachel Walling, GLENCAIRN GARDEN HALS NO. PAGE 9 Glencairn Victory Garden (Jean Stoll, Second tiered fountain (Jean Stoll,