The Wat Lao Buddha Mettaram, known as the Spartanburg Buddhist Center, opened in 2010. It is located in East Spartanburg.
The Temple is frequently busy. It took visiting on Thanksgiving to be able to take photographs. The details of the building are pretty intricate.
Outside of the Temple is a sculpture garden containing animals and angels. Additionally, a rooster runs free of their grounds, along with several white cats.
Located next to the train station, the Railroad Express Agency was built by George Harakas in 1946 for $16,000. It was a package pick-up location and could store several truckloads of packages.
Over the years, it served as a transmission shop, newsstand, music store, and vintage clothing store.
If you grew up in Spartanburg, this is the Krispy Kreme where you would pick up their delicious doughnuts. Located on Church Street, the building was opened in 1969 by Reverend Wilford W. Reese. When he passed away in 1979, his son, Glenn Reese, took over the franchise. Glenn Reese was also a teacher, basketball official, and a South Carolina senator. This location closed in 2005, and a new location was built across the street.
Built in 1867, this home is the oldest in the Converse Heights Historic District in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It served as the long-time home of educators Zephaniah (Z. L.) (1888-1977) and Nanaline (1900-1998) Madden. Z.L. Madden was a noted educator in Spartanburg. He taught at Freemont School for fifteen years. He then served as principal of Cleveland Junior High School. He retired in 1954. The Z. L. Madden Elementary School was named after him. He lived here until his death in 1977.
Nanaline Madden was a noted kindergarten teacher. The local newspaper, The Spartanburg Herald-Journal, frequently mentioned classes meeting in the home and taught by Mrs. Madden. According to a 1991 article, she taught 1,105 students in 29 years at home. She was an active member of various civil and social organizations in Spartanburg. She was named Woman of the Year by the Spartanburg Garden Club Council for the 1959-1960. Mrs. Madden lived in the home for many years after her husband’s death.
Patrick Prather built the Tugaloo Church in 1856 near Cross Roads, South Carolina. In 1870, it was moved to its current location near the Tugaloo River. The Presbyterian church was active until 1968.
The Echo Theater was built in 1910. Like many theaters in the Jim Crow South, it was segregated. In 1996, it became the site of the Redneck Shop and the world’s only KKK Museum. Protests ensued, but the shop and museum were allowed to stay open.
Local minister and activist Rev. David Kennedy befriended one of the theater’s owners, Michael Burden, who lost his apartment inside the theater. Burden eventually denounced his beliefs and sold the theater to Kennedy for $1,000. Unfortunately, the other owner would not leave the premises until years later after the court ordered him to do so.
The site is now known as the Echo Project, where it will eventually evolve into a museum and diversity center. It has been designated an International Site of Conscience, a place that promotes the history of a site and “justice and a culture of human rights.”
At the moment, there is no projected date of opening.
