Rock Hill, SC
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Arts and Culture
The arts are vibrant in Rock Hill. In 2015, The South Carolina Arts Commission named downtown Rock Hill as the first state-recognized cultural district in South Carolina.
A cultural district is an area that is easily identifiable to visitors and residents and serves as a center of cultural, artistic, and economic activity. It may contain galleries, live performance venues, theatres, artist studios, museums, arts centers, arts schools, and public art pieces. It may also contain businesses like restaurants, banks, and parks, whose primary purpose is not the arts, but that regularly make their spaces available to artists or create opportunities for the public to encounter the arts.
Storyline
Storyline is a linear outdoor park in the heart of downtown connecting Fountain Park to Winthrop University, with civic spaces along the route, highlighting stories of Rock Hill’s history and the future to come. The success of this concept has been demonstrated in New York City, Atlanta, and Miami.
Southside Music and Cultural Trail
The Southside Music and Cultural Trail has been planned and developed through the leadership of the City’s Rock Hill Economic Development Placemaking Committee, and greatly informed by community engagement and feedback of surrounding neighbors and local partners.
The Trail includes 20 initial honorees which will memorialize the contributions of African American musical innovators and the historical places and moments that shaped the rich culture of southside neighborhoods. The Trail highlights the stories of local musical talents such as Frontis Brooks, the musical savant and iconic marching band leader of the former Emmett Scott High School and the legendary Plair Family under the leadership of B.S. Plair, Sr. whose band performed throughout the Southeast and was the opening act for major artists like Lionel Richie and the Commodores, and Kool & the Gang.
The historical places and moments along the Trail represent the spaces that were made available to create and showcase this artistic expression within the community and at the same time provide safe shelter. The original structure for McGirt Auditorium was built in 1960 and served the African American community until it closed in 1970 because of integration. The auditorium was named after Ralph McGirt, the former and longest serving principal of Emmett Scott High School. The grounds of St. Mary Catholic Church known as the “The Catholic” were a welcoming venue under the leadership of Brother David Boone during the civil rights movement and was home to many of the social activities such as Friday night dances for African American youth.
Implementation of the Music and Cultural Trail will occur over a series of phases, and will be designed to broaden the reach of the City of Rock Hill’s rich history and make more inclusive the stories of the African American community that is woven so deeply into the fabric of this “good town.”