2300 Greene Street

Martin Luther King Jr. Park

Central to today's Lower Waverly and Old Shandon neighborhoods that surround it, Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, under different names, has been a community landmark since the founding of Shandon, Columbia's first planned suburb, in 1893. Shandon's developers believed the key to ensuring their suburb's success lay in building residences and in creating public destinations. Initially known as Shandon Pavilion, this public green space was intended as a resort with a casino, bathhouses, and sporting opportunities for seasonal tourists. Accessible by trolley by 1894, Valley Park (as it was renamed by 1895) became a favorite recreational area for whites only until integration in the 1950s. In 1993, the park was assigned its current name in honor of the nation's most celebrated civil rights leader.

Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 2018. Historic Columbia collection
Detail from Map of Columbia, SC and Suburbs, 1895, by Niernsee & Lamotte. Image courtesy South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia
The park's early building photographed during a public health inoculation clinic, August 1966. Image courtesy Joseph Winter Collection, South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia
Children at Valley Park. Image courtesy Warner Montgomery, previously published in Shandon Memories
Sports teams were among the favorite pastimes at Valley Park. Image courtesy Warner Montgomery, previously published in Shandon Memories
Sports teams were among the favorite pastimes at Valley Park. Image courtesy Warner Montgomery, previously published in Shandon Memories

Warner Montgomery describes playing in Valley Park.

Delores Frazier recalls her efforts to desegregate Valley Park.

Durham Carter shares the reality of segregated space.

Martin Luther King Jr. Park

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