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This 167 acre
park was the site of the original waterworks for the City of Columbia.
This was also the site of the world's first electrically operated textile
mill and the hydroelectric plant, the oldest one in the state that is
still operating.
A popular jogging/walking trail runs two and one half miles along
the linear park and offers wonderful views of the river. There is also
a beautiful brick amphitheater as well as a self guided walkway by the
old parts of the water plant.
The park, which separates the Historic Columbia Canal and the convergence
of the Congaree, Saluda, and Broad Rivers is approximately 167 acres.
Most photos are from 2020, but a few taken in 2023 have been added
and labeled as such. |
![The entrance to Riverfront Park - south](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2765.jpg) |
![Columbia Canal Entrance at Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2772.jpg) |
![Lee Duquette at the Columbia Riverfront Park entrance](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2771.jpg) |
![Columbia Canal Water Tower](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2766.jpg) |
Below - South
Carolina Crime Victims Memorial |
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![squirrel](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2775.jpg) |
![squirrel](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2776a.jpg) |
![Riverfront Park Waterworks sign](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2784.jpg) |
Below: A piece
of art depicting the Rocky Shoals Spider Lily as mentioned in the above
photo. |
November 2020 photo |
June 2023 photo |
![Rocky Shoals Spider Lily art](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2782.jpg) |
![ocky Shoals Spider Lily art](../!USA-trips-2023/2023-06-25-Riverfront-Park/IMG_3734.jpg) |
As the two RV
Gypsies approached the footbridge, they stopped at a granite stone monument.
The poem, a four-stanza ode entitled "Congaree" hails the river
as "O tawny flood!" It is composed in metrically competent
Faerie Queene stanzas. The author, Max Revelise (1907-1962), wrote the
ode to the Congaree River. |
![O tawny flood poem](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2783a.jpg) |
Below: The
entry bridge in 2020 |
![footbridge](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2786.jpg) |
![Lee Duquette on the footbridge](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2787.jpg) |
Below: Karen Duquette on
the bridge, November 2020 |
Below: The bridge in June,
2023 |
![Karen Duquette on the footbridge](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/phone-photos/IMG_0053.jpg) |
![entry bridge in 2023](../!USA-trips-2023/2023-06-25-Riverfront-Park/IMG_3718.jpg) |
Below: Views
from the footbridge in November 2020 & ( June 2023 with muddy waters) |
![view from the footbridge](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2837.jpg) |
![JUne 2023 view from the footbridge](../!USA-trips-2023/2023-06-25-Riverfront-Park/IMG_3720.jpg) |
Below: November 2020 photo |
Below: June 2023 photo |
![view from the footbridge](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2788.jpg) |
![June 2023 view](../!USA-trips-2023/2023-06-25-Riverfront-Park/IMG_3733.jpg) |
Below: View
from the bridge in June 2023 |
![view from the bridge in 2023](../!USA-trips-2023/2023-06-25-Riverfront-Park/IMG_3719.jpg) |
Below: A sign
about the Canal's history and several different views of the canal. |
![sign about the Canal's history](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2814.jpg) |
![the canal at Riverfront Park in Columbia SC](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2793.jpg) |
![the canal at Riverfront Park in Columbia SC](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2812.jpg) |
![drainage tunnel](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2813.jpg) |
Below: Slightly
different angles of the same canal in November 2020 and June 2023 |
![the canal at Riverfront Park in Columbia SC](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2822.jpg) |
![the canal in June 2023](../!USA-trips-2023/2023-06-25-Riverfront-Park/IMG_3732.jpg) |
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![the canal at Riverfront Park in Columbia SC](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2831.jpg) |
Below: Lee Duquette
walked backwards down the stairs at the patio area with art on the walls
(and balloons from a party previously held here). |
![jaws balloons](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2791.jpg) |
![Lee Duquette at the patio](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2821.jpg) |
![Panorama of the patio area](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/phone-photos/IMG_0055.jpg) |
![art on the patio](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2823.jpg) |
![art on the patio](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2830.jpg) |
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Then the two RV
Gypsies entered through the red doors shown in the photo below to view
the Hydraulic Turbine house and learn a bit of its history. |
![Panorama of the patio area](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/phone-photos/IMG_0057.jpg) |
![Columbia Canal history sign](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2814.jpg) |
![sign about the Hydraulic Turbine House](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2826.jpg) |
![Hydraulic Turbine House](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2825.jpg) |
![Hydraulic Turbine House](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2828.jpg) |
![sign about the Hydroelectric Plant](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2833.jpg) |
![the Hydroelectric plants in 1894](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2836.jpg) |
Below: Sometimes you just
have to see it to believe it!!!! No words needed! |
![moss covered tree](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2815.jpg) |
![Lee Duquette and the moss covered tree](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2818.jpg) |
![](images/comedy/a-laugh.gif) ![Lee Duquette and the moss covered tree](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2819.jpg) |
Below: The two
RV Gypsies were fascinated by a four-sided rock monument with a lot
of hidden items embedded in it, such as a plastic knife, a bottle, a
clasp, tools, an old cell phone, a skeleton and lots more. After photographing
each side, Karen Duquette took a few close-ups of a few of the embedded
items. How many items can you find??? |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2801.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2800.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2802.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2803.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2794.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2804.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2797.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Parkv](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2798.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2807.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2806.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2808.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/post/_DSC2810.jpg) |
Above: 2020
photos, below 2023 photos |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](../!USA-trips-2023/2023-06-25-Riverfront-Park/IMG_3724-teeth.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](../!USA-trips-2023/2023-06-25-Riverfront-Park/IMG_3728.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](../!USA-trips-2023/2023-06-25-Riverfront-Park/IMG_3729-glasses.jpg) |
![rock monument in Riverfront Park](../!USA-trips-2023/2023-06-25-Riverfront-Park/IMG_3731.jpg) |
Below: A monument in memory
of the Irish who built the Canal. - 2020 photos |
![a monument in memory of the Irish who built the Canal.](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2841.jpg) |
![a monument in memory of the Irish who built the Canal.](2020-11-09-riverfront-sc/South/_DSC2842.jpg) |
There was also
an empty pedestal where a statue of Christopher Columbus used to be.
But the statue was vandalized several times and had to be taken down.
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