Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Florence (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Florence Civic Center, Florence National Cemetery, and Florence Little Theatre. Also, be sure to include Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Florence (South Carolina).
Table of Contents
Florence Civic Center
Arena in Florence, South Carolina. The Florence Center is a 10,000-seat multipurpose arena in Florence, South Carolina. The arena was known as the Florence Civic Center until it rebranded in November 2017.
It hosted the infamous eighth WWF In Your House pay-per-view in 1996, during which a storm knocked out the power and thus the broadcast signal during the event. The card was re-telecast two nights later from North Charleston, South Carolina, at the North Charleston Coliseum.
Since 2005 it is home to the annual Darlington Car Hauler Parade that kicks off Bojangles' Southern 500 race week at Darlington Raceway. In 2019, an indoor football team called the Carolina Havoc of the American Arena League, is announced to begin play at the Florence Center for the 2019 season.
The building was the home of the South Carolina Fire Ants of Major League Roller Hockey in 1998, two ice hockey teams: the Pee Dee/Florence Pride (1997–2005) and the Pee Dee Cyclones (2005–2007), two indoor football teams: Carolina Stingrays (2004) and Florence Phantoms (2006–2009), two basketball teams: the Florence Flyers and the Pee Dee Vipers, and to the Florence Symphony Orchestra.[1]
Address: 3300 W Radio Dr, 29501-7802 Florence
Florence National Cemetery
Cemetery. Florence National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Florence, South Carolina. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 24.9 acres, and as of 2021, had over 12,000 interments.[2]
Address: 803 E National Cemetery Rd, 29506-3232 Florence
Florence Little Theatre
Concerts and shows, Theater
Address: 417 S Dargan St, 29506 Florence
Francis Marion University Performing Arts Center
Theater, Concerts and shows, Concert hall, Universities and schools
Address: 201 S Dargan St, 29506-2535 Florence
United States Post Office
Post office in Florence, South Carolina. U.S. Post Office is a historic post office building located at Florence, Florence County, South Carolina. It was built about 1906, and is a three-story, sandstone and brick building with hipped roof Second Renaissance Revival style. A major three-story addition to the rear of the building was built about 1935.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.[3]
Poynor School
Poynor School is a historic school building constructed from 1906 to 1908 in Florence, South Carolina. It was designed by local architect William J. Wilkins and was the contractor's first commission as an architect. Now known as Poynor Junior High School, it is located at 301 South Dargan Street and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The three-story brick building is in a Neoclassical Georgian Revival style. Construction was carried out by J.F. Ong of Columbia, South Carolina according to plans by W.J. Wilkins who revised the original plans by Charles Coker Wilson. The building includes features a central tetrastyle colossal Ionic portico with six bays on either side of the portico and four-bay pavilions at each end of the main block. A banquet for President William Howard Taft was held at the school in 1910. The building and grounds have also been used for recitals, concerts, meetings, lectures, tournaments, fundraisers, and extracurricular classes.[4]
Florence Public Library
Public library. Florence Public Library, also known as the Florence County Public Library, is a historic library building located at Florence, Florence County, South Carolina. It was built in 1925, and is a two-story-over-raised-basement, T-shaped brick veneered building with Neo-Classical Revival architecture and Beaux Arts design influences. It has a concrete foundation, reinforced concrete walls, limestone decorative elements, and a standing seam metal roof. It was the first public library in Florence. In 1977-1978 the library built a large one-story expansion and made extensive renovations to the original 1925 building.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.[5]
Roseville Plantation
Building in Florence County, South Carolina. Roseville Plantation is a historic home located near Florence, Florence County, South Carolina. It was built about 1885 and renovated about 1910. It is a two-story, lateral gabled, weatherboard-clad residence. The building consists partly of mortise and tenoned hand-hewn and peeled log construction. It was built on the foundations of the original plantation house built about 1835. The house at Roseville Plantation is at the end of a tree lined dirt driveway and set at the center of a broad sparsely landscaped lawn, resting upon a brick pier foundation which has recently been enclosed at its perimeter with stuccoed concrete block. It features a broad, one-story, hip roofed wraparound veranda.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.[6]
Red Doe
Building. Red Doe, also known as the Evander Gregg House, is a historic home located near Florence, Florence County, South Carolina. It was built about 1840, and is a one-story, rectangular frame farmhouse on a raised brick basement foundation. It has a central hall plan, a two-room rear ell on the rear, and low-pitched gable roof. The front façade features six solid octagonal wooden piers support the porch roof and full-width verandah. Also on the property is a small frame building that appears to have been used as an office or store.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[7]
Rankin-Harwell House
Rankin-Harwell House, also known as The Columns, Carolina Hall, and the James Harwell House, is a historic plantation house located near Florence, Florence County, South Carolina. It was built in 1857, and is a two-story, frame, Greek Revival style dwelling. It features 22 giant freestanding Doric order stuccoed brick columns that surround the house on three sides. It rests on a raised basement and has a low-pitched hipped roof.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[8]
The Carolinian
Address: 718 S Dargan St, Florence