Trees of Many Colors

Several open, public spaces exist in the downtown area of Greenville (SC), and among them is One City Plaza. I'd only passed by it once before, en route to another destination, and took no notice of this hidden gem.

On the average given day during daylight hours, it doesn't really stand out in any way. But, during the night this time of year, it's magically transformed into a quite inviting, breathtaking display of color and quiet in the middle of the bustling city.

A recent errand took me halfway from where I live to the city, so I decided to drive the rest of the way specifically to see the pretty lights and decorations. Even if I had only seen this spot, it would have been worth the trip into the city, the circling like a vulture to find a suitable parking space, and the anxiety of walking the sidewalks by myself at night to get there.

This very large tree, decorated entirely in purple lights, was quite a stunning sight, in itself! It was so tall that I could not get the entire tree into the shot although I came close.

On the other side of the tree from the busy street, a plaza opened between the buildings. There is a median in the middle of the plaza, forming a lane down each side that is lined with shops and bistros. The median has trees planted down the middle, each decorated with strings of lights, and the edge of the median provides sitting-space for those who wish to rest.

The other end of the plaza from the enormous tree opened into a large space with benches and a few tables & chairs. There were a couple of alleyways (or small streets) branching-off to other destinations, and a large, well-lit parking structure at one corner.

One of the restaurants had an outdoor seating area under an awning and there was a lovely niche in the wall with a plant in it. I thought the niche was pretty, in itself, but noticed that the darkened windows of the restaurant provided a nice reflection of the colorful trees, behind me, so I snapped this photo of it!

Turning around at the end of the plaza and coming back up the other side, I was treated to a gorgeous view of all the trees in the median, stretching in the distance, one after another.

I got close to one of the trees, trying for a 'creative' shot, but this didn't turn out quite as cool as it appeared in my head... 🤣

And then, near the end, I was in perfect position to see the entire tree with the purple lights on it! What a delightful walk this turned out to be!