Waterfront Park at Sun Up

When visitors first arrive in Beaufort, they are drawn to the gorgeous Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park that overlooks the bay. Lined with dining... more

by Steve Rich

Title

Waterfront Park at Sun Up

Artist

Steve Rich

Medium

Photograph - Digital

Description

When visitors first arrive in Beaufort, they are drawn to the gorgeous Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park that overlooks the bay. Lined with dining options, shops, and art galleries, this peaceful park is one of the most iconic parts of downtown. It is also the location for Beaufort’s many annual festivals and events, including the Beaufort Shrimp Festival, A Taste of Beaufort: Music, Arts & Seafood Festival, and the Beaufort Water Festival, just to name a few. These events and others like them attract countless visitors each year to enjoy the diversity that Beaufort has to offer.

Information on the bridge in the background.

The Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge, (known locally as the Woods Bridge) is a swing bridge that connects downtown Beaufort with Lady's Island and the outer Sea Islands in Beaufort County, South Carolina. It carries U.S. Route 21 Business (US 21 Bus.). The bridge is named in memory of Richard V. Woods (1935–1969), who was a South Carolina Highway Patrol officer killed in the line of duty and was opened on December 17, 1959, having replaced an earlier swing-bridge that was built 1927.

The bridge swings on its central axis to open for boat traffic which is too tall to clear the bridge, and has an operator's station in the center of the span from which an attendant can operate the bridge. Due to the presence of the Intracoastal Waterway, the bridge is required to frequently open for boat traffic to pass through.

The bridge was featured in the film Forrest Gump (1994) as a stand-in for a bridge across the Mississippi River. In the film, Forrest Gump is interviewed by television reporters about his cross-country running trip while crossing the bridge.

Uploaded

October 18th, 2020