GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – A rezoningv proposal before Greenville City Council could change the future of 700 Arlington Avenue — the former home of the Greenville Cultural Exchange Center, the city’s only African American history museum when it opened in 1987.
The application seeks to rezone approximately 0.29 acres at the address from RN-B, Neighborhood B District, to RNX-B, Neighborhood Flex B District — a change that would allow a broader range of uses, including professional office and small commercial space. City staff recommended approval. The Greenville Planning Commission voted to deny the request following public opposition, but the proposal now goes before City Council for a final decision.
‘She was the history for Greenville’
The building on Arlington Avenue, located in the Sterling neighborhood — a historically Black community — was founded and operated by upstate activist and educator Ruth Ann Butler. Butler, a former history teacher at Northwood Middle School, opened the center after visiting a museum in Knoxville, Tennessee, and returning home with a vision for preserving African American history in Greenville.
According to Luella Butler, the late Mayor Bill Workman allowed Ruth Ann to speak anyway — and from that meeting, the center was born. It operated for more than three decades, funded largely through donations and, for a time, state support secured through then-state Sen. Theo Mitchell…