For more than two centuries, Marion Square has figured prominently in Charleston’s civic history. The once-dusty, six-acre expanse hosted some of the city’s first baseball games and served as a military post. It has also been a gathering space for concerts, a weekly farmer’s market and annual celebrations, from Christmas and Hanukkah events to the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and post-party for the Cooper River Bridge Run. In warm months it is frequented by sunbathers who lie on the same lawn that once held 19th century rallies celebrating the end of slavery. Through all of this, an accompanying tension has...