City Center Partnership Unveils Main Street Historic District on Monday, May 4 at 1:00 pm
April 29, 2015
Portions of Main, Blanding, Taylor, and Sumter Street Have Been Officially Listed on The National Register of Historic Places
COLUMBIA, SC – City Center Partnership, in conjunction with Historic Columbia, will announce a new addition to the National Register of Historic Places on Monday, May 4 at 1:00 pm in front of Michael’s Café & Catering (1620 Main St.). The Columbia Commercial Historic District incorporates buildings within the 1500 to 1700 blocks of Columbia’s Main Street and contiguous properties on Blanding, Taylor, and Sumter streets.
About the Historic Downtown Commercial District
Of the 36 buildings that are considered “contributing properties” the district includes 21 city landmark structures and 10 structures individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places. After completing façade restoration or rehabilitation as many as 22 additional buildings could be considered contributing structures to the district.
Columbia’s Main Street boasts architectural styles spanning three centuries. While fire reduced much of Main Street from Gervais to Upper Street (Elmwood Avenue today) to ashes in 1865, waning and waxing interests in the corridor’s future also have erased many architecturally significant structures. The 1500, 1600 and 1700 blocks comprise the most intact segment of Main Street’s past with such notable structures as the Sylvan Building (c. 1871), Kress (1934), the former Fox Theater (1870s), and the Brown Building (1901).
“We are very excited about this new designation of our historic district,” said Matt Kennell, CEO & president of City Center Partnership. “Our commercial corridor can now be preserved and celebrated in a manner similar to the historic Congaree Vista, whose designation initiated scores of new businesses. Those businesses have invested considerable resources in developing the Vista into a successful urban district. Our historic district will also provide property owners eligibility for tax credits to restore and rehabilitate their buildings.”
About City Center Partnership
City Center Partnership, Inc. (CCP) is a non-profit organization that manages South Carolina’s only managed Business Improvement District in the 36-block area bounded by Gervais, Elmwood, Assembly, and Marion streets in downtown Columbia. The organization is funded by the property owners within the 36-block area. For more information, please visit www.citycentercolumbia.sc or find us on Twitter or Facebook.
About Historic Columbia
In November 1961, a small group of individuals intent on saving the Ainsley Hall House from demolition officially incorporated as the Historic Columbia Foundation. Over the next five decades the organization, which was founded on the premise of preservation and education, would take on the stewardship of seven historic properties in Richland County. Today, the organization serves as a model for local preservation efforts and interpretation of local history. Visit www.historiccolumbia.org or find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube for more details.
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