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Downtown Columbia Growing

emerging.me

By emerging.me
in Columbia

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  • 2 weeks later...

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colajnp Unincorporated Area

colajnp

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It's sad to see such a neat structure fall into disrepair.  I hope something can be done to revitalize it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

IF you ever want to explore, go to the elevator located in the middle of the arcade building and go to the underground. It has awesome potential but would be costly to fix up to current code.

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emerging.me Burg

emerging.me

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IF you ever want to explore, go to the elevator located in the middle of the arcade building and go to the underground.  It has awesome potential but would be costly to fix up to current code.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If we ever got a group together to do meet and check out some places around town, that'd definitely be on the top of my list.

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  • 3 weeks later...
csedwards72 Whistle-Stop

csedwards72

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I found Columbia's downtown really interesting. I just can't figure out why it doesn't have many decent stores in it; Columbia has a much larger supply of office space downtown and the USC campus is close by. Why doesn't this pool of office workers and college students result in more retail downtown?

I also visited Columbia's downtown right before Tapp's closed in 1995. What was downtown like right before Macy's and Belk's closed in the early 1990s? Was it as seedy as it is now? Or were there decent stores downtown (such as the national chains that would usually follow Macy's and Belk's to a mall)?

I think that Columbia's downtown has a lot of potential. If Greenville can have a thriving retail base downtown, despite having a much smaller supply of office space and no concentrated population center like USC near downtown, surely Columbia can, too.

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waccamatt Town

waccamatt

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I found Columbia's downtown really interesting.  I just can't figure out why it doesn't have many decent stores in it; Columbia has a much larger supply of office space downtown and the USC campus is close by.  Why doesn't this pool of office workers and college students result in more retail downtown?

I also visited Columbia's downtown right before Tapp's closed in 1995.  What was downtown like right before Macy's and Belk's closed in the early 1990s?  Was it as seedy as it is now?  Or were there decent stores downtown (such as the national chains that would usually follow Macy's and Belk's to a mall)?

I think that Columbia's downtown has a lot of potential.  If Greenville can have a thriving retail base downtown, despite having a much smaller supply of office space and no concentrated population center like USC near downtown, surely Columbia can, too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Most of the downtown shopping is now in 5 Points and the Vista and not on Main Street. The city probably spent more money and effort on developing those areas than they did on Main Street, but money and effort is now being spent on Main. You should note that in Greenville, Main Street is "it". There aren't any 5 Points or Vista type ares except for Main Street, including the West End, which is my favorite part.

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JT Boy Whistle-Stop

JT Boy

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Most of the downtown shopping is now in 5 Points and the Vista and not on Main Street. The city probably spent more money and effort on developing those areas than they did on Main Street, but money and effort is now being spent on Main. You should note that in Greenville, Main Street is "it". There aren't any 5 Points or Vista type ares except for Main Street, including the West End, which is my favorite part.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My father always worked right downtown and I remember when Main Street was home to 3 department stores, 4 movie theaters, and a host of smaller shops. My grandmother ran a bakery on Assembly Street (I think in the block where the Library is now located). I can remember going to the old Belk's to visit Santa and Mr. Knozit. I don't recall other national chains other than the dept. stores (who weren't really national). So yes, Columbia used to have a thriving Main Street. It has a long, long way to go to make it a happening scene again, but the city has proven they can do it based on their success in the Vista.

Many kudos to Greenville for their lovely Main Street. When I lived there in the mid-80's downtown G'ville had the Hyatt complex and that was it. We never went downtown. Its amazing what 20 years can do. And Waccamatt is right that the Main Street area is Main Street, 5 Points and the Vista all rolled into one for Greenville. I have a vague memory of another, very small, but dense retail area, perhaps on the southside of Greenville. There used to be a raw bar and pub there whose name escapes me. Perhaps some of our Upstate folks can id this spot.

On a slightly unrelated note, does anyone remember The Beat nightclub that used to be upstairs on Assembly Street? Is that building still there? It was a cool old building.

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JT Boy Whistle-Stop

JT Boy

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I remember the Beat. I believe it was a slam dance club. I never went there, but I knew a number of people that did. I don't think that building is there any more. If I'm not mistaken, the parking garage for the Southtrust building is there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Beat was a great place to see live music or dance to a dj that was playing a lot of fun stuff. They had a great monthly calendar and attracted many small, college type bands for shows. When I was at Furman in the mid-80's, we would drive to Columbia or Athens, GA for live music, as there was basically nothing available in Greenville, unless my friends played the UPS Club there. The Beat attracted a very mixed crowd - kids-mid-30's, gay, straight, white, black. It was great fun and sorry to hear the building is no longer there. I think it was next door to the Star Music store.

It sounds like the Art Bar might serve a similar crowd now, although I've never been there.

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colajnp Unincorporated Area

colajnp

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Downtown is on the verge of coming back. Good things are going to happen to downtown in the next couple years.

Continued residential growth

Rumored the workshop and nickelodeon both will be moving downtown

City Center Partnership continues to do some nice things.

Should be an interesting ride.

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waccamatt Town

waccamatt

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The Beat was a great place to see live music or dance to a dj that was playing a lot of fun stuff.  They had a great monthly calendar and attracted many small, college type bands for shows.  When I was at Furman in the mid-80's, we would drive to Columbia or Athens, GA for live music, as there was basically nothing available in Greenville, unless my friends played the UPS Club there.  The Beat attracted a very mixed crowd - kids-mid-30's, gay, straight, white, black.  It was great fun and sorry to hear the building is no longer there.  I think it was next door to the Star Music store.

It sounds like the Art Bar might serve a similar crowd now, although I've never been there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If it was next to Star Music then the building is probably still there. I must have been off a block in remembering where it was.

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Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

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Downtown is on the verge of coming back.  Good things are going to happen to downtown in the next couple years. 

Continued residential growth

Rumored the workshop and nickelodeon both will be moving downtown

City Center Partnership continues to do some nice things. 

Should be an interesting ride.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Nickelodeon moving to Main St will help alot. I seen alot of crowds outside of there recently. It ought to bring a decent amount of foot traffic. It will take more than just that to revitalize the area though.

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  • 1 year later...
Truluck843 Crossroads

Truluck843

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Wow, I was actually the original poster of that piece about the equitable arcade building. I wrote that when I was a student at Carolina, and the posted it to the free times board. I have a new computer and thought that that paper was lost forever. I'm happy to see that somebody saved it! Now I hope someone saves the Arcade!!

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803metlife Hamlet

803metlife

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Underground Atlanta is yesterday's news. It's all about Midtown and Buckhead these days. :shades:

Yeah.. I use to go to the underground all the times in the 90's. It's funny because I always thought that the underground was the place to be until I asked someone from atlanta and they said it's nothing down there.

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CorgiMatt Town

CorgiMatt

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Hopefully some investment will trickle over to the Arcade itself.

On the left hand side fronting Washington Street there is a hair salon. And now next to the Arcade on Washington is a very colorful, pretty public art installation in the glass encasement of the Meridian parking garage. The walls inside the encasement are painted sea blue-green and large true to life fish are hanging by wires. It is Columbia's new downtown aquarium. ;) It looks great, especially at night.

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