COLUMBIA CITY COUNCIL MAP AND TEXT AMENDMENT CASE SUMMARY AMEND THE TEXT OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE AND THE ZONING MAP TO DESIGNATE 1556 MAIN STREET AS A GROUP II LANDMARK (McCRORY S) Public Hearing September 20, 2011 City Council Chambers, 3 rd Floor, City Hall, 1737 Main Street Columbia, South Carolina Proposal: Applicant: Affected Sections: Staff Recommendation: TEXT AMENDMENT SUMMARY Amend 17-691 (c) to add structure as a Group II Landmark Cheshire Rhett, Franklin Adams Chapter 17 - Article V, Division 3-17-691 (c) Approve PC Recommendation: Approve (6-0) 08/01/2011 Detail: The owner of this property has petitioned to designate this structure as a Landmark. Please see the accompanying history of the building prepared by preservation staff for its eligibility justification. The addition of this structure to the Landmark List is not in conflict with the Comprehensive Plan. MAP AMENDMENT SUMMARY Subject Property: 1556 Main Street, TMS# 09014-09-01 Council District: 2 Proposal: Rezone from C-5, DD to C-5, -DD, -DP Applicant: Cheshire Rhett, Franklin Adams Present Use: Vacant Proposed Use: Commercial Staff Recommendation: Approve PC Recommendation: Approve (6-0) 08/01/2011 Detail: The owner of this property has petitioned to designate this structure as a Landmark. Please see the accompanying history of the building prepared by preservation staff for its eligibility justification. The addition of this structure to the Landmark List is not in conflict with the Comprehensive Plan. PAGE 1 OF 1
Zoning Map Department of Planning & Development Services 1556 Main St TMS# 09014-09-01 µ Legend INTERSTATES RAILROADS CITY LIMITS FEMA FP Blanding St ZONING D-1 MX-2 C-1 C-4 RS-1 C-2 RS-1A C-3 RS-1B C-3A RS-2 C-4 RS-3 C-5 RD M-1 RD-2 M-2 RG-1 PUD-C RG-1A PUD-LS RG-2 PUD-LS-E RG-3 PUD-LS-R UTD PUD-R MX-1 OUT OF CITY DD DISTRICT DP DISTRICTS PD DISTRICT 1 inch = 132 feet - DD Main St Main St. Taylor St C-5 ORIGINAL PREPARATION/DATE: This map was prepared by: Andrew Livengood September 12, 2011 Taylor St Sumter St DISCLAIMER: The City of Columbia Department of Planning and Development Services data represented on this map or plan is the product of compilation, as produced by others. It is provided for informational purposes only and the City of Columbia makes no representation as to its accuracy. Its use without field verification is at the sole risk of the user. Assembly St Main St Hampton St C-4 ** DATA SOURCE - CITY OF COLUMBIA, GIS DIVISION
DESIGN/DEVELOPMENT REVIEW COMMISSION DESIGN REVIEW DISTRICT HISTORIC AGENDA EVALUATION SHEET Case # 2 ADDRESS: APPLICANT: 1556 Main Street (McCrory s) Cheshire Rhett, Franklin Adams TAX MAP REFERENCE: TMS#R09014-09-01 USE OF PROPERTY: REVIEW DISTRICT: Currently Vacant/Proposed Commercial Pending Individual Landmark NATURE OF REQUEST: Request designation as Landmark Group II FINDINGS/COMMENTS: This three-story masonry commercial building was built in 1876. In the late nineteenth century it served as a hotel, retail space, and later as offices. Several clothing stores operated in this building in the first decade of the twentieth century. The McCrory Stores Corporation, based in New York, purchased this building in 1916 as their statewide headquarters, and as their first store in South Carolina. McCrory Corporation had 150 stores across the nation at the time and was one of America s big five and ten cent store chains. The upper floors of this building were home to the St. John Hotel by the late 1910s and early 1920s. In December, 1925, the building was essentially gutted by a fire, and the subsequent remodeling in October 1926 left only the outside walls remaining the same, except for the new storefront. The McCrory store was for many years a landmark in Columbia shopping circles and filled most of the building, including the basement, leaving only the second floor for another tenant. The building received an extensive alteration around 1950 when a new exterior brick veneer and new windows and storefront were added to the building. Reportedly designed by prominent local architect Heyward Singley, the new exterior of the building followed the streamlined International style of architecture, a trend that was taking over Columbia s Main Street. Rather than endure the expense of demolition and construction, many business owners in the 1950s and 1960s simply updated the exteriors of their buildings with decorative panels, brick curtain walls, or other sheathing. These changes helped the stores compete with brand new malls and department stores being built in the growing suburban neighborhoods. However, retail declined significantly by the 1970s and 1980s along Columbia s Main Street. As some of the mid-century updates have been removed from buildings, late nineteenth and early twentieth century facades have re-emerged, and appear relatively intact. This building does not appear to have retained its nineteenth century features behind the new façade. The projecting cornice and decorative iron window lintels had to be removed to accommodate the new brick exterior, and the window openings were closed in, as they did not match the openings for the mid-century update. The interior space is devoid of historic detailing such as tin ceilings or ornamental plaster; only brick walls and wood columns Richey 1 July 2011
supporting the floors and roof give any hint to the building s age. Wood flooring, which can date no earlier than probably 1926, has been patched in places. The McCrory Store updated its exterior at a time when its biggest or closest competitors were doing the same. Haltiwanger s, Lourie s and Belk all attached expanses of panels or brick on their buildings, several of them were on corners, just like the McCrory building. These large masses of brick were sparsely adorned and had very few, if any, windows in the upper floors. The focus of the buildings was on the storefronts and signage, set against a very clean, simple exterior. Somewhat different from its neighbors, the McCrory building retained windows on both streetfronts for the upper floors. The new angled entrance on the first floor attached to a long glass storefront along Main Street, but the first story along Taylor was closed up with vertical bond, blonde brick. A projecting, angled concrete awning extends along the Taylor Street side above the first story. This horizontal motif is repeated in the window bands along the side and façade of the building, where the symmetrically spaced square windows are punctuated by equally sized solid stucco panels on the north side. The panels have been added to the west (Main Street) side, and the pivoting horizontal band windows have been replaced by tinted, fixed windows. Taking advantage of the prominent corner location, an apparently solid mass of stucco panels dominated the northwest corner of the building, with simply the name McCrorys along its base as the only ornamentation. Windows have been punched into the north side, but otherwise the corner feature is largely unchanged. The storefront from the ca. 1950 alteration was framed by fluted aluminum and had rounded glass display windows with chrome trim. Aside from the main, corner entry, highlighted by a support column clad in semi-circular clay tile, there was a second, double-door entrance along Main Street, flanked by the large display windows. This was altered, perhaps in the late 1970s or early 1980s, with the removal of the second entrance and display windows along Main Street and the installation of five bays of rectangular plate glass with clerestory above, and a single pedestrian entrance in the final right bay of the façade. The metal awning across the Main Street façade, the three plaques above the façade, and the McCrory s signs were eventually removed, although one remained as late as 2004. McCrory s owned the Kress building from 1981 to 1995 when it declared bankruptcy, and returned to the 1556 Main Street site in 2000 as McCrory Dollar Zone, though it closed the following year. As the large retailers began removing their updated exteriors by the late twentieth century, McCrory slowly became more and more unique. Among the prominent corner buildings that sheathed themselves in new exteriors, such as Belk s, Lourie s and Haltiwangers, only McCrory retains its updated façade. As such, it is a rare survivor of the latest trend to return buildings to their old facades. This building is also significant for its design. A streamlined commercial structure with a prominent horizontal window motif, supported by continuous concrete sills and lintels, contrasting with a strong vertical corner panel, the building s use of geometric shapes, its display of contrasting but simple materials such as blonde brick, concrete and stucco, all speak to its mid-twentieth century heritage. Now over fifty years old, this façade qualifies as a historic alteration to the building. Columbia s central downtown area has well over 200 mid-century buildings, with varying degrees of prominence and size. In this location and with two important streetfronts, this building has the potential to demonstrate a sensitive rehabilitation that appreciates the simplicity of design of mid-century resources in Columbia. This building is a prime example of a company attempting to keep up with the times, as the McCrory company owned the building during its remodeling. This attempt is part of the history of our evolving Main Street and is a significant event in the built history of the city center. Richey 2 July 2011
GROUP II LANDMARK DESIGNATION According to our City Ordinance (17-691), Group II consists of structures or sites which constitute a delineation of Columbia s material visual history to a lesser degree than those of Group I; they evidence one or more of the following criteria for selection: 1. The sites of events, homes of men, etc. having contributed to local history. 2. Reasonably distinctive characteristics in architectural design, not necessarily unique. 3. Somewhat rare type within Columbia. 4. Belonging to a family or genera of buildings of which it is a good example. 5. The work of an architect of local importance. 6. A good example of a style or type of building which is becoming, or is in danger of becoming, extinct locally. The McCrory building at 1556 Main Street is eligible for Group II landmark status under items 2 through 6. This building retains a few distinctive characteristics in design, notably the horizontal motif used on the continuous window sills and lintels, reinforced by the projecting concrete awning along Taylor Street, dividing the running bond brick from the stacked bond on the first story. While not unique, these are distinctive features of the building. Large mid-century retail buildings are somewhat rare in Columbia, as a majority of the retail structures from the 1950s and 1960s are rather modest, often only one story. This building belongs to a family of Main Street retail buildings that vary in degree of architectural significance and integrity, and although this building s ca. 1950 façade has been slightly altered by new windows and storefront, it is still a good example of our evolving Main Street commercial district. It is also reportedly the work of a prominent local architect, Heyward Singley, according to a survey report completed by one of his former colleagues. Singley is responsible for a fair amount of mid-century public architecture and this is a rare example of his work on a private, retail establishment. He was the president of the S.C. AIA office during World War II, and was extremely active in the organization until his untimely death in 1959, following a brief illness. This type of building is also a good example of a type of building that is in danger of becoming extinct: a historic commercial building on Main Street. With entire blocks swept clean of any remnant of historic fabric, for instance the west side of Main Street s 1400 block and a large majority of its east side, this important street has been in danger for decades. Progress swept it clean before, and now that renewed interest has come to the street, it is in even more danger. Historic buildings that are left unprotected will no doubt become victims of development, and those that still exists today are both inherently important and in danger of becoming extinct. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends Group II Landmark status for 1556 Main Street. Richey 3 July 2011
Top Left: C. 1901 image from the Richland County Public Library Above and Left: June 2011 images Below: Image from Columbia: Portrait of a City, of the 1960 race march on Main Street Two Photos Above: Late 1970s photos by Gren Seibels Right: Haltiwanger s (1400 bl. Main St.) and Belk s (1500 bl. Main St.) are mid-century marvels that have been demolished. (C. 1950 photos by John Hensel) Richey 4 July 2011