Main Street/CBD Developments

[waccamatt]

Let's rename Park Street Gates Street while we're at it!

Out with the new! In with the old!

LOL, didn't they rename Gates Street in the first place since it was Columbia's red light district at the time and they thought people wouldn't know what was there if they changed the name?

[Hybrid0NE]

LOL, didn't they rename Gates Street in the first place since it was Columbia's red light district at the time and they thought people wouldn't know what was there if they changed the name?

During, what generation did Columbia have a RLD?

[waccamatt]

During, what generation did Columbia have a RLD?

It just moved to Two Notch Road.

Park (Gates) Street was the RLD back in the 1800's.

[vicupstate]

I have never understood the rationale for renaming Main St. back to Richardson St.

When Sydney Park was renamed Finlay Park, the attendance at Mayfest dropped dramatically, why -- because no one knew Finlay Park was NOT a different location.

The same thing would happen here.

Changing the name is a gimmick, that won't accomplish a thing, in fact it would probably be a huge negative. Businesses and offices on Main would have to throw out their stationary, etc. and go through the expense and hassle of a change of address. Then it takes 3-4 years before the general population learns where "Richardson Street" is.

And what is accomplished by changing the name? Nothing that I can see.

Greenville actually renamed part of what had been called Pendleton Street, TO S. Main St. The sole reason was to extend the prosperity and 'value' that was tied to the name Main, to that part of Pendleton. It has worked too.

Gimmicks and one trick ponies like Columbia has always relied on, with not change anything in the long run. Getting back to the fundamentals of good urban design to rebuild the urban fabric, will, in time bring Main St. back.

P.S. Main Street has been the name for 90% of Columbia's HISTORY.

[goodbye]

Hey guys, please calm down and show a little maturity here. I may be wrong, but it does not appear that anyone posting in this thread is in anyway attempting to "attack" Columbia at all. Instead of being so defensive and unjustifiably hostile to everyone who offers input from the Upstate, why not simply try to tollerate others' viewpoints for a change. You don't have to agree, but I implore you to at least display a little civility, please. Thank you.

Regarding the renaming of streets, I have nothing valuable to offer one way or the other, but have been interested while reading the discussion so far (until the latest outburst).

We all live and learn valuable things from others occasionally.

EDIT: In case anyone wonders, the post I was replying to here was removed.

Edited May 2, 2008 by Skyliner

[CorgiMatt]

I have never understood the rationale for renaming Main St. back to Richardson St.

When Sydney Park was renamed Finlay Park, the attendance at Mayfest dropped dramatically, why -- because no one knew Finlay Park was NOT a different location.

The same thing would happen here.

Changing the name is a gimmick, that won't accomplish a thing, in fact it would probably be a huge negative. Businesses and offices on Main would have to throw out their stationary, etc. and go through the expense and hassle of a change of address. Then it takes 3-4 years before the general population learns where "Richardson Street" is.

And what is accomplished by changing the name? Nothing that I can see.

Greenville actually renamed part of what had been called Pendleton Street, TO S. Main St. The sole reason was to extend the prosperity and 'value' that was tied to the name Main, to that part of Pendleton. It has worked too.

Gimmicks and one trick ponies like Columbia has always relied on, with not change anything in the long run. Getting back to the fundamentals of good urban design to rebuild the urban fabric, will, in time bring Main St. back.

P.S. Main Street has been the name for 90% of Columbia's HISTORY.

I'm not the return of Main Street's name to Richardson Street for the purpose of making it a magnet for new retail, thus your gimmick argument holds no merit to me. I am for the return for the reasons I already said, that there is no "Main Street" for reatail in Columbia anymore. I am also looking at it from an historical perspective. Richardson Street was the street's original name. Besides, if I ever buy a condo down there I don't want my address to be Main Street. I'm not a piece of merchandise.

[Spartan]

Firefox, that type of post is simply unacceptable. Don't do that again. If anyone dislikes something, express that in a respectful way. Its not much to ask.

When Sydney Park was renamed Finlay Park, the attendance at Mayfest dropped dramatically, why -- because no one knew Finlay Park was NOT a different location.

The same thing would happen here.

Changing the name is a gimmick, that won't accomplish a thing, in fact it would probably be a huge negative. Businesses and offices on Main would have to throw out their stationary, etc. and go through the expense and hassle of a change of address. Then it takes 3-4 years before the general population learns where "Richardson Street" is.

And what is accomplished by changing the name? Nothing that I can see.

Greenville actually renamed part of what had been called Pendleton Street, TO S. Main St. The sole reason was to extend the prosperity and 'value' that was tied to the name Main, to that part of Pendleton. It has worked too.

Gimmicks and one trick ponies like Columbia has always relied on, with not change anything in the long run. Getting back to the fundamentals of good urban design to rebuild the urban fabric, will, in time bring Main St. back.

The difference between this and Syndey Park is that nobody goes to Main Street as it is, so will people even notice the difference? Why not start fresh?

And how is this a gimmick? I think you and those who agree with you need to elaborate on that one some more and how Columbia relies on this. That claim seems somewhat unfounded given the general success of Columbia.

The comparison to Greenville's Main St, while relevant, is a little off base. I say that because Main St in Columbia is not the same as Main St in Greenville. While Columbia's is indeed the center of the CBD and corporate life, it is not an entertainment/retail destination at all. The corporate atmosphere would not change, just the name. What would you lose by doing this? Its not like we're suggesting to change it to "Downtownisawsome Street." Its taking a step to create a new identity for this street, while trying to acknowledge the larger urban fabric in Columbia- and that Main Street is not the "main street" any more.

[waccamatt]

The only real argument I can see for leaving the name, "as-is", is that business owners would have to change addresses on everything.

In other business, it looks like the blocks with the upcoming streetscaping will see some attrition during the construction. Rising High is going to close for six months for renovation. They are located in the block between Hampton and Taylor. This is unfortunate, but look at the construction boom taking place in the blocks that have already been streetscaped. Hopefully, we will see the same after the next round of streetscaping, too. The other Main Street closing is unrelated to the streetscaping as the owner is apparently facing some health problems. Hopefully he will be ok. The developer of the Sheraton will be opening another newstand, though, so that part of Main Street will still have that service.

Main Street closings

[emerging.me]

I happen to like "Downtownisawesome Street"!! lol

[CorgiMatt]

Capitol City News and Maps, formerly Capitol Newsstand, has shuttered for good. The new name should have been Capital (not Capitol) City News and Maps. Capital = city, capitol = building. Unless they were trying to say Columbia is the "Capitol City" because of the State House being a landmark, then they meant "capital" and goofed.

[Captain Worley]

I always hate to see a bookstore or newstand close, but the Capitol was a mere shadow of what it was in the eighties and early nineties. They used to feature a full line of magazine topics and man magazines from overseas. I loved that place. The store that's closing isn't the store that I miss.

[Spartan]

While I am a fan of news stands, I fear their relevance may be declining. Plus, you need a substantial pedestrian volume to maintain that, and as we've been discussing, Main St doesn't have that yet.

[Spartan]

Perhaps I have not been clear enough. Bashing other members of this forum will not be tolerated.

[krazeeboi]

Guys, I think you all may have taken Vic the wrong way. His comments about the goings-on in Columbia have always been well-informed, as he's a former resident of the city. That said, I can see how historically, the "one-trick pony" comment might have had some truth to it as it regards Main Street. However, these days things are starting to come together one piece at a time and one element builds upon another. The streetscaping is only one piece of the puzzle, and city leaders have generally recognized that it in itself isn't a magic bullet. A downtown retail recruiter has been hired, and the downtown retail strategy was recently completed; a lot of good information came out of that study, and I hope the city will actually implement the suggestions and not let them sit on a shelf and collect dust as many cities tend to do with studies like that. I think that creating a facade improvement fund would complement the streetscaping nicely. If nothing happens to the facades that need a little TLC, the streetscaping will not have lived up to its full potential.

[waccamatt]

A facade improvement fund is a good idea, but to suggest that Columbia has ever had a "one trick pony" approach is far from the truth. I've never understood why some people thing Main Street has to be an area with a lot of nightlife. While it is good that we get more people living downtown overall, Five Points and the Vista fill the nightlife and entertainment spots very well. Maybe the answer to Main Street is to let it be the area for office buildings and those services that support office personnel and focus on adding residents. If new residential units keep being built then retail will take care of itself.

[krazeeboi]

A facade improvement fund is a good idea, but to suggest that Columbia has ever had a "one trick pony" approach is far from the truth.

Have you forgotten about the giant stadium lights that were ridiculously installed along Main some years ago?

I don't think the answer is to let Main be a general 9-5 area with a couple of residents sprinkled here and there. The downtown retail strategy report got it right; Main and the Vista need to have a seamless connection via Assembly. I can't say it enough: overhauling Assembly is the linchpin for downtown's overall success. This might sound harsh, but if Coble were actually a principled visionary (in the tradition of the late mayor Kirkman Finlay Jr.) as opposed to just being an overseer who lacks the ability to say no, I believe this would have been done by now and Main Street would have been much farther along than it is now.

[Spartan]

I just want to know what the "one trick" is in reference to.

[Captain Worley]

Have you forgotten about the giant stadium lights that were ridiculously installed along Main some years ago?

Who was the mayor when those were installed?

I remember those things. Main Street had gotten a horrible, and from what I recall, well desrved reputation for crime back then. It was about that time that Underground Columbia shut down. Crime was so bad, that night life based businesses just shut the doors and away they went. It was a desperate move for desperate times. I think they were a colossal screw up, but at least Colatown was trying to keep things going on Main.

I think of those godawful lights every time I come home from work and can see the State House.

[krazeeboi]

I just want to know what the "one trick" is in reference to.

I took it as a reference to revitalizing Main.

Who was the mayor when those were installed?

Lester Bates maybe?

[waccamatt]

The "stadium lights" were installed in the middle of Main Street in the middle to late 70's and I think John Campbell was still mayor. Now he was a do-nothing mayor. As far as Main Street now, I don't think we should abandon retail, but I think we should do more to encourage residential, which will feed the retail. The Taylor to Blanding block and part of the Hampton to Taylor block is the most troublesome right now because many of the facades are awful. I think with Nickelodeon moving to the Taylor-Blanding block it will spur some additional nightlife there and possibly spur that block. I don't know how much help the city is giving the Nick, but I would like to see it be substantial. I'd also like to see Capitol Places (or someone else) redevelop the Louries building into ground floor retail and 2nd and 3rd level residential. I'd also like to see Waccamatt win the powerball so he can tear down the Governor's House hotel and build a nice residential scraper with nice ground-floor retail. Further north on Main we also need to focus on doing something about the old Hampton Pontiac property.

[krazeeboi]

The Lourie's building is a pretty solid structure. I'm going to miss the sign. The only worry is how long it might take for it to get bought. If they were having trouble selling the building when they occupied it, they may still have trouble. It's ripe for reuse, though. I wonder what the building's function was before it was occupied by Lourie's (or have they always occupied it)?

If the county would stop dragging their feet about building a new courthouse, that would open up a prime parcel on Main where the current courthouse is, and that could do a lot to spur revitalization along that stretch of the corridor. I'm thinking something along the lines of Center Vista, with office/restaurant/retail and maybe even hotel/residential.

[waccamatt]

Right now that section of Main is mostly retail for lower income folks that use the bus. Louries was an upscale Men's store in the midst of that. Granger-Owings, which is a similar Men's store across the street from Meridian said they had a great year in 2007 so it looks like the streetscaping project accomplished its goal for the lower part of Main. I don't want to see all of the stores that cater to lower income people leave Main Street, though, because downtown shouldn't just be for middle to upper income professionals. Besides, I think there is a certain charm at the wig shops and the Army/Navy store. Has anyone been in the Army/Navy store? It has a fascinating array of gadgets, lol.

[krazeeboi]

^I don't want Main Street to turn into an exclusively luxury retail strip either (a la Upper King St), but there's still something about two wig shops right next to each other that irks me, LOL.

[waccamatt]

^I don't want Main Street to turn into an exclusively luxury retail strip either (a la Upper King St), but there's still something about two wig shops right next to each other that irks me, LOL.

Now Krazee, the hirsutely (probably not a word, but it is now) challenged have to have multiple options!

[krazeeboi]

^LOL, at least let the options be a few blocks apart from each other.