Holiday Inn of Columbia, 505 Knox Abbott Drive: 1980s 63 comments
"Your Host From Coast-to-Coast"
I went looking for this building on Knox Abbott last year, and as far as I can tell, there is nothing at that address now. The postcard certainly makes what appears to be a rather nondescript building look impressive by adding a sharp car and elegant model, even if there is perhaps a touch too much of "the old South" in the pose chosen.
My experience with Holiday Inns over the years has been mixed. I currently seek out the Holiday Inn Express sites, which seem to be uniformly good. The "regular" HIs can be a mixed bag. The one I used to go to quite often in DC invariably had the freeze/bake thermostat system, and at least once seemed to have gotten the cold and hot water pipes running to my room backwards (though luckily, hot was at best "tepid" in that case).
63 Responses to 'Holiday Inn of Columbia, 505 Knox Abbott Drive: 1980s'
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bud
1 Jul 10 at 8:32 am
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Well, I wondered about that, but the postcard clearly says "505 Knox Abbott", and the Masters Economy is "613 Knox Abbott".
ted
1 Jul 10 at 10:53 am
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No..the Master's Inn was originally Roger Miller's King of The Road Motel... Holiday Inn was on the other side of it..and then you had the Ponderosa next to it.. They tore the Holiday Inn down years ago... But The Masters Inn was King of The Road Motel.
Del
1 Jul 10 at 11:31 am
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I stand corrected. I just went by the Masters Inn and it is clearly not the same building, the brick work is different.
bud
1 Jul 10 at 11:46 am
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I *might* have some pictures of the derelict Holiday Inn room buildings that I took in 2001-2002 before they tore them down for the BC parking lot and soccer field (now gone, too).
jamie
2 Jul 10 at 7:12 am
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What happened to the Brookland-Cayce parking lot and soccer field?
JBL
2 Jul 10 at 1:35 pm
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This is related but a little random. I saw the post card above and I was wondering if anyone has a link to a postcard for the Palmetto Motel down the screen on Charleston Highway. I have found a lot of other motels postcards online, but none for the Palmetto Motel. Im not even sure if thats what it was named before the 80's.
Alkesh
12 Oct 11 at 2:49 am
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Alkesh,
I would try the Antique Mall on State Street. Those people are very helpful. Alot of the time, those antique malls have vendors who have many postcards for sale.
Jonathan
12 Oct 11 at 8:35 am
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http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/rmaxey/id/1355/rec/826
http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/rmaxey/id/1309/rec/825
http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/rmaxey/id/1488/rec/827
tonkatoy
11 Oct 13 at 8:47 am
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http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/rmaxey/id/937/rec/828
http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/rmaxey/id/485/rec/835
http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/rmaxey/id/1016/rec/836
http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/rmaxey/id/1751/rec/837
tonkatoy
11 Oct 13 at 8:49 am
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I think the old Holiday Inn site was purchased by Lex School
Dist. 2 and is being improved with facilities for Brookland Cayce HS.Dan
18 Nov 13 at 8:31 pm
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Yeah, they are building a Taj Mahal to the Fooball The Gweat And Tewwible there.
I really hate the emphasis we've come to put on sports in this country.
tonkatoy
19 Nov 13 at 7:37 am
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I think the new stadium here is part of a shift from several high schools having like a 'district stadium' to each high school having it on campus. Lexington and White Knoll went through it in recent years and Dutch Fork finally got one when I was in high school myself.
AC Flora and Dreher are two without stadiums that don't have much room to build one but I could see Ridge View getting their own stadiums eventually if this trend continues.
I'll admit I enjoyed many nights at high school football games when I was in HS and went myself but my interest has waned since my friends and I graduated.
I now find myself thinking that people get too emotionally invested in sports.
Andrew
19 Nov 13 at 10:40 am
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^BC already has a perfectly good facility on site.
tonkatoy
19 Nov 13 at 12:29 pm
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a facility so good that plans had been the works to replace it for 15 years from what I've read...
Andrew
19 Nov 13 at 12:43 pm
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Have you seen it? It's far nicer than my HS had when I went there. There's no need for a replacement.
Schools are for learning. Fooball is nice and everything, but it seems to be the focus, rather than education.
tonkatoy
19 Nov 13 at 3:16 pm
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Well since we are talking about football facilities here...Richland Northeast and Spring Valley always shared Harry Parone Stadium at Spring Valley. But next year, RNE falls to 3A from 4A and they are upgrading there B-Squad and JV field to accommodate varsity games. RNE Class of 89!!
Sidney
19 Nov 13 at 4:41 pm
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Irmo and Dutch Fork shared WC Hawkins stadium when DF first opened years but Dutch Fork finally upgraded their stadium in 2002 to allow for them to have their own...
Andrew
19 Nov 13 at 5:25 pm
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I was a Freshman at Irmo High in 1973 when the WC Hawkins Stadium was being built around the old football field. Irmo High itself was being redone a bit too towards my Sophmore year in 1975. The original Irmo Stadium had those wooden bleachers with "plenty-o-splinters" for those that slid across them. I don't miss Irmo at all.
CayceKid
19 Nov 13 at 6:24 pm
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The Motels on Knox Abbott Drive was Holiday Inn, Roger Miller's King of the Road Motel, and The Ho-Jo Inn Motel. The Ponderosa Steak Barn used to be near the Holiday Inn too. I think the Masters Inn on Knox Abbot was/is the old Holiday Inn..but not sure. Or it could be the King of the Road Motel.
CayceKid
19 Nov 13 at 6:28 pm
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@Caycekid - I was also a freshman at Irmo is '73 when they went on the building frenzy. Stadium, cafeteria, gym, etc. I', surprised they haven't town Hawkins Stadium down to build something more up to date - knowing how District 5 love to spend money!!!!
Homer
19 Nov 13 at 11:10 pm
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or TORN it down......
Homer
19 Nov 13 at 11:11 pm
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Lex-Rich district 5 has put in Field turf in all stadiums. Have you seen River Bluff's stadium, or school for that matter?
JBL
19 Nov 13 at 11:20 pm
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@Homer... if you went to Irmo, then if you know or remember Lavonne Bazemore, then you should know me too. Were you in the Marching Band? Or Football team? Do you remember Coach Chriswell? Or Mrs. Osborne that taught Latin?
CayceKid
20 Nov 13 at 12:30 am
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I'm also an original Heathwood Hall School kid from the 60's.
CayceKid
20 Nov 13 at 12:32 am
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This Holiday Inn was one of the chain's oldest.
Tom
20 Nov 13 at 11:10 am
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@Caycekid - I remember all of those names. I wasn't in any of the extracurricular activities. I was just doing what I had to do to make it through those four years..... I graduated in '76, you?
Homer
20 Nov 13 at 9:14 pm
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This Irmo graduate (c/o 2006) has me wondering if the time frame you were talking about was when the second floor was added to the main building of Irmo...it boggles my mind how they were able to add a second story on top of the first one, work it so that all the original courtyards expand them 3 stories tall (keep in mind there is a full floor between the two floors for the air systems, etc.
They are now building an auditorium (something I remember people wanting when I was going to the middle school) between the main building and the tech building (that's what they were known as when I went there) and from what I've gathered, the rooms have been renumbered since I graduated as well. Only about a third of the teachers remain of the ones I knew when I was there...
Andrew
20 Nov 13 at 10:25 pm
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@Homer.. I graduated in 1977. I was in the Band for all 4 years there. I hated Irmo..and I still do. Lavonne Bazemore is my Dad. My Mom also taught at Irmo Middle School my 8th grade year in 1972. The only saving grace for me was the marching band.
Del B/Cayce Kid
21 Nov 13 at 12:47 am
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Irmo High School (the original bottom portion now) was built in 1963 and opened for the 1964 school season. The ceilings and walls were full of Asbestos that we breathed in while we were there. Irmo Middle School (Now Crossroads Middle) was new in 1970, then the other one was built down the hill from it in the mid 70's...I think. I remember when Leapheart Elemetary was being built, and when Whitehall had lots of woods and bike trails when we first moved there in the summer of '68.
Del B/Cayce Kid
21 Nov 13 at 12:53 am
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or is that LEAPHART ?? I never paid it any attention.
Del B/Caycekid
21 Nov 13 at 12:54 am
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@caycekid - I never did know you but I do remember your name. I still live in Irmo. I've never left the St. Andrews area and probably never will.
Homer
21 Nov 13 at 1:44 am
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Leaphart opened in 1974. I went through it back in the 90s. It was an open air classroom design. A few years back it was added on to and renovated to close the classrooms. On the current staff list, I can count on one hand the number of folks that were there when I was...
Andrew
21 Nov 13 at 1:48 am
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@andrew - I'll have to see if I can scan some images from one of my old year books to show what the buildings looked like when they were single story. They all had, for lack of a better term, square domed roof lines that were reflected inside the classrooms. By the time they framed over the first floor domes there would have been plenty of room for mechanicals and such. Like CayceKid said there was asbestos everywhere - I think the ceilings were sprayed with it. I don't remember what year they added the second floor.
I was wondering what the ungodly looking thing is that they are building in the old parking lot. When I went there the fad of the times was to have a 'gymatorium'.
Before they fenced and gated everything off, I walked around the campus one Saturday afternoon and, believe it or not, there was still some writings on the metal rails around the ledges of the second floor classrooms beside the gym and cafeteria that have been there since the 70's!!!!
I had a chance to tour the school a couple of years ago with my class but it was at 8:00am on a Saturday. I decided that I'd rather stay in bed. But, I would like to see what has changed and what still looks the same!!
Homer
21 Nov 13 at 2:02 am
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@jbl - I watched the installation of the turf at Hawkins stadium. I drive by there every day on the way to work. Whatever happened to GRASS????
Homer
21 Nov 13 at 2:13 am
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@Homer.. we must be about the same age. I'll be 55 next week. I have my Irmo annuals from the 70's still. I'm sure we had to pass each other in the hallways between classes. To quote Curly Howard from one of the three stooges classics, "Are you married or happy"? Single here and plan on staying so. I'm too set in my ways to change now.
Del B/Caycekid
21 Nov 13 at 11:38 am
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Del, I think you've got the Columbia Closings Most Aliases Award!
:)
tonkatoy
21 Nov 13 at 11:59 am
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I may have had your mom as a teacher at Campus I in 7th grade. Francis? I just called her "Ms. Bazemore."
I remember in the early 80's, they closed the high school to remove the asbestos. My boy goes to Crossroads, and I marvel at the old portable that is there now between Crossroads and Irmo Middle School. In 6th grade, all of my classes were in portables. I hated rainy days. It is so dilapidated. There is a border fence around it, and that concrete place we used to sit on at recess.
jonathan
21 Nov 13 at 2:17 pm
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I went to CrossRoads the second year it existed in its current form. The thing of it was, I was Irmo-bound with most classmates being DF-bound and I had a hard time getting along with most of them...
Andrew
21 Nov 13 at 3:13 pm
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@jonathan..my Mom's name is Thomasine. There would be no Irmo Band if my Dad hadn't started it. There was NO band at 7 Oaks Elementary until my Dad started that, He was the Band Director at Chapin High and Chapin Elementary, The Middle School and the High School at Irmo. But the marching Band isn't what it was.. During my Senior year, we had over 220 marching. We were bigger and louder than the USC band..and were the very first HS Band to be invited to play at Disney World in 1972. No other SC bands have that claim to fame.
Del B/Caycekid
21 Nov 13 at 3:57 pm
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meant to say Dutch Fork Elementary through the early 60's.. I don't think there is a Chapin Elementary.
Del B/Caycekid
21 Nov 13 at 3:59 pm
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Del, There indeed is a Chapin Elementary...it was constructed in 1977
Andrew
21 Nov 13 at 4:23 pm
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Del,
I figured out who you are just from what you said about the band. Your Warren's brother. I have been friends with him forever and we grew up together at SABC. I have met you a couple of times, you may not remember. Hope all is well.William
21 Nov 13 at 7:42 pm
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Hi William..yeah, Warren is my little brother. Warren lives at Murrells Inlet..and he's on Facebook too. So you went to St. Andrews Baptist huh? I sang in the Choir there back in the 80's and in the Young Adult (at that time) group called "New Direction".. of course I was in my 20's at the time..now I'm 55, and little brother is 37. I'm sure I would remember you if I were to see you though. Do you live here in Columbia?
Del B/Caycekid
21 Nov 13 at 11:09 pm
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@Del - Amen, brother. Happy, single and staying that way! I'm 56 and 1/2 today and, like you, I'm to set in my ways to change. That's why I'm trying my damnedest to retire at 59 1/2. Things in IT are evolving way faster than my old brain can keep up with. And to be honest, I'm just getting tired of dealing with whiny assed people!!!!!!
Homer
22 Nov 13 at 12:34 am
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@Del - oops, trying to age myself prematurely. Meant to say 55 and 1/2!!
Homer
22 Nov 13 at 12:48 am
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Homer, I'm 25 and the thing that boggles my mind is the fact that to people my age, computers the size of full rooms are like dinosaur technology we've never seen and I see you as someone that is likely to have worked around them for years...computer technology is evolving to the point that 3-4 year old technology is old...Andy Rooney said something to the effect of "they were invented about 20 minutes ago and they're obsolete already" when talking about old computers he had lying around...
Your last statement tells me that you aren't the best for a customer service position in retirement...
Andrew
22 Nov 13 at 12:50 am
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@andrew - like I said in a the post about the 'handwriting' machines at the fair, I have been in IT since '78.
I have used punch cards, paper tape, monochrome monitors, tape drive the size of refrigerators, disk drives the size of washing machines and all the other things you see on the computer history sites.
All of it, for the most part, has been on the big iron, mainframes. But now they use the same basic hardware tech that servers use. A typical mainframe computer is now the size of a large refrigerator. Where I work now, our data centers, mainframes and server farms occupy over 100,000 sq. ft. of floor space and are rated at roughly 139 million million instructions per second. We run and intertwined network of z/OS, z/VM, Linux, Unix and Windows.
There is a push going on now to try to get younger people to get interested in IT at the mainframe level because they are not going anywhere anytime soon and us old-timers are all going to be retiring within the next 5 to 10 years and someone has got to be there to take our places.
And you are absolutely right, I would not make a good Walmart greeter....lol
Homer
22 Nov 13 at 1:29 am
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warren was 1 year older than me. I had Ms Bazemore as a teacher in 5th grade I think? I never took band but I knew who your dad was. Anyone remember Warren in the slinkey commercial?
I went to Campus R Irmo Middle School (Irmo bound)
the other middle school was Campus I (DF bound)
Elementary school went to 6th grade. Middle school went to 9th grade.
Gosh I feel oldSteve
22 Nov 13 at 10:44 am
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I just noticed something interesting. If you look at the exterior shots, you'll see no telephone poles or wires on the south side of Knox Abbott.
tonkatoy
22 Nov 13 at 10:45 am
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@Tonkatoy- Something else of interest. Notice no phone number on the post card.
Rick
22 Nov 13 at 11:00 am
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Del,
Yes I live in Columbia still. I am a little younger than Warren. He was a sr at Irmo when I was a freshmen. We went on all the trips together when we were in youth at SABC.
William
22 Nov 13 at 12:44 pm
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William...It's funny, but Warren cant stand to see that Slinky commercial and how he looked then.. I personally give him a hard time about it still. Warren is still "Warren". He's done several commercials before and since then. If you're on Facebook, then send a friend request my way and I'll add you. Warren is on there too if you want to send him a request. I only see Warren about twice a year.
Del B/Caycekid
22 Nov 13 at 4:10 pm
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Warren may be like I am in that I don't like to see videos of myself...The other thing is I hear recordings of my voice and it doesn't sound right to me...
My late grandmother had very few pics of herself that she liked looking at and I am much the same...
Andrew
22 Nov 13 at 4:42 pm
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Seeing old pictures or Super 8 mm homes movies of me from the early 60's through the 70's doesn't bother me at all. It's funny to watch and see how I acted back then being a typical kid that like to show off and run around for the movie cam. My other Bazemore cousins are the same way..things like that don't bother them. I think it's just Warren, though there are others too.
Del B/Caycekid
22 Nov 13 at 5:51 pm
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It's also like I cant stand to hear my "speaking voice"..I sound too Southern and South Carolina-ish, but singing wise, I don't sound at all like you think I would..I'm a background singer and can blend in musically with just about anyone that sings.. and I also have a 3.5 octave vocal range. Warren is a baritone and has a limited vocal range.
Del B/Caycekid
22 Nov 13 at 5:54 pm
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Del,
I found that commercial on You Tube several years ago. It was so funny to watch. I will send you a fb request and I am already friends with Warren on fb. I remember a JB White Commercial he did or it may have be Belk I cannot remember now.
William
22 Nov 13 at 8:53 pm
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@Del & Andrew - I hate to hear my voice on recordings as well. To this day, my family reminds me of a comment I made at Christmas 40+ years ago about what I received. I sounded like a hick! After I got into the corporate world, I tried suppress my accent as best I could because some people thought that it would represent the company in an unfavorable way. But the older I get, the less I care. If you don't like my accent, oh well. Accept it or GTFO....:^)
Homer
23 Nov 13 at 3:47 am
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My accent doesn't bother me when I hear it. It's the actual sound. Something between PeeWee Herman and Bobcat Goldthwait. Egad!
badger
23 Nov 13 at 8:11 am
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PeeWee Herman and Bobcat Goldthwait huh?...now THAT'S entertainment ! It's like when I talk, I sound so HICKY South Carolina..but when I sing, I have an accent between American and "Beatles" English..I guess it's because I've listened to them for the past 49 years.
Del B/CayceKid
25 Nov 13 at 12:45 am
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PeeWee Herman and Bobcat Goldthwait combination huh? I should have said " YIKES STRIPES, FRUTI STRIPE GUM"....
Del B/CayceKid
25 Nov 13 at 12:48 am
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It looks like it's now the Bearcats Stadium for Brookland Cayce High School, and until 2013 parts of the old Holiday Inn parking lot could be seen next to Sub Station II. The building was still around in 2003, but likely wasn't a hotel by that time. A mid-1990s partial list of hotels in the area doesn't show it.
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It did not list the hotel because it was in Cayce, not Columbia. However, some listings mention 505 as "Red Carpet Inn".
Aaron J.
18 Aug 20 at 6:26 am
The building is still there. Its the Master's Economy Inn now.