Downtowner Motor Inn / The Governor's House / Rodeway Inn, 1301 Main Street: 2011 7 comments
As reported by The State this venerable hotel at the corner of Main & Lady Streets will be converted into a upscale condo called The Palms with 54 "resort-style" units. They will also have a view of what is apparently the only pool on Main Street.
Given that the article talks about the developer struggling to find financing for the project for several years, and the fact that the Rodeway Inn is listed in the Feb 2011 phonebook, I can only guess that the developer owned the property and continued to run it as a hotel until things came together. I admit to being surprised how long it lasted as a mid-to-lower-mid market motel in an area that if it gets anyone (after all who in the general population wants to visit Columbia and stay on Main Street?) would get high-roller business and government connected types.
(Hat tip to commenter Tom)
UPDATE 26 May 2012: Here's a State article on the opening of The Palms.
7 Responses to 'Downtowner Motor Inn / The Governor's House / Rodeway Inn, 1301 Main Street: 2011'
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Dennis
29 Jun 11 at 6:02 am
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It sure looked a lot cooler back in the sixties.
I was surprised to see this project move forward as condos. As I understand it, financing is very hard to attain for condos.
tonkatoy
29 Jun 11 at 6:44 am
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Downtwoner was a chain of motels back in the 60s and 70s. Apparently quite a few of them are still around, though it seems that the parent company is no more.
Tom
29 Jun 11 at 10:41 am
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@Dennis -- the pastel colored end panels make a strong case..
Also, perhaps the claim The State story is making is that it is the only outdoor pool on Main? That's not exactly what it says, but you could interpret it that way.
@tonkatoy -- Yep. Stuff from that era had a certain verve that has really been lost in the move to "tasteful" and "community standards". It has sucked the life out of commercial architecture (except for Vegas, Florida and maybe Myrtle Beach..)
ted
29 Jun 11 at 11:48 am
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@ Ted. You hit the nail on the head about commericial architecture. It used to be that every motel, gas and fast food chain had its own unique aritectural style and color scheme. Even today I can look at an old building and know what brand of gas or fast food was once sold there. Now they all seem to be about the same.
Tom
29 Jun 11 at 12:00 pm
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Before the Downtowner was built in the early 60's, The Jerome Hotel sat on this same spot. I'm surprized this old Motel wasnt torn down when Bob Coble was in charge of things and had everything old torn down.
Del Bazemore
29 Jun 11 at 7:20 pm
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Interestingly, there was a hotel on this spot in 1865 when Sherman came to town. Mary Chesnut wrote some of her famous diary from the Hotel.
Tom
30 Jun 11 at 3:59 pm
I was looking at a building in Charleston a few weeks ago that is now dorms for College of Charleston and wondering if it might be the Downtowner Motel I stayed at a couple of times when I was a child. Pretty sure it is. Here's a pic I found on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hdescopeland/4713540858
Also, FYI, the Marriott on Main St. has a huge pool.