Adult Book Store, 1001 Percival Road at Decker: 1980s 5 comments
UPDATE 13 June 2009: The above picture is apparently the wrong spot for the adult book store, with the right spot being the corner lot (one to the left). I'll leave the first picture since people have commented on it (and its former incarnations), and add the correct one below.
I've tried a couple of times to get a decent picture of this place, but it seems that every time I go by, it's the afternoon, and the sun is against me. Anyway, this little building is on Percival Road between Decker Boulevard and Dupont Drive and has been a number of things over the years. Currently it is an El Cheapo gas station / convienience store. You can also tell from the painted-over letters on the gas island canopy that it was fairly recently a Texaco. What I recall from the 1970s and 80s is that it was an adult book store for a good many years, and the reason I recall this is one very indignant lady during the Great Ice Storm of 1979.
That storm was the biggest local event of 1979. We certainly had snow from time to time growing up, but had never seen anything like the cover of ice that descended on Columbia that day. As I recall, I went outside afterwards, and saw a bucket in our back yard. I pried it out of the ice to find that it left a neat hole with clear turf underneath, surrounded by a two-inch coat of ice. Needless to say, trees and branches were down all over the city. Our house was without power for two weeks. Nowdays, I suppose they would declare a Federal Disaster Area for anything like that, but in those days, we just coped. We had a fireplace and candles, and when things got too bad, could take a hot shower at a relative's house. We also had a transistor radio, and I remember listening to WIS's extensive coverage of the situation. The lady in question phoned in to the call-in show and expressed great ire at the fact that this adult book store had its power back, and she did not have hers. The host tried to explain that the line crews were working through the area in triage mode, and usually tried to fix the lines that would bring the most houses back at once before moving on to breaks that would bring fewer houses online. She wasn't having any of it though, and I think the host finally had to "thank" her for her opinion and hang up. Perhaps she was onto something though -- we haven't had a storm like that since the adult bookstore closed!
UPDATE 13 June 2009 See in post above about new "correct" picture. Also added the street address, 1001, to the post title.
5 Responses to 'Adult Book Store, 1001 Percival Road at Decker: 1980s'
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jjt
26 May 09 at 11:18 am
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Proving once again how great my memory is..
ted
26 May 09 at 1:27 pm
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Wasn't it also (the gas station part) called "Mike's" at one point?
Anyone remember the Phillips 66 Station that used to be where the Exxon (may not be an Exxon anymore the way stuff closes down or changes names in this city/town) is on the other corner of Percival/Decker?
steve
3 Jun 09 at 10:22 am
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Yes that building was Roche's quick thrift and it was operated by them until at least the early 90's. The car lot was the site of the adult book store. After the adult book store shut down it was a bar that catered to the harley crowd known as the filin station saloon for several years. directly behind that was a vegetable and fireworks stand that was there for at least a decade. And, yes I remember the old 66 station. I grew up on the corner of percival and dupont.
tim
25 Jun 09 at 3:53 am
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Funny thing about that book store - several USC fraternity guys and I visited that shop once, seeking to procure some entertainment for a party that weekend. One film happened to catch my eye. I pointed it out to the others, who all agreed that this was definitely a must for the festivities. We decided to bill the flick as the "Extra Special Feature."
Which film was it? Well, those of you who remember the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings will remember this title: "The Adventures of Bad Mama Jama."PsAustrinus
30 Mar 10 at 11:33 am
That building was actually Roche's Quick Thrift, a small family run c-store. I'm pretty sure they we still in business through the late 80s and maybe into the 90s. They made a fortune with poker machines. My friend's father was addicted and was always there dumping quarters into them. The adult book store is to the left where the car lot is now. That '79 storm was the worst. We were without power for almost a week. We went to the gym's on Fort Jackson to take warm showers.