Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

Well, that's a shame.

While I was out of town, 92.1 The Palm vanished from the Columbia airwaves. This station had one of the most interesting playlists in town, running to R&B flavored cuts you didn't hear elsewhere along with album tracks that seemed to have been chosen with some actual thought. According to their goodbye message you may find a similar mix online at their sister stations in NC & VA though I have not yet sampled them. Wikipedia has the history of the frequency (officialy WWNU) here.

I'm not quite sure what has been going on with the replacement signal, praise channel HIS Radio. The first time I heard it, it was on 96.7 HD2, the old Son Of Steve spot, replacing Son Of Steve follow-on format "Classic Vinyl". After that, fairly brief, time, it moved to 96.7 HD3, with "Classic Vinyl" returning to HD2. Then I saw the billboard above trumpeting the debute of HIS Radio on 106.3. So, as of now, I believe HIS Radio is in the Columbia market at three simulcasting locations: 92.1, 106.3 and 96.7 HD3. That seems odd to me.

(Hat tip to commenter Mr. B.O. via email)

Here's another Saint Andrews Road drycleaner closing from late Spring. I like the Shirts Laundered graphic and the old style rhyming slogan.

(Hat tip to commenter Andrew)

I'm not sure this started as a First Care but it has been that since at least 1997, and some sort of urgent care center since back into the 1980s. I remember I went there once while I was living in Fayetteville and was back in Columbia for the weekend -- it was efficient and effective. It sounds like they were caught up in the ongoing remaking of the health care industry.

This building is directly across the street from the former Budget Inn on Zimalcrest, and apparently housed a mail order pharmacy until late 2015 (judging from the fact that there is a stack of 2016 phonebooks at the front door).

Judging from LoopNet, the pharmacy was the whole building, and the whole building is now available.

I noticed the other day that the Doctor's office on the west side of the Farm Bureau building is becoming First Class Bar & Grill.

UPDATE 23 June 2016: Well, as established in the comments, this bar is not going into the doctor's office. I was misled by the little sign on the side of the building with the office name -- it actually is an arrow pointing to the other side. So what was this place? Looking at the door in the west side with the new 'A' restaurant sticker on it, I see that it calls out the space behind the door as unit B & C. With that information, I see that unit B, at least, was once Serenity Day Spa

UPDATE 21 March 2017 -- Apparently First Class is not going to happen:

Murrels Inlet's hardluck mall Inlet Square took another blow in May with the closing of Frank Theaters.

This is actually the second set of theaters in this spot. I don't think I did a closing on it, but for many years this site was a Regal Cinema, and the setup kind of used to amuse me, since they often tore your ticket at the window and had no ticket taker inside. I'm sure many a teen just wandered in, and into a any showroom despite any lack of money or sufficent age for an "R" film.

After Regal closed, Frank Theaters leased the spot and did an extensive remodel for their cinema/restaurant/bowling/arcade conceptCine Bowl & Grille. I don't think the airport type restaurant and bar was really credible in the area, but the bowling alley portion seemed to do a good business as did the movies from what I could tell. There was no "attraction" screen like an "Imax" or "RPX", but it was all digital, and had pretty comfortable seats. I'm trying to recall the last movie I saw here, which would have been around Easter, but I'm drawing a blank.

At any rate, I was pretty surprised on my last trip around Memorial Day when I was googling movie times and nothing was coming up in Murrells Inlet: The Sun News has the story. On reflection, however, should have seen it coming. Several years before, I had seen this story about how the theater was way behind in lease payments to the mall. Since the place stayed open, I figured the two sides had worked something out. Apparently however, the theater was playing the same game as Borders Books, the "We're too important to you for you to kick us out" ploy. Given the sorry state of Inlet Square, you might almost expect that to work, but in the event, not.

In the past, when we stayed on Pawleys, we had the options of movies in Georgetown (The Hub), Litchfield (Tara), and Surfside (Deerfield Cinema), all south of Myrtle Beach. Now, the closest place is Market Commons.

This branch of South Carolina Community Bank was in front of Piggly Wiggly in Edens Plaza on Beltline.

At one time there was also another Columbia branch on Sumter Street, but at this point it looks like the bank is down to one location, in Sumter (the town, not the street).

UPDATE 10 June 2016 -- Not sure where I got my (incorrect) location info, but commenter Andrew has confirmed the one branch is on Sumter Street. Probably the link I was looking at was confusing the town and street. Also, here's a bit more from The Post & Courier on the bank's troubles. And finally, commenter Tom says this building was an NBSC before SCCB.

UPDATE 16 July 2016 -- I went around back of the building, and they must still own it because the ATM is still active:

I'm not sure what is being built in front of Target at 10200/10202 Two Notch, but the former Synergy Wellness & Weight Loss building has already been razed and the former Northeast Animal Clinic building is aparently not long for the world. Both businesses will continue in new locations, Synergy at 10607 Two Notch and Northeast eventually at 10171 Two Notch, but currently at 7352 Parklane.

You can see good views of the razed building at this Google Streetview link.

Here's the new Synergy location. Pretty sure from the look that it's a former Russell Jeffcoat:

(Hat tip to commenter Benjamin Higgins)

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I was driving South on US-17 from Pawleys to Charleston last Saturday when I happened to notice this former store on the East side of the road in McClellanville. I actually drove past it, but then decided to turn around since the light was good, and I had no confidence it would still be there the next time I was in the area.

I had figured it for an old small general-store/country-store type of operation, and I suspect that was indeed the case, but a closer inspection turned up the fact that it had most recently been a thrift shop, and indeed a good bit of the merchandise was still in the interior, including books, lamps and various small kitchen electrics.

Also, as I went around the back of the store, I caught sight of the old house to which the store was presumably attached, and it is an impressive two story structure dating, by looks, to the early years of the 20th century, possibly the 1920s. The brick columns and porch in particular put me in the mind of my great-aunt's Vox community house in the Pee-Dee. There are real estate signs for the whole three acre property, but since they are for commercial activity, and the house is obviously not being maintained, I suspect both buildings will be soon knocked down, which I feel is an especial shame for the house. I would love to have a house like that on a lot with oaks & magnolias like that -- though perhaps not on a four lane highway.

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I remember driving past this building some years ago and being pleased that such a classic design was still in service. I'm a sucker for anything with gull wings, and whatever this related type of design is called. The aerodynamics make it look like with a good headwind, it would hover like Sally Field.