Archive for the ‘River Drive’ tag
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts / Greater Columbia Funeral Services, 2548 Main Street: 2000s 17 comments
I noticed this vacant funeral home driving down Main Street near River Drive the other day. I could weed the pictures down further, but I like the clouds in the long shots too much to lose them.
You can still see the label-scar for the business name on the front of the building, and on the turned-inside-out roadside sign if you look closely enough. I had no doubts what the building was even before seeing them however as the design is pretty unequivocal. That's not to say it's generic -- I really like the sharp points and slopes of the roof-line. The online property data says it was built in 1960, which I have no problem believing, and LoopNet says it sits on a 1 acre lot, which I would not have guessed.
Brake Clinic / Dave's Auto Repair / Cash Loans For Car Titles, 3600 River Drive: June 2010 1 comment
This vintage looking building, which almost has to have been an old gas station originally, sits at the point where Sunset Drive ends, River Drive jinks west and Clement Road fails to become either of those. It's across from Edna's, Great China Chinese Restaurant and the old A & P in Sunset Shopping Center.
I know that going back into the 60s there had to be more, but currently I am able to google three former tenants, all auto related. I'm using June 2010 as the closing date for Cash Loans for Car Titles because that seems to be when the building went up on the realtor's web site.
I like the building and hope the next owner keeps it. The curved endcap reminds me of the KC Customs building on Augusta Road.
Sunshine Cleaners / Martha's Era Antiques & Collectibles, 2737 River Drive: 1990s 7 comments
I don't drive down River Drive all that often, but when I do, I always note this building. It seems to me that it is a close twin to the Mediterranean Tea Room building on Devine Street, although the Tea Room building has had a lot more work done to it, especially in the last few years.
I had it in the back of my mind that it hadn't been vacant all that long, but when I finally stopped to look and take these pictures, it was obvious from the state of the interior that it had been empty a good while.
Googling the address turned up an interesting story, which apparently did not play out as planned. These three PDFs of 2008 zoning board minutes here, here and here tell the story.
Many years ago, the place was a cleaner (they never mention the name) and then Martha's Era (they never explicitly give that name either, but it seems pretty clear that there was only one antique business ever there). By 2008, they were talking about the building having been vacant for 20 years, and indeed, I cannot find Martha's in the 1998 phonebook.
At any rate, a new tenant wanted to lease the building (still owned by the Martha's proprietor) to open a largely take-out pizza business, apparently to be called Neighboorhood Pie. The big stumbling block was parking, of which the site has very little. There was a lot of back and forth on that issue, and the board suggested he make some new plans and come back later, which he did, rounding up a parking lease arrangement with a nearby church (which had no issues since the restaurant would not be open Sunday, and would not sell alcohol). There were a few minor issues with neighboring residents, but those were all ironed out, and the board gave the goahead in Sept 2008.
For whatever reason however, the restaurant never happened, and from the appearance of the interior, never even got to the "starting refit" stage. The property is currently up for lease once again, and apparently the owner is willing for the building to come down if necessary. That would be a shame as it is rather distinctive with its street-side pillar and vintage canopy.
UPDATE 20 Nov 2010: Commenter Mike identifies the place as originally a Sunshine Cleaners which makes sense given its resemblance to the one on Covenant. I've upadated the post title.
Terlizzi Home Improvements, 2600 Main Street: 2009 1 comment
This venerable building is on Main Street at the intersection with Summerville Avenue and River Drive. This property valuation says that it was built in 1930, and I can believe that. The side view is fairly nondescript, but the angled entrance gives it character, and does hark back to that time. The last tenant, Terlizzi Home Improvements is in the Feb 2008-Feb 2009 phonebook, but not this year's, so I'm saying they closed in 2009. I don't know anything about Terlizzi except that every time I see the name, I can't help but think
The boys are back in town!