Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I need to go back and get come better pictures, but the Manigault-Hurley Funeral Home closed down in mid March. This funeral home had been a fixture in Columbia since 1923, and provided respite for grieving families in Columbia's Black community starting in the Jim Crow era when other places would have turned them away. 91 years is a pretty good run by any standard! The State says the home's historic record books will be donated to USC's South Caroliniana Library.

(Hat tip to commenter Sidney)

UPDATE 4 April 2014: Added hat-tip to commenter Sidney.

This little strip mall is on the south side of Shakespeare Road near Columbia Mall. This LoopNet listing says it was built in 1996, though it appears a bit more decrepit than that to me. (The listing also gratifies me by calling Columbia Mall ... "Columbia Mall").

Along with the daycare, this place also had a hair salon and an Air Force recruting office. As of now, the whole place is bank owned, so I guess we have another casualty of the downturn here.

This little storefront is right beside the Dentsville Best Buy and right across the Two Notch entry to the Columbia Mall perimeter road. In fact, this strip mall shares stoplight access to Two Notch with the perimeter, and it always seemed to me that when they built Best Buy they should have figured out some way to connect their parking lot with this one.

I think Tru Cutz was the last tenant here, as you can still see the word "Barber" superimposed on the window. On the other hand, I can't find a phonebook listing for them, and I can for Anointed who seem to have moved to Decker around 2011.

*Something* is going on..

UPATE 22 March 2014: RIP Rock 93.5!

WMFX And WARQ Morph Into Columbia's Rock Station, Fox 102.3, OM/PD Dave Stewart Resigns.

After 22 Years WARQ Columbia (93.5) Leaves Rock/Alternative

I noticed the other day that this car service center just east of Midlands Shopping Center was no longer in business.

The real-estate write up calls it "downtown Columbia", which seems a bit off to me.

Here's another Landmark Square storefront, this one a framing and gifts operation.

According to their referral sign, they moved to 4339 Fort Jackson Boulevard in late 2011, and according to the February 2013 phonebook, they are still there.

There's a lot of land clearing going on in the Bluff Road area south of I-77 by Gills Creek, so I'm not sure how long this little wreck of a building will stay there, but apparently it was Bluff Road Paint And Body Shop. From the advanced state of decrepitude, it could have easily closed in the 1980s, but given that the sign is still there, I'll call it 1990s until I hear differently. Maybe I'll park and walk out to it as some point as well.

UPDATE 16 June 2014 -- A full photoset of a walk back into the property:

I really can't remember the Columbia East Theaters. I think their heyday was when I was living in Fayetteville, and when I came home during that period, I had plenty of go-to theaters closer than these. Various commenters have described how they started out as a twin theater, later expanded to a quad-plex and ended life as a $0.99 cent venue.

Commenter Dennis mentions that the building pre-existed the theaters and was once The New South Music Hall, a live music club.

Currently the building, and surrounding defunct shopping plaza, is part of the Word Of God Ministries, a church which has also rehabilitated the old Intersection Center / Sam Solomon plaza on Diamond Lane.

7351 Garners Ferry Road is an approximate address, taken from a listing for former plaza business The Talk Of The Town Hair Gallery.

(Hat tip to commenter Brent Carter)

12 March 2012:

11 March 2013:

11 March 2014:

I took an annual trip to Aiken last week, and was amazed at the amount of storm damage over there. I had though all the "worst tree kills since Hugo" headlines were a bit of hyperbole since I didn't see anything like that here in Columbia.

Not that that has anything to do with this post. While I was there I also noticed that the Blockbuster in the Bi-Lo parking lot on Silver Bluff Road is finally getting a new tenant. Given how many Blockbuster closings I've done here, I figured I might as well add this one too. (Eventually, I'll get the Litchfield Beach store as well).

UPDATE 5 October 2020: Updating tags, adding map icon.

Clearly, I really like that sign.

This building sits at the corner of Garners Ferry and Old Veterans Roads. It's actually a little hard to get in and out of, though you can cut down Old Veterans to Veterans and then come out at the light. As of now, Prudential has moved to 3200 Devine Street. I don't yet have a picture, but it is the building adjoining the old Rice Music House location.

UPDATE 2 May 2016 -- It appears that this is now CubeSmart self-storage.

These pix from 27 February 2016 show the new building almost done, but with the Prudential sign still out front:

These pix from 25 April 2016 show the new signage up, the old signage gone, and the place either open or ready to open: