Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

First let me note that although no description of Myrtle Square Mall would be complete without the famous clock, I did not take that picture. It appears in the Wikipedia entry for the mall, and has been explicitly released into the public domain.

What can I say about Myrtle Square Mall? For many years, it was the mall on the Grand Strand and the "general" shopping destination on any beach trip. To be sure, there were outlet and specialty malls like Waccamaw Pottery, but MSM was the "it" place.

As kids, of course, The Pavilion was first in our hearts and minds, but over the years we took many trips to the mall as well.

It had a different mix of retail than anything in Columbia, with anchor stores I never saw elsewhere like Peebles as well as standard stores like Sears and Eckerds. For me, the main attraction was the book store just off the clock court. I cannot now recall the name, but it was either completely independant, or part of a small chain that never opened in Columbia, and I found that it had an interesting selection of science fiction books that I didn't see elsewhere. Recall that in those days the only books you knew about were the ones you saw on the shelves -- there was no Amazon where you could search for any book in the world, or that would recommend books to you based on your previous purchases. I can particularly recall finding there a a Virgil Finlay collection I had never heard of, and had no clue existed. Finlay was an old-school SF pulp illustrator who had an amazing black & white line and stipple style that was unsurpassed (in my opinion) until Stephen Fabian came on the scene, and in retrospect I think Finlay's work has aged better than Fabian's. Anyway -- I bought the book :-)

The record store (whose name I have also forgotten) seemed to have slightly different selections than the Columbia stores as well.

Apart from the stores, obviously I have to say something about the clock. It sat above the central court, and was a marvel of conceptual design. The version pictured above is in fact one of the later versions -- the first version had 60 colored balls suspended from the ceiling in a circle with suspened numbers (similar to those pictured) at every five minute mark. The bulk of the balls were one color, with the ones at the five second intervals being another. As ever second passed, another ball would illuminate until all 60 were lit at which point they would all go dark and the next numeral would be illuminated for the current minute. Hmm, or maybe the numerals were for the hours and there were seperate balls for the minutes. At any rate, you could sit there and watch the time pass before your eyes so to speak. It was not a particularly easy clock to read -- it always seemed to take a minute to figure out just what was lit, but it was a fun clock to read.

I remember a number of interesting solo trips to the mall. The first was when I had just started to drive. My mother and I had gone to the beach to winterize the beach house, and having done that, she agreed to let me drive while she walked on the beach. Well, that's an always risky permission to give to a teenager, and I headed straight to the mall, despite it being a 25 mile drive one way. I had no particular goal other than I was, by gosh, going to drive, but I did end up getting some Trixie Belden books for my sister's birthday from Sears of all places. Needless to say my mother was not pleased at being ditched for three hours longer than she had planned to be...

Another trip to Sears years later (and near the end of the store's life) for dryer parts also yielded a trove of retro flashlights of the kind I grew up with, and which I thought were no longer being made -- I still have four or five.

I'm unsure why Burroughs & Chapin decided to deep six the mall. Certainly it was somewhat dated, but that could have been fixed by a remodel. I suppose access was an issue, but it's not like there's an Interstate in Myrtle Beach, -- the replacement mall at Coastal Grand may have slightly better traffic at US-17 bypass and US-501, but it's not a slam dunk.

At any rate, by 2005 most of the stores had made the transition, and in 2006 they started knocking Myrtle Square Mall down. The fact that B&C owned the replacement mall meant that Myrtle Square never went through the "death of the old mall as the new mall draws stores and traffic" phase. It was not in B&C's interest to eake rents out of Myrtle Square while firing up Coastal Grand.

On the other hand, they seem not to have had any Plan B for the Myrtle Square Mall site. Currently the huge tract bounded by 23rd & 27th Avenues North on the north and south sides and Kings Highway and Oak Street on the east and west sides stands vacant (as does the other large B&C tract at the old Pavilion site). It's hard to believe that two such prime tracts in the heart of Myrtle Beach have sat vacant for so long. (Well, not completely vacant -- there's still an Office Depot which must have had a long term lease, and I saw signs of homeless presence in the bushes).

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This is a country store in the city.

I really have no idea when this place closed. Looking inside the back add-on section, it appears to have been in disrepair for a while. On the other hand, the ice company has not taken the ice lockers back yet. I wish SC would put dates on the "A" restaurant ratings stickers! Honestly, if you told me the place had closed in 1953 or that it was still open some days, I would probably believe either.

This Richland County conservation report PDF says the place was built in the 1920s and

There are nine commercial buildings in the Olympia village. Most of these date from the early twentieth century and are similar to Nix's Olympia Grocery, a one- story, gable-front building with a brick facade and stepped parapet. These small commercial buildings were community-gathering spots and supplied operatives with a place to socialize and purchase needed items.

You can see that at some point the Nix's appelation was dropped and the place became simply Olympia Grocery. The sign itself was apparently supplied by Coke, something once exceedingly common (with the Coke advertisement often as big or biger than the store name), but not seen now on new stores.

The first time I went to take pictures of the place, it was a nice sunny afternoon, but in the event, I couldn't get near Nix's since the laundry down the road was burning, and the street was blocked off by fire engines. By the time I got back out that way, it was the rather grey day you see here. (And the laundry looks like it may be salveagable)

UPDATE 28 March 2011 -- Well, it's gone:

Boardwalk Plaza was an odd little shopping center down the hill from Dutch Square on Bush River Road. At this point, my memories of the place are very hazy (for instance, I distinctly remember a Book Dispensary location there which I cannot verify in any directory..). However, my memory is that the "boardwalk" part of the name came from the fact that the "plaza" was really a bunch of trailers which sat above street level and so were connected with a wooden walkway rather than concrete sidewalks.

None of these pictures are actually the Boardwalk site. As far as I can tell, the address 1023 no longer exists on Bush River Road. The last block before I-26 is 900, with the Days Inn / Comfort Inn at 911 Bush River Road apparently being the last building before I-26. That leads me to think that I-26 coming through blew away the 1000 block. However, my memory is that I-26 was completed well before 1984.. Also, I used to walk to Boardwalk from Dutch Square, and thought it was closer than that.

Anyway, the 1973 City Directory, only listed one business at 1023 Bush RIver Road: Ray C. Parker Package Stores, Inc.

By the next year, while 1023 had no shopping center name attached to it, the sole listing for Ray C. Parker Package Stores, Inc. had expanded to:

Ray C. Parker Package Stores, Inc.
Bicycle Center of Columbia
Etc Bath & Boudoir
Leaf 'n 'petal
Trulas-West
Whit-Ash Furnishings
World Of Sounds & Sights Inc

In the 1975 City Directory, 1023 Bush River road is first identified by the name Boardwalk Plaza and has building numbers identified. It had the following tenants:

Ray C. Parker Package Stores, Inc.
3) Leaf & Petal
4) Orange Owl gifts
5) World Of Sound & Sights Inc
World Of Turquoise & Imports
7) Vacant
8) Bicycle Center
10)Aquarium Pools Of Columbia
The Different Drummer ("joke products")
12) Vacant
15) Dutchbrook Interiors
16) Dan Dee Toys & Gifts
17) Vacant
18) Design Studio Inc

By 1979, the City Directory indicates a nearly total turnover:

1) Ray C. Parker Package Stores, Inc.
2) Cheap Joe's Jeans & Sportswear
4) The Final Touch
5) Vacant
6) Adams Tailor & Alterations Shop
7) Underwater Works Ltd
8) Muldrows Bar-B-Que
10) Muldrows (Overflow)
11) Vamps
12) Vacant
13) Vacant
14) Shamrock Hair Design
15) Rosco Recreation Store
16) Vacant
17) Bum's Shirt Factory Outlet
18) Korner Keg
19) Celsios Foam Insulation

1984 is the last City Directory to have an entry for Boardwalk Plaza at this point, the founding store, Ray C. Parker was gone. The tenant list was:

1) Vacant
2) Bum's Bummers shirt outlet
4) Wise Floor Covering Inc
5) Vacant
6) Adams Tailoring & Alteration Shop
7) Underwater Works Limited
8) Vacant
10) Columbia Shaver & Appliance Service
11) Vacant
12) Sims Music
13) Columbia Flag & Banner
14) Shamrock Hair Cutters
15) Direct Mailing Service
16) Vacant
17) Vacant
18) State Farm Insurance
19) Quick Print Center
The Frame Shop

I would have still been living in Columbia at this point, prior to taking a job in North Carolina in September of 1985, so you would think I would have some memory of the place closing and being torn down, but apart from radio ads for Bum's Bummers it was apparently totally off my radar screen..

UPDATE 15 March 2011: Folks, I am able to present this major picture update courtesy of one of the owners of Bum's Bummers, Barbara Summers, and the good offices of her son Lane. All these photos are property of Barbara Summers, and I use them with her kind permission. (I see in "preview" it turned out a bit confusing -- the captions for a set of pictures come after those pictures). [D'Oh! Had "Lane" as daughter rather than son -- fixed!]

Here's the plaza sign. At this point, the plaza's original entrance had been blocked off by construction of the motel that would replace the plaza.

Here are various views of the old plaza itself, already in somewhat of a disassembled state in some of the shots.

Here is Barbara herself standing on the boardwalk which gave the plaza its name.

Here is Bum's Bummers getting ready to go to 2700 Broad River Road.

Bum's is on the move, heading out then crossing I-20 moving north. Note the "Coming Soon" sign -- no kidding! Finally touchdown at the new location. (Also note the classic look Rush's in the background of two shots).

Here are Bum's and Shamrock in their new location.

Here's some notices of the move. (Note the Broad River Road Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.)

Business resumes after the move.

Construction starts on the permanent buildings at 2700 Broad River

I posted before about bygone Columbia grocery chain Edens. After I located one of the buildings on Rosewood, I have been looking for some of the others from time to time when I remember. I didn't have any luck with the two Main Street locations, but here is the Harden Street one.

Growing up, this was always Eckerd's to me, and it never really occurred to me that it had not been built as a pharmacy. Looking at it now though, I'm pretty sure this must be the original grocery building from the 1950s. In particular, I don't think anyone would site the doors on the street instead of the parking lot on any building newer than that. In fact, thinking about it, I'm surprised nobody ever changed that.

UPDATE 24 Nov 2010: Added Greenbax Stamps and Thrift Store to post title based on comments.

UPDATE 30 Nov 2010: Changed "Thrift Store" to "Community Thrift" based on Dennis's comment.

UPDATE 26 November 2019 -- This place is now Pet Supermarket:

UPDATE 10 August 2020: Update tags, change Eckerd's in post title to Eckerd Drugs.

Here's a place I never heard of before starting this blog, but it's come up several times in the comments over the years. Here's what I know from the library and internet:

The 1969 city directory lists 709 Santee Avenue as having two units, 709-A & 709-B, both of which were at the time vacant. The 1970 Southern Bell phonebook has the yellow pages ad for Maudy's Bosom shown above, and they were also in the white pages. That seems to be the last phonebook with a listing, either yellow or white for the shop. They continued to be listed in the city directory in 1971 and 1972 (as 709 without any 'A' or 'B'). In the 1973 city directory, the listing for 709 Santee Avenue changes from Maudy's Bosom to Bosom Walk In Center. This listing repeats in 1974, but that is the last mention of the place.

There is currently no building numbered 709 Santee Avenue. This PDF of city council minutes from 2007 and the Kenny's brou-ha-ha indicates that 701 & 709 Santee were the Santee part of the Kenny's lot. I'm not sure how this location jibes with Michael's comment below..

And now, crowdsourcing -- this is what y'all have said:

I just looked at the Dec 6, 2009 post about Maudy’s Bosom. My old recollection was from when it was just called The Bosom and was a drug counseling center. My older sister told me that it had previously been a head shop called what I misheard as “Marty’s,” but my sister tells me that she thinks Maudy’s is correct. But she was a stoner back then, so . . . .

Jim

Maudy’s Bosom is correct. Awesome store to visit for “hippie” threads and for incense!!

Terese

BTW, does anyone know what "Pieces Of" Fashion Botique and "Conspiracy Records" mean/meant?

Commenter Bill Chisolm has this to say about Eden's Foods:

Anybody old enough to remember the old Edens Food Stores in Columbia and around S.C. They sold out to Winn-Dixie around 1955. I worked for them as did my father.
Several of the old buildings are still standing, among these are the ones on Rosewood Drive, North Main Street, Devine St, Harden St. and I am sure there are others. They were the place to shop for groceries in Columbia during their hey day

Being born late in 1960, I had never heard of the place, but the city directory for 1953 does list eight locations for the store, with this building being one of them. I would say it has been remodeled several times, but it does seem about the right shape and size for an older grocery.

Apparently the company was run by a local family as the city directory also lists

J. Drake Edens President-Treasurer
Joe Edens, Executive Vice President-Assistant Treasurer
J. Drake Edens, Jr., Vice President

I wonder if there is any connection there with Edens & Avant property management?

1108 Knox Abbott Drive does not seem to exist anymore. I believe that this SCB&T at the corner of Knox Abbott and 11th Street is the successor location, but I could be a bit off on exactly where the demolished Putt-Putt center was.

The last listing for Putt-Putt Golf & Games was in the Feb 1985 phonebook, so apparently they closed down sometime in 1985, just about the time I was leaving town for my 20 or so years of sojourning elsewhere. I can vaguely recall seeing the place, but I never got around to visiting it -- In my mind, minature golf was something you did at Bell Camp or the beach, and I had enough, or more than enough, video games closer to the University or closer to home to keep me busy.

Putt-Putt had a number of locations in Columbia for years, including Percival Road, Devine Street and Saint Andews Road. Those all closed and then, some years later, one on Sparkleberry opened, but didn't last long at all.

UPDATE 7 Nov 2010 -- OK, there seems to be a general consensus that the picture above is the wrong location for the former Putt-Putt. Some say it was about where Kenny's is:

Others say as far up as Preciscion Tune:

I've written about the Steak & Ale on Forest Drive, but this one I didn't remember as a S&A at all.

It finally struck me driving by that certainly a building that looked like that couldn't have been built as an Asian buffet (is anything?) and almost had to have been a Steak & Ale. Old phonebooks more or less confirmed that (though I never found an actual street address, just verbiage like "the Saint Andrews exit off of I-26"). At the time, I wrote down the last phonebook listing the place, but have lost that note somewhere -- I'm saying it was the late 1970s. (The ad is from the 75-76 Southern Bell directory)

UPDATE 13 Oct 2010: Well, I wouldn't have thought it given that I can't personally recall the place as a S&A, but it is in the 1998 phonebook (interestingly the address is given as 109 Woodland Hills Road, the cross street), so the comments about it being open into the 2000s are probably right, and I'm updating the closing date from "1970s" to "early 2000s". Wish I could get my age wrong by 30 years..

Main Street, Columbia S.C. Showing location of ECKERD'S Modern Drug Store, Located at 1530 Main Street, Columbia, South Carolina

ECKERD'S Modern Prescription Department Employs Six Registered Druggists. 1530 Main Street, Columbia S. C. "Creators of Reasonable Drug Prices"

ECKERD'S Modern 42½ Ft. Soda Fountain. Seating Capacity of Luncheonette Dept.: 176. "Creators of Reasonable Drug Prices". 1530 Main Street, Columbia S. C.

ECKERD'S Modern Drug Store, Employs a Personnel of 42 Sales People. "Creators of Reasonable Drug Prices" 1530 Main Street Columbia, S. C.

There is no date on these postcards, but from the cars in the first shot, I'm guessing post-war, but not by much -- I'm sure a car expert (hint) could pin it down much more closely.

To the best of my memory, I never visited the downtown Eckerd's, and in fact don't recall it in operation at all. Given that, tempered with the fact that some people have mentioned from time to time in the comments that they do remember it, I'm putting the closing as probably the early or mid 1960s.

The building is certainly an imposing one, and one which does not say "drugstore" at all, with the stone facade and dramatic arches on the second and third floors. You might almost expect to see someone clutch his chest dramatically and fall over the third-floor railing as a gunshot echoes up and down the street..

And, in fact, the name plaque styles the building as the "Historic Canal Dime Savings Bank", so presumably it was built for that long vanished operation. The last postcard suggests that Eckerd's was a deep, narrow, one story operation. Does anyone know if there was another business upstairs?

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The Little Red Barn was a touristy gift shop that operated on US-17 just north of the draw-bridge in Georgetown during the late 1960s. At least that's when I'm guessing it closed -- I would have been around 9 or so years old, so the memories are pretty vague at that remove.

The place was (and is) on the route between Columbia and Pawleys Island, and was a stop we kids always wanted our parents to make, though they did so very infrequently.

Inside, the place was kind of Hammock Shop-lite, and skewed a bit more to the tacky side of roadside tourism, or at least those were the items most interesting to me. I remember bein particularly scandalized by a "belly button lint picker" joke device, and I'm sure there were some "Please Don't Pick The Daisies" type postcards.

Outside, though was the reason the place was really special to us kids: peacocks!

There was a little open shed to the left and behind the actual "red barn" building, which had a number of peacocks behind screen wire (I think that sometimes they would walk around "loose" as well). The thing about peacocks is that they don't feel like showing off very often, but when they do, it's spectacular and given that these were the only peacocks we had ever seen besides NBC, we always wanted to stop on the off chance that they felt pretty that day.

After the Red Barn closed as a gift shop, my memory is that it was vacant for a while, and then in the 1970s, it became the office building for a plant nursery which was run on the land surrounding the building. I think that lasted until quite recently, but is now closed, and the building is again unused (and starting to need a few repairs).

As for the peacocks? Well, I suspect they tasted like chicken.

UPDATE 16 June 2011: Added 14 August 2010 Photoset.

UPDATE 23 May 2012: Updated the closing date in the post title from "1960s" to "1970s" based on commenter Ali's information.

Photoset 14 August 2010.