A new mural honors Columbia’s historic Black Business District

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The mural was funded by CRG, the developer of The Standard, and was facilitated by One Columbia for Arts and Culture.

This piece of public art honors the history of the area it inhabits, which was once known as Columbia’s “Black Business District” or "Black Main Street" — the stretch spanning blocks 1000 to 1100 along Washington Street from Assembly to Park streets. The district once featured hundreds of Black-owned businesses that supplied goods and services to the community from the early-20th century until the 1970s. The progression of time, along with destructive fires and integration, impacted the majority of these businesses, causing many of them to either relocate or cease operations in the present era.

The mural’s concept features organic colorful shapes and features illustrated facades of buildings located within the historic Black Business District. The artist, Sharon Dowell, worked with staff at Richland Library's Walker Local & Family History Center to utilize the local history collection for reference images of buildings in this historic district depicted in the mural including:

• Angeline’s Beauty Supply, 1401 Assembly Street. Built in 1915, over the years this location housed Regal Drug Store, co-owned by Black leaders like C. A. Johnson, and later white-owned businesses like Hiller Hardware. Angeline’s Beauty Supply acquired the building in 1981, moving from its original location at 1125 Washington Street. Angeline’s was the longest-running Black-owned business in the area until the structure was demolished in 2018, for the development of student housing that displays this work.

• Capitol Theater, 1017 Washington Street. Originally the Lincoln Theater, it transformed into the Capitol in 1929. Operating until 1964, it screened movies for Black audiences, held boxing matches, political gatherings, and community events. Later as Cine-Art, it featured adult and foreign films, targeting college-goers. The structure is no longer standing.

   

• Do Drop Inn, 1015 Washington Street. Established in 1930 as the first automobile body repair business in Columbia, the Do Drop Inn Restaurant located in this building from 1955 to 1973. The structure is no longer standing. 

• Big Apple Night Club, 1318 Park Street. A former synagogue built in 1915, the Big Apple Club operated through the 1930s where the stained glass windows could be seen covered with beer signs when inside the club. The Big Apple dance was created here, which went on to sweep the nation. The building was restored and moved to 1000 Hampton Street in 1984. 

• Commercial Strip, 1030 Washington Street. This strip featured Black-operated hotels, salons, eateries, and more. Constructed in 1919, later additions to the structure housed Red's Pool Hall, V. Robinson Jr.'s Barber Shop, Jack's Lunch, Koon's Tea Room,  and the Blue Ribbon Taxi call stand. This structure was demolished in the late 1970s.

• Victory Savings Bank, 919 Washington Street. Opened in 1921, Victory Savings Bank was the first Black-owned bank in South Carolina. Operating from 1921 to 1999, Dr. Henry Monteith was the president of the institution for many years. The structure still stands today. 

• Counts Drug Store, 1105 Washington Street. Owned by Dr. Durham Counts, this establishment operated from 1933 to 1972. In local newspaper archives the store can be advertised as a place to purchase tickets for Benedict College football games. This structure was demolished in 1980.

   

• New Phoenix Café, 1101 Washington Street. Initially, a grocery store when it was built in 1909. The New Phoenix Café operated here since 1955, having moved from past locations at 1109 and 1115 Washington, until its demolition in 1980.

   

• North Carolina Mutual Building, 1001 Washington Street. Constructed in 1909 by one of the first companies to offer life insurance to Black clients, the building was two stories featuring two large storefronts on the ground floor and nine office spaces upstairs. Tenants in storefronts included Blue Palace Tea Shoppee and J.B. Lewie’s Regalia Shop. The structure still stands today.

Want to check the new mural out? Come visit our new outdoor space, the Garden Plaza, between Richland Library Main and The Standard. Located outside our Garden Level entrance, this new greenspace is designed for library customer use and future programming!