| South Carolina Department of Archives and History |
| National Register Properties in South Carolina West Gervais Street Historic District, Richland County (Columbia) |
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The West Gervais Street Historic District, located along sections of West Gervais Street, Park Street, Lady Street, Lincoln Street, and Gadsden Street, is a collection of fifty-seven commercial, warehouse, and light industrial properties which represents the largest intact group of older business property within South Carolina’s capital city. The forty-one contributing properties in the district date from ca. 1846 to the 1930s. The number of properties within the district that retain their individual historic or architectural integrity imbues the district itself with an unusually strong integrity of setting and character. The buildings are of small scale, one to three stories, with all facades subdivided by stories and bays. They are uniformly of brick construction. The beginnings of development in the area came with the evolution of Gervais Street into the city’s principal western artery following the 1827 construction of the Congaree River Bridge and establishment ca. 1846 of the South Carolina Railroad Depot. Subsequent rail lines also centered on Gervais Street until the construction ca. 1902 of Union Station making Gervais Street the state’s chief rail transportation nexus. The area also contained the city’s gas works built ca. 1869, the first electric light plant built ca. 1891, and the street railway company barn built ca. 1886. The eighteen buildings constructed between 1900 and 1915 visually reflect the district’s part in Columbia’s growth as a major center for transportation and trade during that period. Listed in the National Register April 27, 1983.
View a map showing the boundaries of the West Gervais Street Historic District.
View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property. In addition, the Historic Resources of Columbia includes historical background information for this and other related National Register properties.
Most National Register properties are privately owned and are not open to the public. The privacy of owners should be respected. Not all properties retain the same integrity as when originally documented and listed in the National Register due to changes and modifications over time.
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