South Carolina Department of Archives and History
National Register Properties in South Carolina

Efrid's Department Store, Richland County (1601 Main St., Columbia)
S1081774015401 S1081774015402 S1081774015403 S1081774015404 S1081774015405
Facade Left Oblique "Efrid's" Entablature
Facade
Main Entrance Main Entrance
Detail
S1081774015406 S1081774015407 S1081774015408 S1081774015409 S1081774015410
Main Entrance
Detail
Left Elevation Left Elevation
Awning Detail
Right Rear
Oblique
Right Rear
Elevation
Entrance

The Efird’s Department Store building is locally significant in the area of commerce. Between 1919 and 1958, Efird’s Department Store was one of the most significant stores in downtown Columbia, notable for its introduction of the one-price cash store concept to the city. As one of the earliest and most successful department stores on Main Street, Efird’s set the tone for the downtown shopping experience that generations of Columbia shoppers experienced from the early to mid-twentieth century. Only four years after the Efird’s Company arrived in Columbia in 1915 it undertook a comprehensive rehabilitation of the ca. 1870 building in which it had established its store. The 1919 project resulted in both structural and aesthetic changes including the addition of a third story and the installation of a new brick façade and store entrances. The building survives as a significant example of early twentieth century commercial architecture in downtown Columbia. Efird’s began in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1907 when Hugh Efird purchased the Charlotte Mercantile Company, a dry goods store commonly known as the Bee Hive. Shortly after Hugh convinced his brother Joseph to work for him, the two Efirds and a third brother Edmund Lilly bought a controlling interest in the company, renaming it the Efird Department Store to reflect their ownership. Expansion throughout both Carolinas soon followed, making Efird’s one of the largest department stores in the United States during the early twentieth century. Additional stores in Virginia eventually brought the company’s total number of stores to more than 50. Listed in the National Register October 9, 2012.

View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property.

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.

Images and texts on these pages are intended for research or educational use. Please read our statement on use and reproduction for further information on how to obtain a photocopy or how to cite an item.


Images provided by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.