1214-1220 Taylor Street
2026 Palladium Tour | Life on Main Street
1214-1220 Taylor Street
In 1912, prolific builders Black and Coulter purchased the two-story, wood-frame residence located at 1220 Taylor Street. The company was one of several developers that saw the immediate block off of Main Street as the next phase of business real estate. In 1915, both of buildings seen today were announced as “almost complete” and ready for lease; however, each sat vacant initially. In 1916, Pay-U Grocery Company opened in 1216 Taylor, with W. D. Caughman’s meat market next door in 1218 Taylor.
A series of grocery stores operated out of the storefront at 1216 Taylor until 1946, when Hillman’s Sporting Goods opened. Within a decade it had remodeled to become “one of the largest sporting good and toy centers in the state.” In 1970, Snipe’s Toys and Hobbies opened. Similarly, the storefront at 1218 Taylor operated as a variety of businesses, including a bakery. When the current owners used historic tax credits to rehabilitate the property, a lack of photographic evidence prior to the 1940s determined that the period the facade should reflect would be when the two buildings operated as Hillman’s and Quality Bakery.
Of note is the initial use of 1218 1/2 Taylor Street as a rental apartment. From at least 1916 until 1918, it was let to Mrs. Essie D. Smoak of Orangeburg. Since 1914, Smoak, who was separated, was a party to a legal battle involving her three young children that reached the state supreme court. Even following her husband’s death in 1918, Essie never received, or perhaps sought, custody; all three children grew up in her parents’ household in Orangeburg. Essie remarried by 1920 to George H. Aull and helped raise his daughter instead. The apartment was later rented to widow Lillie Amos before housing a series of businesses. In 2005, when the building was renovated, all original fixtures were unfortunately removed.
Second-floor rehabilitation work done by Rogers Lewis Group, LTC Architects, and Pyramid Construction, under the ownership of GSM Taylor, LLC, resulted in Historic Stays of Columbia–luxury one-bedroom short-term rental units with private rooftop patios. This rehabilitation earned the building a 2024 Preservation Award. Visit the award webpage to learn more about this renovation and see before-and-after image sliders.
