Celebrating 50 Years: Awards, Advocacy, & Advancement in Historic Preservation
Friday, May 8th 2026
Above: The Arcade Mall was one of the inaugural Preservation Award winners in 1976. Photo courtesy Russell Maxey Photograph Collection, Richland Library
Historic preservation in Columbia did not happen by accident. It required leadership, intervention, and a sustained commitment to seeing value where others did not. Since 1976, Historic Columbia has served as a driving force behind that work—not only recognizing preservation success, but actively shaping the environment in which it could take place.
Through its Preservation Awards program, Historic Columbia has consistently elevated projects that demonstrate what is possible when historic buildings are reinvested in rather than replaced. More importantly, the organization has helped create the conditions for those projects to succeed by advocating for threatened places, connecting partners, and advancing the tools that make preservation viable. The result is not a series of isolated wins, but a fifty-year pattern of impact that has fundamentally reshaped Columbia’s built environment. We challenge you to envision your community without these successes:
A Timeline of Impact
1976 - Historic Columbia issues 29 preservation awards during its inaugural program. Among the recipients is the ca.-1912 Arcade Mall and the ca.-1870 Sylvan Building.
1980 - The iconic, ca.-1913 Palmetto Building is threatened by plans to construct SCANA’s headquarters. Its preservation marks a turning point, demonstrating that historic structures can remain viable within a growing downtown. The Gothic Revival skyscraper later receives Preservation Awards in 1984 and 2010.
1984 - Union Station is rehabilitated and reopens as California Dreaming restaurant, showing how historic infrastructural landmarks can be successfully adapted for modern use.
1988 - The South Carolina State Museum debuts in the rehabilitated Mount Vernon Mill, a large-scale adaptive reuse project that reshapes expectations for industrial preservation.
1944 - The ca.-1904 Seaboard Air Line Passenger Depot is transformed into the Blue Marlin restaurant, reinforcing the role of preservation in economic development and placemaking.
2006 - The ca.-1911 Black House / Cain-Matthews-Tompkins House and the ca.-1918 Kirkland Apartments receive preservation awards for restoration and new construction in an historic context as part of the Inn at USC, which initially called for their demolition.
2011 - The Rosenwald-era Pine Grove School receives its second Preservation Award, recognizing nearly a decade of sustained preservation effort and community commitment.
2017 - One century after its original construction, the Palmetto Compress Warehouse is adaptively reused as apartments, bringing new residential life to a historic industrial site.
2018 - Hunter-Gatherer Brewery at the Curtiss-Wright Hangar debuts in an award-winning, rehabilitated ca.-1929 aviation facility.
2020 - Ebenezer Lutheran Church receives a restoration award after installing historically accurate cupolas on its ca.-1870 chapel.
2026 - Central Fire Station, built in 1949 and 1951, debuts as The Lantern Hotel, following an award-winning comprehensive rehabilitation.
These projects span decades, building types, and uses, but they share a common thread: each reflects a moment when preservation succeeded because someone made the case, built the support, and saw the potential. Historic Columbia has played various roles in making those moments possible.
Advocacy in Action
While the Preservation Awards highlight visible successes, Historic Columbia’s broader impact lies in the work that makes those successes possible. For five decades, the organization has operated as a connector, advocate, and catalyst—roles that continue to shape preservation outcomes across the city.
As a Connector
Historic Columbia brings together property owners, developers, public agencies, and funding sources to move preservation projects forward. By providing historical research, technical expertise, and practical guidance, the organization helps bridge the gap between vision and execution. This work ensures that preservation is not just an ideal, but a feasible and informed path for those undertaking complex rehabilitation projects. In 2004, staff intervened to save more than 2,000 photographic negatives taken by photographer John Hensel, preserving a visual record of Columbia between 1949 and 1951. These images later informed National Register listings and supported tax credit–funded rehabilitation projects in Five Points, Main Street, and the Congaree Vista, among other districts. Often, the economic impact of these contributions is understated or unacknowledged.
As an Advocate
At critical moments, Historic Columbia steps in to protect historic resources that might otherwise be lost. Following the 2004 announcement of the future liquidation of the State Department of Mental Health’s main facility, Historic Columbia staff conducted survey of the Bull Street campus to advocate for the retention of historic assets. This work helped ensure that significant historic assets were retained and ultimately rehabilitated, contributing to the area’s transformation into a vibrant mixed-use district. Award-winning properties in this district include The Bakery, Babcock Building, and The Laundry.
As a Catalyst
Historic Columbia has also played a central role in establishing the framework that enables preservation at scale. Between 2014 and 2016, staff successfully listed multiple districts in the National Register of Historic Places, including the Columbia Commercial Historic District [Main Street], the Alta Vista-Camp Fornance-Newman Park [Earlewood], and Fairview-Melrose Heights-Oaklawn neighborhoods. These designations expanded access to financial incentives such as historic tax credits and grants, laying the groundwork for widespread reinvestment. The success of projects such as Hotel Trundle, Mast General Store, and numerous Main Street rehabilitations reflects the long-term impact of this strategic work.
Looking Back
In 1977, Walter Edgar, then president of the Historic Columbia Board of Trustees, acknowledged,
“Preservation is more than just the three houses [under HC’s care] …we must work to stabilize the entire city of Columbia…[and] look to preservation in its broader context to keep the area viable...”
These remarks came as preservationists grappled with the losses incurred following a large-scale urban renewal project that saw 30% of Columbia’s “inherited built environment” demolished between 1966 and 1974. Then as now, Historic Columbia’s staff, board, and supporters understood that each razed property represented more than the loss of a structure. It was a broken link in understanding our earlier selves and the evolution of our community. In many cases, buildings constructed in the wake of that destruction are now being recognized in the National Register of Historic Places, beginning their own paths toward rehabilitation. Preservation is not fixed in time. It evolves, just as the city does. That reality makes Historic Columbia’s work no less urgent today than it was 50 years ago.
...and Moving Forward
As Historic Columbia charts its course through the 50 Forward initiative, the focus is not only on what has been saved, but on what remains at risk. Several challenges threaten the long-term viability of Columbia’s historic built environment across commercial, residential, and industrial contexts:
There is still a lack of broad understanding and support for district-level protections in key historic neighborhoods, including the Devine Street corridor in Shandon, the Mill District, Hollywood-Rose Hill, and Lower Waverly. Without these tools, the character and integrity of these areas remain vulnerable to incremental loss.
At the same time, significant historic structures continue to deteriorate. Buildings such as the ca.-1942 Carver Theatre and the ca.-1949 Christine Apartments face uncertain futures without sustained attention, investment, and advocacy. These are not abstract concerns—they are immediate and visible reminders of what can be lost when preservation is not actively prioritized.
Even buildings once considered too new to matter are now entering a critical phase. Modernist structures like the Main Post Office and the Russell Building present complex questions about value, use, and long-term stewardship. Their futures will depend on whether preservation tools, public understanding, and financial incentives evolve to meet them.
The lesson of the past half century is clear: preservation does not happen on its own. It depends on sustained effort, informed decision-making, and a willingness to act before loss becomes inevitable. In the coming months, Historic Columbia will unveil our new strategic plan, which addresses these issues as opportunities, not obstacles. This work will require the same kind of leadership that has defined Historic Columbia’s work for the past 50 years—bringing partners together, advocating at pivotal moments, and ensuring that preservation remains a viable and forward-looking strategy. As Historic Columbia works to refine its efforts—taking stock of what has been accomplished, acknowledging shortcomings and missed moments, and honing our resources—we hope current and future partners remain committed to advancing this work with us.
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Columbia’s California Dreaming restaurant has remained in operation for more than 40 years following Union Station’s rehabilitation in 1983. Photo courtesy Russell Maxey Photograph Collection, Richland Library
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Threats to the future of the Kirkland Apartments in 2002 created a firestorm of public protest, ensuring this ca.-1920s landmark building could be integrated into a revised plan for the Inn at USC. Photo courtesy Russell Maxey Photograph Collection, Richland Library
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Michael Bedenbaugh, former Director of the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation, and Preservation Leadership Award recipients Rosie McFarland Craig and Richard Burts, pictured in 2015, prove places and people matter in preservation. Photo courtesy Historic Columbia archive
Celebrating 50 Years of Preservation Awards
50 Forward Preservation Awards Gala
Celebrate five decades of preservation awards at a gala like no other! Join Historic Columbia on May 14 for an evening that honors where we have been and boldly toasts the future of Columbia’s built environment alongside the people who bring preservation to life.