1556 Main Street
McCrory's Building
This three-story building was built in 1876 during the final years of the Reconstruction period. Wright’s Hotel occupied the upper stories while a clothing store occupied its ground level. By 1904, McCrory’s variety store occupied the street level, while the Hotel Caldwell operated from the second and third stories, which by 1919, became known as the St. John’s Hotel. In December 1925, a fire damaged the building’s interior, including the St. John’s Hotel, which never reopened. The building’s original walls were retained, but the interior was completely remodeled by Rutherford-Innes Construction Company. When the building reopened in late 1926, McCrory’s occupied all three levels.
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McCrory's, circa 1895. Image courtesy South Carolina State Museum
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Civil Rights protestors gather in front on McCrory's five and dime on March 3, 1960. Image courtesy The State newspaper collection, Richland Library
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McCrory's post-renovation (left), 1978. Image courtesy Russell Maxey collection, Richland Library
Between late 1951 the spring of 1952, local architect Heyward S. Singley radically transformed the building’s original French Victorian style exterior to reflect the International Style. Alterations involved removing 19th-century details, enclosing upper-story windows, covering the walls with a modern brick veneer, and adding modern signage. In 2012, the building was rehabilitated again. Alterations to Singley’s mid-century design included adding horizontal banding of corrugated metal between the second and third floor windows.