1545 Main Street
Bank of Columbia Building/Mangel’s Women’s Store
Beneath these 1980s-era murals stands what was once one of Main Street’s more architecturally important structures. Erected sometime between 1865 and 1872, the then-two-story building housed during its earlier years a confectionery and hardware, paint and clothing stores. Between 1898 and 1904, the building received a major remodeling in the Second Renaissance Revival style for use by the Bank of Columbia. By 1923, the property was home to Mangel’s New York Waist House, an upscale women’s fashion chain store that remained in operation until 1981. Today, the building is devoid of any of those character-defining details and is used by the Columbia City Ballet.
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Colorized postcard of Bank of Columbia building, circa 1915. Historic Columbia collection
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Like other buildings along Main Street, Mangel's featured an updated storefront and slipcover facade that obscured the structure's original architectural details, as is evident in this picture from 1978. Image courtesy Russell Maxey collection, Richland Library
