Building at 1644 Main Street
National Register Listing
Street Address:
1644 Main St., Columbia, SC (Richland County)
Alternate Name:
Tapp's Department Store
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817740050
Description and Narrative:
(Tapp’s Department Store) Tapp’s represents one of Columbia’s most significant large-scale private building projects from the Depression era that remains relatively unaltered. The white stucco and dark tremolite stone facade is characteristic of the most up-to-date modern style in 1940, the building’s date of construction. The building has little ornamentation except vertical bands of windows, a clock face and a sign with a large freestanding letters. Added onto about 1950, the additional two floors are also of white stucco over concrete. As the only example of “Depression Modern” on Main Street, the building contributes to the continuum of architectural styles on the street. The central section originally extended higher than the two flanking sections; with the ca. 1950 additions, however, the roofline was made uniform. The original roofline is still discernible in stucco. E. Paul Behles of New York City designed the interior and acted as consulting architect to Lafaye, Lafaye, and Fair of Columbia for the design of the exterior. Listed in the National Register March 2, 1979.
Period of Significance:
circa 1950;1940
Level of Significance:
State
Area of Significance:
Commerce
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
March 2 1979
