2428 Main Street

Columbia, South Carolina

From 1938 until approximately 1948, 2428 Main Street housed the American News Company, a national wholesaler and distributor of books, magazines, and comic books. The building then housed Palmetto Insulation until 1968, after which time Wilson Upholstery operated as an automotive upholstery company for 45 years.  The 3,500 SF brick structure then sat vacant for several years before Studio 2LR purchased the building and converted the historic structure into their architectural and interior design studio.

Many of the building’s original architectural features were kept and restored. Original steel windows were abated, refurbished, and re-glazed, while existing painted signage from the former Wilson Upholstery was preserved on the exterior of the building. New roof membrane and rigid insulation was installed over the existing roof deck to allow the original wood structure to remain exposed on the interior. Existing brick walls and concrete flooring with oil stains and ghosted grid lines from the previous tile laminate flooring were kept visible, while the entry lobby features a re-purposed car seat to evoke the building’s former automotive upholstery identity.

As a means to control the impact of storm water on the site, Studio 2LR collaborated with a local artist (Clark Ellefson with Lewis + Clark) and fabricator (Chris Stuyck with Stuyck Co.) to create a functional art installation. Two large propane tanks were re-purposed into large Robot Cisterns to collect rainwater from the roof gutter system.

Learn more about the Robot Cisterns functional art installation on our #robotcisterns page.

PROJECT COMPLETION

2017

AWARDS

2018 Adaptive Use Award | Historic Columbia

PHOTOGRAPHY

Kickstand Studio

PRIOR TO RENOVATIONS

SIMILAR PROJECTS