South Carolina Department of Archives and History
National Register Properties in South Carolina

Lever Building, Richland County (1613 Main St., Columbia)
S1081774004501 S1081774004502
Facade Entablature
Detail

Built ca. 1903 by the contractor C. M. Lide, Jr., the Lever Building is a three-story structure with a façade of brown brick and terra cotta and an elaborate entablature and balustrade. The decorative details of the building are in the Classical Revival mode. Walter D. Lever, the original owner, was a successful Columbia merchant known as “Lever-the-Shoe-Man.” In the 1920s the building was used by Draughon’s Practical Business College, a Nashville based business school with thirty locations in the Southeast. Although the first floor storefront has been altered, cast iron pilasters on far sides of building and denticulated cornice extending the width of the building survive. The windows on the far left and right of the second story are enframed by a brick Gibbs surround. The third story’s center two windows have round-headed brick arches with terra cotta pilaster capitals serving as imposts of the arches. Above the cornice is a balustrade flanked by rectangular brick sections with recessed panels. In the terra cotta frieze the word Lever is flanked by swags and torches. Listed in the National Register March 2, 1979.

View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property. In addition, the Historic Resources of Columbia includes historical background information for this and other related National Register properties.

Most National Register properties are privately owned and are not open to the public. The privacy of owners should be respected. Not all properties retain the same integrity as when originally documented and listed in the National Register due to changes and modifications over time.

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