Who the heck is Coleman?

If you want to know how to get tickets to your favorite theater show or ballet -- quick and in a hurry -- ask Coleman.

Coleman is the downtown Columbia Marriott's new cultural concierge service -- personified.

Starting June 1, the Marriott and its new ticket desk will be a one-stop destination for its guests and Columbia residents to buy tickets for events at the Colonial Center, Workshop Theatre, Nickelodeon, S. C. Philharmonic, Columbia Classical Ballet, Trustus Theatre, the Columbia Museum of Art and other venues.

Music on Main Street to feature concert at Free Times office

The Musicians & Songwriters Guild of South Carolina, Sandlapper Singers and the Nickelodeon Theatre, in cooperation with Free Times, present Double Exposure: Two Groups, One Concert, Monday April 21 from 7:00 to 8:15 p.m. at the Free Times office, 1534 Main Street, in downtown Columbia. The concert features the Sandlapper Singers and Guild musicians Chip Mosteller and the trio Lucas War Hero. Admission is free with beer, wine and soft drinks for sale. For additional information, contact the Nickelodeon Theatre at www.nickelodeon.org , Sandlapper Singers at www.sandlappersingers.org or the Guild at www.scsongwriters.com

Weather is breaking - So get outside and walk

The Downtown Walking Club: For the health and revitalization of people and their Main Street
We meet every Friday at 5:15 for an hour of walking, talking and being seen. The walk is almost always followed by an exciting cultural event, like an art opening or lecture. Meet us at Tapps in the small courtyard on Main Street, next to the gym. Wear nice clothes, comfortable shoes and a smile. Plenty of parking is available on/around Main Street and Blanding.

Capitol Places and the "Green" Machine

Brooks Garner of WIS-TV showed off Capitol Places' new Segway during the weather cast on March 25th. Capitol Places Director of Operations, Chris Chessick, uses the Segway to travel between properties and construction projects.

Downtown Retail Study Completed

STUDY HIGHLIGHTS: Click Here To View Full Study
THE ASSESSMENT
• The best locations for downtown retail are on Lady Street from Main Street to Huger Street and on Main Street from Gervais Street to Laurel Street.
• The city needs more sites suited for retail. Only 28 percent of the building spaces on Main Street house retail. On Lady Street, it’s 19 percent.
• Main Street has too many fake facades, tinted windows and unattractive signs. All turn off shoppers.
• There are too many empty lots and parking lots between buildings on Lady Street. The report called it “gap-toothed.”
• Lady Street needs more in-fill development, but it should push toward Main rather than Huger.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
• The city should provide forgivable loans and other incentives to entice retailers downtown and building owners to improve properties.
• Lady and Main streets should be better connected by streetscaping and an easier crossing at Assembly Street.
• Downtown needs more retailers that appeal to middle- and upper-income shoppers, such as bistros, delis and shops that sell prepared foods, books, stationery, apparel and home furnishings.
• The Vista should continue as an arts district.
• Downtown must attract shoppers from the suburbs until there are enough downtown residents, employees and travelers to support strong retail.

Underground Jazz Lounge Opens!!!

Jammin Jazz Cafe
Columbia's Underground Jazz Lounge
1530 D Main Street (Below Capitol Places Office)
Phone # 803.343.3300

Hours
Mon - Thursday 8am to 9pm
Friday 8am to 12am
Saturday 10am to 12am
Sunday 1pm to 9pm

New tower to open December 2009

The new Main & Gervais Office Tower is situated on one of the most prominent sites in all of downtown Columbia, the corner of Main and Gervais Streets, overlooking the South Carolina State Capital Building. As if the grounds of the capital were extended across Gervais Street, the existing public plaza along the tower’s South-facing façade has been refurbished with new landscaping and lighting, creating a park-like setting for the new building. The plaza can be enjoyed by passers-by on a daily basis and can also be the venue for more formal gatherings.

The eighteen-story, 200,000 square foot tower has been designed to respond to the prominence of its important setting. In addition to office space for several well-known members of the downtown Columbia business community, the building program includes a lobby-level branch bank, a signature restaurant with outdoor dining on the plaza, and a 540-space, six-level parking garage. The tower’s simply sculpted form, sheathed in all glass, makes a powerful statement on the city skyline that can be seen from multiple vantage points. The façade facing the Capital has been articulated with vertically-accented aluminum mullions to express both the prominence of the site and the height of the tower.

While the Gervais Street façade of the tower fronts onto the plaza and overlooks the Capital, the main lobby entrance fronts onto Main Street. This allows the building to reference both the importance of being on Main Street while addressing the Capital Building and maintaining direct access to the public plaza. The addition of a two-story tall terrace on the first office level, approximately eighty feet above the plaza, accents both the Main Street lobby entrance and the verticality of the tower. Views from the terrace across the plaza to the Capital grounds will be unparalleled in all of downtown.