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Main Street looking south from Hampton Avenue, Columbia, SC, 1909

Subjects
Streetcars & TrolleysStreet ScenesTown & City Views
Card type
Printed photo
Date
c. 1909 (Golden Age)
Front of Main Street looking south from Hampton Avenue, Columbia, SC, 1909, c. 1909 printed photo postcard
Front
Back of Main Street looking south from Hampton Avenue, Columbia, SC, 1909, c. 1909 printed photo postcard
Back

About this postcard

Looking south down Main Street from Hampton Avenue, a Columbia Street Railway trolley runs on its tracks among horse-drawn wagons and pedestrians along the shop-lined sidewalks. A tall red-brick office block rises on the left, and a domed building closes the vista at the end of the street. Signs for opticians and a "Nothing over 10 cts." counter appear at the edges of the picture. Main Street was the commercial spine of South Carolina's capital in the early 1900s, when electric streetcars, awnings, and telegraph poles lined the thoroughfare and the city's cotton trade and state government kept the sidewalks busy.

Postcard Details

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PublisherA. C. Bosselman & Co.
8627 MAIN ST. LOOKING SOUTH FROM HAMPTON AVE, COLUMBIA, S. C. --- Post Card COLUMBIA, S. C. MAIN STREET LOOKING SOUTH FROM HAMPTON AVE. The view shows only part of Main Street, the principal business thoroughfare of the city, the business district extending from the Capitol to the Post Office, and about three blocks beyond. The principal hotels, banks, office buildings and retail stores are situated in this district. The tall building is that of the National Loan and Exchange Bank, known as the Skyscraper, which is twelve stories high, and costs $325,000. Made in Germany. A. C. Bosselman & Co., New York.
PostmarkedColumbia, November 21, 1909, 17:00
Stamp
Addressed to
Miss Charlotte Bassett

Highlands Amesbury, MA

Postcard record

Postmarked, Columbia
PublisherA. C. Bosselman & Co.
Series8627
ConditionFair
Place addressedMiss Charlotte Bassett, Highlands, Amesbury, MA
Place depictedMain Street, Columbia, SC
PublisherA. C. Bosselman & Co., New York, NY
Stamp1c Benjamin Franklin, green, issued 1902, perforated vertical sides only
Stamp1c Benjamin Franklin, green, perforated on all sides
NotesThin white border; ink smudge/stain in the sky area; lower-right corner chipped away. Postmark: COLUMBIA NOV 21 5-PM 1909. Divided-back lithograph printed in Germany (A. C. Bosselman & Co., New York), with a printed description of the view on the back; 1¢ green Franklin stamp; light corner/edge wear and slight toning.

Cite this card

Main Street looking south from Hampton Avenue, Columbia, SC, 1909, postcard, c. 1909. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/main-street-looking-south-from-hampton-avenue-columbia-sc-19. Accessed November 2, 2026.