Main Street looking south from Hampton Avenue, Columbia, South Carolina, circa 1910

About this postcard

Street-level view down Main Street from Hampton Avenue, with a Columbia Street Railway trolley on the tracks, 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. Main Street was the commercial spine of South Carolina's capital in the early 20th century, when electric streetcars, awnings and telegraph poles lined the thoroughfare. Store signs for opticians and a "Nothing over 10 cts." counter are visible at the edges of the picture.