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The Arcade
The large building at the bottom is the current library. Directly above it in white is the old Arcade. Charleston has always been a working mans town. Unlike say... Marietta Ohio, who's beautiful town has largely remained unchanged for 150 years, most buildings here were erected without flourish due to the lack of space, and the need to get into business quickly in order to capture the booming economy of the day. We have very few buildings that are "architecturally important". The Arcade was one of those buildings. Built in 1895 using cast iron for much of the construction, especially the glass roof supports which allowed natural light to filter through, the Arcade had balconies on both sides of the two story atrium. The walk-through ran from Virginia Street to the library. You can just see the entrance in the photo above. Businesses lined both sides of the atrium on two floors. While not what you might call a "grandiose" building, it was never the less an important landmark in downtown Charleston. Without much thought, the building was torn down, and like the few important landmarks we had, it became just another cold parking building. Charleston has never really known what it wants to be.....
Bottom floor
Top floor These two interior shots of the Arcade are to my knowledge the only in existence. It's funny how a million people over the years can walk through, and do business in such a place without photos taken left and right. I KNOW there must be some interior photos out there somewhere, but for now, these turn of the century photos are all we have.
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