Garvin Design Group

City Market Antique Mall consists of three of the oldest surviving buildings in downtown Columbia (705, 707, and 711 Gervais St), ranging in age from the 1860s to the early 1900s. The overall site is subdivided by railroad lines that are no longer in use, which fed both sides of each building. Large bay doors and platforms facilitated loading and unloading of the rail cars for predominantly storage and warehouse uses. The single story buildings were constructed with heavy timber trusses that span the entire width and are supported by exterior brick masonry walls.

705 Gervais has a unique orientation, angled to parallel the railroad tracks. It is the oldest of the 3 buildings, the only building of this orientation, and the last vestige of the influence of the railroads on building shapes in the Vista. With the exception of later additions, 705 Gervais has retained its original form, profile, and structural configuration since it was constructed in the 1860s.

The other buildings that make up City Market have a more capricious history. 707 Gervais appears on historical maps as early as 1872 and mimics the proportions, scale, and detailing of 705 Gervais very closely. Over time, however, the façade was altered and added onto, eventually overtaking the adjacent railroad easement by combining façades with 711 Gervais in the 1960s. The resulting street frontage took on the aesthetic of 711 Gervais with its brick pier and lintel expression, which remained into the 21st century.

The goal of the adaptive use project was to return the existing buildings to their original industrial form, while capitalizing on the opportunities these forms afford to mixed use commercial and residential uses. This began with reopening the infilled railroad between 707 and 711 Gervais and creating a public alley to provide access and daylight to both buildings. Each façade was reconstructed using existing brick and returned to its original form using historical photographs. Window and bay door openings that had been bricked in were reopened to recall the original form, and window details were designed to match an original window that was discovered in an existing wall. Asphalt shingle roofing was replaced with historically appropriate standing seam metal.

Finally, the unique angle of 705 Gervais lent itself to creating an interior courtyard between 705 and 707 Gervais. The remaining railroad easement allows thru traffic between blocks and limited onsite parking, but the angle of 705 Gervais helps to facilitate a pedestrian-friendly environment. Brick site pavers, narrow drive aisles, and low brick seat walls reinforce the pedestrian-first, car-second philosophy within the site. Meanwhile, repurposed railroad tracks highlight the rail corridors that once ran parallel to 707 Gervais and help to envision the freight activity these buildings once experienced.