Canopies’ removal sheds light on Broadway

As hoards of students swarmed back to downtown Columbia in August, they might have noticed some stark changes, especially on Broadway. In the wake of recent construction removing the decades-old concrete canopies that overshadowed the stores, sunlight now strikes the street.

While members of the Columbia Special Business District seek to gain historical status for the buildings in the area, some store owners said they were simply glad to see the light.

“I feel like people are seeing the new sign a lot more, and we’re seeing more business,” said Sabrina Braden, owner of Maude Vintage, 818 E. Broadway.

Braden has owned Maude Vintage clothing store for years, spending the last six-and-a-half on Broadway. In the last year-and-a-half, Maude Vintage moved from being a basement store to ground level.

Evidence of the recent demolition still surrounds the store. Its canopy was removed in mid-July. The sidewalk shows signs of the demolished canopy pillars, and plywood boards currently cover the façade with “Maude V” in plastic blue letters. But Braden said she appreciates the added visibility of the sign, which was put up on Aug. 17. Before that, she said there was nothing to identify her store.

“I think we’ll be able to increase our visibility,” Braden said. “They’re going to redo the façade, and we’re going to get more windows.”

Before the canopy’s removal, Maude Vintage only had a double-sided light box sign hanging underneath the canopy. While some people were intimidated by construction during the summer months, Braden said she expects the store to benefit more from the increased visibility than its pending historical status.

“Right now it does not have historical status,” Braden said. “Its being historical technically shouldn’t affect it one way or the other; the change to the front of the building will.”

According to Deb Sheals, an historic preservation consultant, the Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation approved the application for historical status on Aug. 11. The application has been forwarded to Washington, D.C., for final approval.

Sheals said that 102 “resources” would fall within the historic district: 101 buildings as well as the downtown columns. Twenty-one of these buildings already possessed historic status, while 19 would be considered “non-contributing buildings,” non-historic but still within the historic district. Sixty-two buildings would receive historic status as a result of the current application.

“There are a couple different benefits,” said Carrie Gartner, director of Columbia Special Business District. “Tax credits for the owners, first of all. The other thing is it’s a really smart way to honor Columbia’s heritage.”

Sheals was quick to discuss details of downtown’s heritage, adding that Columbia has actually had four City Hall buildings, two of which are now used for commercial purposes.

“We’re pretty lucky to have a downtown as vibrant as it is,” Sheals said. “Here, we’ve had all kinds of change and all kinds of vitality, but we’ve still kept all our buildings intact and historic.”

Both Sheals and Gartner said the canopy removal went smoothly and that, despite a deadline of Aug. 15, the entire canopy was down before August. The final cost was also less than the estimated $150,000, they said, and more people seem to be circulating through Broadway.

“I went out there when it was coming down, and business owners were saying, ‘Wow, you can see my store, you can see my sign,’” Gartner said.