2024 Preservation Awards | Eurytania & Brown Buildings
Thursday, May 16th 2024
WINNER | Preservation, Rehabilitation, or Restoration (commercial, institutional, rental, or municipal)
Eurytania & Brown Buildings | 1728-1730 Main Street
GMS Revive Tenant, LLC — Property Owner
Mashburn Construction Company — Contractor
Lambert Architecture + Construction Services — Architect & Preservation Consultant
For years as other historic buildings along Main Street benefited from sensitive rehabilitation, the ca.-1901 Brown and ca.-1938 Eurytania buildings stood poised for reinvestment. Under the ownership of the Middleton family, the buildings recently underwent an extensive, historically sensitive revitalization. Directed by architect Scott Lambert, Mashburn Construction restored the Eurytania Building’s existing wood windows and returned the storefront to its original configuration with period-correct wood details, while on the Brown Building, Mashburn contractors restored cast iron columns, repaired extant portions of the building’s wood and cast cornice, and recreated an historically inspired new wood storefront based on archival images.
Inside the Brown Building, the installation of glass floors retained the feel of an historic interior courtyard while creating usable space for apartments. Hex-tile floors in the front portion of the building were retained and historic wood flooring on the second floor was either preserved or salvaged for use elsewhere in the property.
Today, the Eurytania and Brown buildings illustrate how previously vacant or outdated office space with historic relevance and material can be successfully adapted by following preservation techniques sensitive to preserving character-defining elements.
Before & After
Before image courtesy Lambert Architecture + Construction Services. After image courtesy Joshua Aaron Photography.
Hallway
Before image courtesy Lambert Architecture + Construction Services. After image courtesy Joshua Aaron Photography.
Explore the
Economic Impact Study
This study's findings reinforce our long-held position on the importance of historic preservation for the city's economy and support our work advocating for policies that encourage preservation and the reuse of historic buildings. Columbia’s architectural heritage is not simply an exercise in nostalgia; it is an informed, strategic investment in the future.