There’s An Abandoned Mall Hiding Underneath This South Carolina City

Hidden under Main Street in South Carolina's capital city is an abandoned underground world just waiting to come alive (again). Constructed around the turn of the 20th century, the Equitable Arcade Building at 1332 Main Street in Columbia has a secret basement many people don't know about. This underground mall in Columbia, SC has a fascinating history, not to mention some interesting photos, too. As far as an abandoned place in Columbia, S.C. goes, this one might be the coolest of them all.

In 1912, the Equitable Real Estate Company built the indoor mall for a reported 200,000 dollars.

It has two floors, plus a basement. Today, the upper two floors are occupied by an array of local art studios, shops, hair salons, and offices, according to the Arcade Building Facebook page.

In the '70s, the Arcade Mall housed a subterranean playground for adults and featured nightclubs, bars, and restaurants.

But after the underground Columbia, S.C. spot was abandoned, the basement in this building has been kept under lock and key, uninhabited by any business since the 1970s. The stairs are closed off to pedestrian traffic, available only to those with a key.

Today, the abandoned underground mall sits empty with signs of the good times slowly fading away.

The historic building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. However, the ">

_blank">nomination form strangely makes no mention of the basement of the building. Only the two floors above ground are mentioned (and only briefly) in the application.

Columbia's News 19 WLTX recently toured the abandoned underground space.

You can watch their report and check out more images of this abandoned underground mall in S.C. in the video below from News 19 WLTX's YouTube account.

Are you a member of the generation that got to see Columbia's underground playground? What was it like? What do you think about this abandoned place in Columbia, S.C.? We'd love to hear your memories and thoughts on how to get this amazing piece of history reopened. There is mention on the internet that there may have been an effort years back to begin restoring it, but nothing seems to have come of that if it even was true!

If you want to keep enjoying abandoned history in South Carolina, we've got another one for you! This abandoned South Carolina neighborhood is still a mystery to many.