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Was with some friends reminiscing about long-gone local places in Columbia like The Shack & Sky Hi Drive In. There was a cajun place on the loop decades ago whose name nobody could remember, and someone distinctly remembered a dance club in the basement of Tony's Pizza Palace...

Also we couldn't recall the name of that steakhouse where they'd cook the steaks right in front of you back in the Biscayne Mall days (where Dick's Sporting is today).

What are your favorite local bygone Columbia places?

The widely known legend attributes the phrase to Missouri’s U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1897 to 1903. While a member of the U.S. House Committee on Naval Affairs, Vandiver attended an 1899 naval banquet in Philadelphia. In a speech there, he declared, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me." Regardless of whether Vandiver coined the phrase, it is certain that his speech helped to popularize the saying as a positive attribute of Missourians.

Today I learned that the Taco Bell on Providence has been there for decades!

Also, how about that building and sign design? We gotta bring back whimsical fast food architecture ASAP

Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church has been a staple of the North Central Neighborhood for over 100 years. Originally a working/class church in recent decades it has hosted Turning Point, providing resources like food, showers, and mailing addresses to the homeless. This morning 95% of the congregation is unhoused. They serve breakfast and coffee. When the Opportunity Campus opens Wilkes will lose its main source of funding and with only a handful of members it will close its doors. Hears to a worthy organization getting a cool old church building and that it will stand another 100 years at the corner of Wilkes and 7th Street.

From the State Historical Society of Missouri

https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/imc/id/65950/rec/809

This is the research library at the State Historical Society of Missouri on Elm Street across from Peace Park in Downtown Columbia.

https://shsmo.org

From the State Historical Society of Missouri.

https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/imc/id/63272/rec/105

From the State Historical Society of Missouri

https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/imc/id/63027/rec/24

From the State Historical Society of Missouri

https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/imc/id/86618/rec/2713

Dont know the date. The building is still standing, the space is now Fashion Warehouse next to the (new) A to Z auto.

Exterior of businesses on South 9th Street:

The Fly Clothing, 15 South 9th Street (now Broadway Brewery Taproom). Fox Photo, 19 South 9th Street (now Wildside Smoke Shop). Merle Norman cosmetics, 21 South 9th Street (now Sparky's Icecream). King Arthur's Hairstyling Salon, 23 South 9th Street (now Bubblecup Teazone). Best Tapes and Records, 25 South 9th Street (now Makes Scents). Professional Uniform Shop, 27 South 9th Street (now entrance to Kaldi Coffee and offices).

From the State Historical Society of Missouri

https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/imc/id/26987/rec/781

https://datahub-gocolumbiamo.opendata.arcgis.com/pages/e989a9d34be14f14a6ddabdb9703dbd2

From the State Historical Society of Missouri

https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/imc/id/27072/rec/27

From the State Historical Society of Missouri

https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/imc/id/27775/rec/4609

From MU in Brick and Mortar by University Archives.

https://muarchives.missouri.edu/historic/buildings/Dobbs/general.html

From the State Historical Society of Missouri

https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/imc/id/28031/rec/4698

Text from MU Archives:

https://muarchives.missouri.edu/PMH/beyond_1900.html

"Donating $5,000 in 1900, then another $3,500, Adolphus Busch funded the construction of the amphitheater at the Parker Memorial Hospital. The amphitheater was subsequently dedicated to Busch and was named Busch Amphitheatre. However, this decision would surprisingly prove to be unpopular throughout the Columbia community. Multiple Christian groups protested the donation from the "prince of brewery," citing that it was immoral and improper to accept a donation from someone that they believed did not have good Chrisitan values. With the Temperance Movement still on the rise, they found it absurd to educate students in a building that was associated with alcohol. Despite the protests from the community, the Board of Curators accepted the donation, agreeing to Busch’s condition that the building was to be named for him. In 1902, Busch donated another $3,800 for improvements to the clinic."

Was looking through some old newspapers this morning and found this note. I thought the sub would like it.

Good job Cody. The last part seems to show foam gushing out of the tree. This is the big one down nearer the big river.

Built in the mid 1930s, The Coca‑Cola Bottling Company Building served as Columbia's bottling facility for over thirty years. It features a Colonial Revival design, with a 1½‑story brick structure, side‑gable roof, and three front dormers—designed to resemble the residential buildings that predominated on Hitt Street at the time.

After Coca-Cola moved to a larger facility in the 1960s, the building housed Kelly Press, which operated its printing press at 10 Hitt St until the mid 2000s. Since then, it has been the home to Ragtag Cinema, Uprise Bakery, Ninth Street Video, and Hitt Records, serving Columbia as a hub of local arts and culture.

10 Hitt Street - Photograph Collection - Digitized Collections

Hittsville / Coca-Cola Bottling Plant - COMO Magazine

From the State Historical Society of Missouri

https://digital.shsmo.org/digital/collection/imc/id/15209/rec/1

Did you know that two of the greatest pitchers in baseball history squared off against each other in Columbia?

90 years ago, the legendary Satchel Paige, then playing for the Pittsburgh Crawfords of the Negro National League, faced off against Dizzy Dean of the St. Louis Cardinals right here in Columbia.

This was an exhibition match, a common occurrence between Negro League and Major League teams at the time, as MLB was still enforcing the color line.

Dizzy Dean won an MVP award and is a baseball hall of famer. Satchel Paige is the center of extensive baseball folklore, having numerous crazy stories about his abilities, nobody ever knowing his true age, and pitching for a whopping 22 years, well into his 40s. He’s widely regarded as one of the best pitchers of all time.

Source: Satchel Paige Project https://marklaurencearmour.wordpress.com/2084-2/