Hartsville in Darlington County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Arcade Hotel

Photographed by Gordon Marshall Herndon Jr, September 9, 2025

1. Arcade Hotel Marker

Inscription.

This building first served as the Arcade Hotel, built in 1913 for $51,000 for J. J. Lawton & Associates. The hotel was designed by Ernest V. Richards and built by contractor J. M. Lawton. It offered a European plan with cold and hot water and a telephone in each of its 43 rooms, some of them with private baths and parlors. Other amenities included a barber shop, fine dining, a sample room, and retail space. The hotel's first manager was William H. McFall. (Continued on other side) (Continued from other side) For a time, the Arcade Hotel was Hartsville's leading social center. It underwent three major improvements between 1922 and 1988. It closed in 1976 but briefly reopened in 1983. SPC Cooperative Credit Union bought the building in 1988 and undertook a $1.9 million renovation project, restoring the first floor largely to its 1913 appearance and converting the two upper floors into office space. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 19, 1986.

Erected 2019 by SPC Credit Union. (Marker Number 16 83.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1913.

Location. 34°

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22.511′ N, 80° 4.459′ W. Marker is in Hartsville, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is on West College Avenue west of North Fifth Street (Business U.S. 15), on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 204 N Fifth St, Hartsville SC 29550, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South Carolina’s Pee Dee.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: First Baptist Church (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); John L. Hart / John Hart House (about 600 feet away); Hartsville Oil Mill (approx. 0.2 miles away); Hartsville Passenger Depot (approx. 0.2 miles away); Hartsville Veterans Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away); David Robert Coker 1870-1938 (approx. ¼ mile away); James Lide Coker (approx. ¼ mile away); Jerusalem Baptist Church (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hartsville.

Arcade Hotel Marker Reverse image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Gordon Marshall Herndon Jr, September 9, 2025

2. Arcade Hotel Marker Reverse

Photographed by Gordon Marshall Herndon Jr, September 9, 2025

3. Arcade Hotel Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on September 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on September 10, 2025, by Gordon Marshall Herndon Jr of Hartsville, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 113 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 10, 2025, by Gordon Marshall Herndon Jr of Hartsville, South Carolina. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.