Midtown - Downtown in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Rooms for a Day, Week or Month
The Hampton-Preston Tourist Home opened on Saturday, March 11, 1944. The renovated mansion capitalized on romanticized views of the Old South. It also offered middle- and working-class white patrons as an alternative to more expensive downtown hotels.
A separate business, the Miracle Apartments, operated out of the property's former college buildings. It advertised reduced rents for furnished single rooms featuring a "Murphy bed, [with new] innerspring mattress" and "continuous hot water."
[Captions:]
Tourist home owner Thomas E. Hair Sr. advertised that "25 rooms [had] been re-decorated" in the mansion and that each space contained "antique furniture." By the time this image was taken in 1966, the tourist home had operated in a boarding house format with separate floors for single men and women for more than 10 years.
Four stories tall and adorned with a large cross-shaped sign, 1620 Laurel Street was one of four buildings Annie Mary Timmons operated as the Miracle Apartments. Timmons's other structures included McClintock Hall [at far left] and a two-story building [at center] once used for science classes by College for Women.
Erected by Historic Columbia Foundation.
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Location. 34° 0.657′ N, 81° 1.82′ W. Marker is in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Midtown - Downtown. It can be reached from Pickens Street north of Blanding Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1725 Pickens St, Columbia SC 29201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Midlands. 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: Uprooted and Paved Over (here, next to this marker); From Glass House to Glass Block (a few steps from this marker); Botanical Luxury (a few steps from this marker); Hampton-Preston Sustainers Garden (within shouting distance of this marker); A Natural Showcase (within shouting distance of this marker); Boyd Foundation Horticultural Center (within shouting distance of this marker); Cutting Pathways and Sowing Seeds (within shouting distance of this marker); Preparing "Truly Educated, Christian, Womanly Women" (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbia.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 24, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 31 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 24, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
