From the theater where the first color movies were screened in Mississippi to the site of a hotel that hosted the likes of Doris Day and Will Rogers or a building that housed a livery stable so large it was called “The Horse Mansion,” downtown Columbus has many stories to tell, Betty Bryan, a member of the Preservation Society of Columbus, told The Dispatch.
A planned expansion of the Downtown Columbus Historic Walking Tour aims to tell those stories by adding 17 permanent bronze plaques to select buildings along the route, said Bryan, who is co-chair for the plaque project.
“(There) are just stories everywhere, and we are honored to be able to share these and make some of them more easily accessible to people now and to tourists and to people in the future,” she said.
The historic walking tour, which was unveiled by Main Street Columbus in 2021, features 35 locations throughout the downtown area that residents and visitors can explore at their own pace using a brochure or an audio guide at walkingtour.columbusmainstreet.com.
Bryan, co-chair for the plaque project, said the 17 bronze plaques will be an eye-catcher to downtown visitors who have yet to start the tour. The plaques will feature a QR-code directing viewers to the tour webpage and audio guide as well as a brief history of the buildings and a glimpse at the stories they hold.
The project is paid for through $15,000 in American Rescue Plan Act Funds that Lowndes County supervisors appropriated to the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau, which, along with MSC, has partnered with the Preservation Society for the project.
“The more things we can give visitors to explore while they’re in Columbus and Lowndes County, of course that’s always another asset in our tourism folder,” said Frances Glenn, tourism director for the CVB. “I think it’s great, getting people out … downtown and telling our history.”
Bryan said the Preservation Society is working to receive permission from building owners to have the plaques installed. After that, the organization will need clearance from the Columbus Historic Commission, which meets next month.
If all goes according to plan, Bryan said the goal is to see the project fully completed by the end of July.
Barbara Bigelow, executive director for Main Street Columbus, said she has seen firsthand how much the tour resonates with visitors.
“Numerous times I’ve been walking or driving through downtown and I see individuals, they might have their cell phone or iPad or even the actual printed copy of the walking tour … and they’ll be standing on a corner maybe or pointing to a building and talking to whoever’s with them,” Bigelow told The Dispatch on Friday. “… I’m very proud (of the tour). It’s an easy way to discover some of the unbelievable history that we have in downtown Columbus.
Bigelow hopes to see the plaques reach residents and visitors who hadn’t intended on taking the tour or never knew about it in the first place.
“Someone may be shopping, dining … or just strolling through downtown, notice a plaque on a building, read it and become interested in exploring additional sites downtown,” she said. “We’ll at least hopefully pique the interest to check out the other locations, even though they don’t have a plaque at this point.”
While funding only allows for 17 plaques currently, Bryan didn’t rule out pursuing an additional round of plaques to place at tour stops.
“It’s a really good thing to look toward raising money for, being able to put more of these plaques, not only in downtown, but we would also like to do this with some of the historic homes and historic places in Columbus,” she said.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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