Spaces Available

The Grand Reception Hall is turning into a popular venue for shows, receptions, parties and all types of events.



Upstairs, Gallery II space is also available to rent for parties or meetings from 10 to 75 people or so.




Bohemian Home staged one of the live/work lofts.





Definitely one of the coolest places to live/work in Columbia!

For information on available spaces for rent or lease contact RichardBurts@aol.com

701 Open House Night

Open House Night was great fun and a huge success!
The video below was shot mostly by Heidi Meltretter with Joe Holmes supplying the shot and sound for Next Door Drummers.
Richard Burts & Robert Lewis talk about the new old building and what it means to have folks celebrate it.

Many things have taken place during the first couple of months of being open.

701 Center for Contemporary Arts opened with a gala, a public reception and a beautiful exhibit that many have already enjoyed.
Photos by Molly Harrell


The building is once again being filled with life and laughter!



Visit Ellen at the 701cca loft space.


AIGA held their INSHOW awards in the Grand Reception Hall.


Delirium Tribal brought
Raquy and the Caveman to Columbia. This was a fantastic show!
Photos by Cesar Palacio



701 Whaley is again proving to be a popular venue for all kinds of things! The interest and excitement continues to build, the opportunities and options are drawing people in and finally 701 Whaley's potential as a destination and gathering place is becoming a reality.

The Community Gathers for Open House!

PHOTOS by Molly Harrell
Folks turned out big time for the Open House.
Make no mistake - this was 100% NEW 701 Whaley!
Thankfully!

Around 5:15 people started showing up for tours with some having around 30 people at a time!
The historical register plaque was unveiled and the party started.


Historic Columbia Foundation had a successful fund raiser.







New faces were matched with old familiar faces of days gone by.

We had printed old photos from the mills and building from the 20s and one flirtatious image spoke to me of this beautiful woman so we printed it with her in the center. Another lovely woman that night recognized the woman in the photo as her grandmother!


Bohemian Home shows off it's staging in one of the lofts.

Next Door Drummers Rock the house.



Community Organizations display their history and vision.




Southern Way did delicious sandwiches in Gallery 2 space.
Everyone seemed to have a fantastic time enjoying the building and the new vibe of a historic venue.

It was so exciting to see the wide range of people from all over that came to experience the building that night.
With such a long and diverse history, 701 proves to be a special place once again. How fortunate that the right team of people stepped up to the task of saving this building since its neglect and near demise a few years ago.
A new vision is taking shape and we can't wait to see what the future holds for this revived jewel.

Papa String Band closed out a great night.

Oct 23rd OPEN HOUSE

5:30-11pm: Building tours, free and open to the public. Join us for an open house with music, food, and a cash bar.

THE FIRST EVENT

Check out this blog site that features 701 all dressed up!
http://murphyweddings.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/unveiling-the-best/

OPEN HOUSE! Oct 23rd

You're Invited!
701 Whaley
OPEN HOUSE
Thursday, October 23rd
5:30-7pm Tours
8-11pm Party

There is a new roof, a new life and a new purpose for 701 Whaley.
Oct 23rd, 701 Whaley will be open to the public.
Come see the whole building!

This historic gathering place, built in 1903 has been saved, restored, renovated and is getting ready for the next generation of community.

October 23rd includes:

5:30 -7pm
Tours of the building by Richard Burts and Robert Lewis

7-10pm
Historic Columbia Foundation's Palladium Society presents its 5th Annual Silent Auction in conjunction with the Open House of 701 Whaley! Unique items and packages will be auctioned to the highest bidder while guests enjoy food, beer, wine, and music from national recording artist Danielle Howle. All proceeds will benefit the Historic Columbia Foundation. Advance tickets are $25, $20 for members. Call 803.252.7742 x 27 or email ewalsh@historiccolumbia.org to buy your tickets today, and be a part of this historic event!
HCF will throw its party in the bottom back left of the Grand Reception Hall

Restaurateur Kristian Niemi (Gervais & Vine, Mr. Friendly's, Solstice Kitchen, Rosso Trattoria Italia) will be on hand, sharing his plans for his newest venture, The Black Rooster and The Apartment at 701. The Black Rooster will be a French Bistro-inspired restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner in a classic, neighborhood bistro tradition. The Apartment at 701 will be a full-service event facility within a modern loft apartment in 701 Whaley and can be rented for private dinners, meetings, wine tastings or cocktail parties for anywhere from two to twenty guests.

The local neighborhood associations including Granby, Olympia Alive! and Whaley Street will be present and representing the rich history of the community.

Danielle Howle will rock your soul with her sublime music and The Next Door Drummers will kick it with some West African percussion.



Emile DeFelice is supplying his Caw Caw Creek delectable pork that will be smoked right out back for a fingerlickin pig picking. “Pigs on me!” he says.






701 Center for Contemporary Art continues its Inaugural Exhibition Textile Tales, an exhibition with work by: Ellen Kochansky, Beth Melton, Phil Moody and Scotty Peek
701 CCA, a non-profit, is unique in South Carolina. It has a gallery space for museum-quality art exhibitions, a live-work unit for artists in residence and interdisciplinary programming with performing, literary and media arts.

Tom Chinn from the always eclectic and fantastic Bohemian Home shows off one of the last cool, hip loft spaces still available with furniture for office and home. All the pieces will be for sale or go for it all and just move right in!

The past presents itself in an excerpt from Lee Ann Kornegay’s documentary film,
701 Whaley on the history of this magnificent building, the folks that have spent time there and the enormous renovation project that has taken place over the past couple of years.

For more info contact:
Richard Burts
RichardBurts@aol.com
or
Lee Ann Kornegay
lakorn@bellsouth.net

Molly Harrell takes photos of Richard for the upcoming issue of Skirt magazine!
Thankfully Richard has nice legs!


Construction crew get treated to lunch.

Doors, Visitors and Sinks

These front doors will soon be welcoming faces old and new!



Richland County Conservation Commission gets an update and tour from Richard.



The extra iron pieces from the turn buckle trusses are being used in the live/work lofts as a VERY sturdy and heavy leg for the vanity. Great idea! Richard has been extremely mindful of saving all he can from the previous lives of the building.
There is interest in 3 of the live/work spaces with 2 left as of today's date.


























An artist is working!
Well...I missed Beth Melton this visit but you'll soon hear more about what this artist is creating for 701 CCA's first art show.