Darlington County · Marker 16-83
Arcade Hotel
W. College Ave., 100 ft. W of N. 5th St. intersection., Hartsville
Front 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.
Reverse inscription
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 Untion 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.