The Lever Building, at 1613 Main Street in downtown Columbia, is a handsome early-twentieth-century commercial structure that reflects the period when Main Street was being transformed by substantial new masonry buildings designed to accommodate Columbia’s expanding business community. Construction began in October 1902, and the three-story building was completed in 1903 by Columbia contractor C. M. Lide, Jr. for Walter D. Lever, a successful local businessman who was widely known as “Lever the Shoe Man.” The building originally housed Lever’s Boot and Shoe Company and remained associated with that business until about 1922.

Architecturally, the Lever Building is an excellent local example of Classical Revival commercial design. Its façade combines brown brick and elaborate terra-cotta ornament, producing a formal and richly detailed appearance. The building is organized with strong symmetry and a pronounced horizontal emphasis created by its heavy cornice, elaborate entablature, and balustraded parapet. The terra-cotta frieze prominently incorporates the name “Lever,” surrounded by decorative swags and torches, providing both architectural ornament and a clear expression of the building’s original identity.

The upper façade is particularly notable for its carefully composed window arrangement. The central two bays contain arched windows framed by elaborate brick arches and pilaster-like elements, giving the upper stories a strong vertical rhythm while reinforcing the building’s classical character. At street level, four small cast-iron pilasters originally helped frame a central double-door entrance flanked by windows. Although the first-floor storefront has been altered, significant historic architectural elements survive, including the cast-iron pilasters and the broad denticulated cornice extending across the building.

The building’s history is closely tied to Columbia’s commercial development. Walter D. Lever’s shoe business occupied the structure during its early years, making the building an example of the specialized retail establishments that increasingly characterized Main Street during the early 1900s. Its substantial three-story form also illustrates the growing importance of vertical commercial development, with upper floors providing additional space above the retail storefront. Over the succeeding decades, the building accommodated other commercial and professional tenants, continuing its role within Columbia’s downtown business district.

The Lever Building is significant not only individually but also as an important component of the Columbia Commercial Historic District. The National Register documentation identifies it as one of the district’s notable examples of Classical Revival architecture, a style characterized by symmetry, balanced proportions, projecting cornices, pilasters, elaborate entablatures, and classical ornament such as swags. Its ornate façade helped establish the architectural character of Main Street during a period of rapid commercial growth and modernization.

The building was recognized for its architectural and historical importance through its listing in the National Register of Historic Places on March 2, 1979, and it is also recognized as a local Columbia landmark. Its survival provides an especially good illustration of the architectural ambitions of Columbia’s early twentieth-century commercial district, when local merchants invested in substantial buildings that advertised both prosperity and permanence.