Walking through the glassy marble columns of the red brick building at 1020 E. Broadway feels like taking a step back in time.
Located on the corner of Hitt Street and Broadway, the 13,000-square-foot Herald building features Victorian style architecture. Although the space has hosted myriad businesses over the years, many Columbians refer to it as the Pasta Factory.
Founder of Alley A Realty, John Ott owns and maintains the Herald building. Alley A’s main focus is on restoring properties and preserving history for the future, according to its website. Ott purchased the building in December 2011.
The building was built in 1892 by the owner E.W. Stephens and designed by architect Frederick Bell, one of the architects involved in the construction of Red Campus on the Francis Quadrangle.
The building was the only structure designed by Bell in downtown Columbia.
Not only does the building have a rich architectural background, it also was the home of the Columbia Herald-Statesman Newspaper.
“The Herald-Statesman was housed in the front portion,” Ott says. “It was run by E.W. Stephens, son of the land donor of Stephens College. He was a notable person for his newspaper and printing company.”
The Herald building contained presses that printed legal books for many states across the Midwest. The Stephens Company was also the first firm in Columbia to hire women, according to the Pasta Factory’s website.
The Herald building made the transition to pasta in 1986, moving on from its printing past. R. Otto Maly moved the Pasta Factory from its former location at Crossroads West Shopping Center to the Herald building.
The Pasta Factory remained a staple for Columbia diners for 25 years, until it moved to its current location in the Fairview Marketplace in March 2011.
“We’re currently looking for a restaurant to move into the location,” Ott says. “The building is the correct layout for a restaurant, and features one of the best patios in Columbia.”
Ott is considering relocating the restaurant entrance from the side to the front of the building. He also plans to return other elements of the building back to their original configuration.
When originally built, the Herald building featured a polygonal corner tower rising above the intersection of East Broadway and Hitt Street. The tower had two clocks and a whistle that gave the weather forecast and announced the nightly curfew through various signals.
“There’s a possibility the clock tower will be brought back,” Ott says. “We’ve been investigating with structural engineers and architects and have been told the structure still exists. It wasn’t a design failure that brought the clock down, just lack of maintenance.”
The clock tower was removed from the northwest corner of the Herald building in 1973.
“It will be pretty nice once it’s all restored correctly,” Dream Catcher Studios owner Jason Cook says.
Dream Catcher Studios is the current tenant in the storefront portion of the Herald building. They specialize in skateboarding, art, music, fashion and body art.
Dream Catcher Studios was founded 18 years ago and moved into the building in 2009.
“It’s great being directly on Broadway, just being in the heart of downtown,” Cook said. “Especially now with the foot traffic from the bars and restaurants in the area.”
Although the Herald building has undergone a multitude of changes over the past 120 years, the future looks bright.
“It has a rich history and a positive future,” Ott said.