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National Register Property, Columbia SC

$725,000 Sold!

Photo of 3000 Forest Drive, Columbia, SC, 29204.

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Address: 3000 Forest Drive	City/ST: Columbia, SC	Zip Code: 29204
Location: 3000 Forest Drive	Property Type: Single Family Home	New or Resale: Resale
Square Footage: 4508	Bedrooms: 4	Bathrooms: 3 full, 1 half
MLS# 174434

The George R. Price house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is Columbia's only Streamline Moderne style residence. The home features 4 bedrooms, 3 and 1 half baths. The solid marble mantle in the living room is imported from Africa. The circular staircase is flanked by 2-story glass block windows. The front window features 673 glass blocks. A spacious three-car garage, expansive porches, and beautifully landscaped grounds complement the home. One of the nicest properties in Columbia, SC. This home was recently featured in The State Newspaper: State, The (Columbia, SC) September 15, 2006 Section: BUSINESS Edition: FINAL Page: D1 ROBOTS HAWKING HOUSE BEN WERNER bwerner@thestate.com This abode offered a peek into the future of home design when it was built in 1939. Even though it's an historic building now, two automatons are pitching it to prospective buyers. Robots Tobor and Freddie are for sale. Buy us, get free house, says the sign they hold on top of their home, a dwelling at 3000 Forest Drive unique to South Carolina for its architectural style. The list price is a cool $825,000. Their house, that's called added value. Over the years, the robots have become well-known to the community. They sit on the corner of a busy intersection, and they are a prominent part of a Christmas holiday light show that residents flock to see. In many ways, this is the job they were created for, homeowner Elaine Gillespie said. Shortly after buying 3000 Forest Drive in 1989, Gillespie rescued the pair from a junkyard. Tobor, Freddie, another pair of robots waiving from the house next door and their siblings at Art Bar in the Vista originally were designed to be pitchmen for shopping mall stores, she said. An eight-track player inside was supposed to greet customers and announce sales. The plan never took off. But by taking residence at, -and now trying to sell - 3000 Forest Drive, Tobor and Freddie are, in a way, fulfilling their maker's wish. Their Forest Drive residence is South Carolina's only example of a Streamline Moderne -style home. Completed in 1939, it officially is known as the George R. Price House and is listed on National Register of Historic Places. Streamline Moderne, a derivation of art deco, was popular during the Great Depression and through World War II. A description of the style that appeared in The State in 1939, said, The term 'machines for living' is often applied to the flat-roofed, severely plain homes designed as modern. At a time when the nation was still in the gloom of the Great Depression and on the eve of entering another war, the George R. Price House, located at what then was the edge of Columbia, offered a glimpse of what designers thought would be the future. The simple design, with sleek curves and flat roof, was intended to evoke images of a world where automation saved time and energy for homeowners, according to the National Association of Realtors. Inside 3000 Forest Drive, the heating and air conditioning units were concealed from view in a basement room. The ductwork was put behind walls - something different from the steam radiator piping common at the time. As part of this vision, the future also would employ machines, controlled by humans, to perform much of the day's tedious tasks, according to the National Association of Realtors. Tobor and Freddie are doing their job. Alison Allen of Home Advantage Realty said she is fielding many calls from potential buyers. This is only the second time the property has appeared on the market. Allen said many people are curious about the inside. I have a lot of people call to ask if they buy the house, do the robots stay, she said. Along with Tobor and Freddie, the home features 3,773 square feet of heated space, four bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths and a three-car garage. I love this house. Everybody falls in love with this home, Allen said. Some other features include: * The living room's fireplace mantel, created from a single slab of marble imported in the 1930s from Africa * The master bath's ceramic floor tiles, with an inlaid clipper ship design. Other baths also have intricate designs etched into the tiles. * The poured-concrete and glass-block construction shutting out the hustle and bustle of Columbia's busy Forest Drive * The main staircase, curling up to the second floor, with a single strip of aluminum railing The two-story glass block window sparkles at night with the glittering reflection of traffic. In the late 1980s, Gillespie fell in love with the property from afar. She acted on her crush by courting the Price family to let her buy and restore the home. It had not been kept up for years, and modernization over the years had ruined, in her mind, the original genius of the Streamline Moderne design. Plus, her husband, Jay Kaufman, never had seen the inside. They had married after she sold the house in 1998. Now that the house is on the market again, Gillespie said she'll miss her friends Tobor and Freddie. They stay with the home. But Gillespie hopes to see the pair greeting passers-by on Forest Drive during holidays. It is such a unique property, Gillespie said. This house made me famous. ABOUT THE ROBOTS Tobor, Freddie, another pair of robots waiving from the house next door and their siblings at Art Bar in the Vista originally were created in the 1970s to work as pitchmen outside stores in shopping malls. The details behind the origins of these robots are somewhat hazy. Clark Ellefson, a partner in Art Bar, the Vista nightspot and home to Tobor and Freddie's siblings, has photographic proof some of these robots fulfilled their original mission. A friend recently found an old Better Homes and Gardens magazine from 1989 that features robots. Included is a photo of a Tobor sibling, at an undisclosed location, with a child in front of what looks like a shopping mall store. We don't know how many are out there, Ellefson said.

Last Updated: 10/22/2007 1:32:43 PM

Listing Agent and Office: Alison Allen, Home Advantage Realty

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