Columbia mayor’s task force makes several recommendations regarding McKinney building

By Brian Hauswirth
picture1

Columbia’s city council has listened to a detailed summary of a 95-page report about the historic McKinney building downtown.

picture1
This is an aerial view of downtown Columbia’s McKinney building, which was built in 1918. It’s between Second Missionary Baptist Church and Plaza Tire Service (undated photo courtesy of Columbia spokeswoman Sydney Olsen)

The building is located at 411 East Broadway, and the city council heard a report at last night’s meeting. Columbia’s city council approved the $1.7 million dollar purchase of the building in 2023, and the mayor’s task force on the McKinney building has submitted its final report.

Mayor Barbara Buffaloe says the McKinney building has commemorated the social, educational, religious and civic life of Columbia’s African-American population for decades. It was built in 1918.

The mayor’s task force recommends focusing on the building’s interior and not on outdoor event spaces. The task force recommends that the first floor include a welcome area and a lobby and art exhibition space. The task force also recommends that the second floor feature meeting/classroom space along with a staircase and elevator to get to the second floor.

The McKinney building is of the 24 locations in Columbia commemorated with markers along the African American heritage trail. Count Basie performed years ago in the McKinney building, as did King Oliver.

The 95-page report outlines some of the historic events that happened at the McKinney building. It says that in 1919, about five hundred African-Americans gathered inside the building to celebrate the 56th anniversary of Emancipation Day and to honor African-American soldiers from Boone County who served in World War I, which had ended the previous year in 1918.

African-American bricklayer Frank McKinney helped build the home, which cost about $5,000 when it was built in 1918,