This crumbling corner on Russell Street near the center of downtown in Orangeburg, S.C., illustrates the challenge that the inner city is having to attract businesses to lure residents to spend time in their downtown. Despite an attractive central downtown renovation and business like Piggly Wiggly, which you can see in back of this apparently empty old service station, there are few big-name retailers to draw people downtown.
The City of Orangeburg, known for its gardens and historically black colleges, officially is home to 13,850 people and has a 31.3 poverty rate in 2012, but the greater area has more than 65,000 people. Orangeburg County is home to more than 91,000 people, two thirds of whom are black. The county has a poverty rate of 24.5 percent.
Copyrighted photo was taken April 23, 2014 by Andy Brack. All rights reserved.