Columbia Audio Walking Tour

Highlights

• 
  South Carolina State House

  Home to the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina, the South Carolina State House rises in Classical Revival style in front of you. Here sit the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and until 1971 the building also housed the Supreme Court.

• Allen University

  Allen University, a private historically black university in Columbia, South Carolina, spreads its historic campus in front of you. The campus you see is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Allen University Historic District.

• 
  Congaree River

  Born right here from the Saluda and Broad rivers, the Congaree River runs some 53 miles (85 km) as a short but wide waterway. Right here it owes its life to the confluence of the Saluda and Broad rivers near the Piedmont Fall Line, and it will serve as the final outlet channel for the entire Lower Saluda and Lower Broad watersheds.

• 
  South Carolina Governor's Mansion

  Arsenal Hill's only survivor of 1865, the South Carolina Governor's Mansion, shows you white stucco, a flat roof and a central pavilion. This Federal style home, influenced by British Colonial plantations, shows its character in a white stucco exterior, a flat roof and a large central pavilion framing the main entrance.

• 
  First Presbyterian Church (Columbia)

  First Presbyterian Church in Columbia rises on ground that was once a cemetery. This building, constructed in 1854, is the church the city knows today and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 25, 1971.

All 29 stops

• Old Campus District, University of South Carolina (Old Campus District)

  Notice The Horseshoe at the heart of this Columbia campus, where Hootie & the Blowfish once filmed MTV Unplugged.

• Hampton-Preston House (Columbia)

  At 1615 Blanding Street, the Hampton–Preston House spreads its broad veranda and Doric columns in front of you.

• Robert Mills House (central Columbia)

  Filling an entire city block at 1616 Blanding Street in Columbia, South Carolina, the Robert Mills House — also known as Robert Mills Historic House…

• Mann-Simons Cottage (Columbia)

  On the corner of Richland and Marion streets in Columbia sits the Mann-Simons Cottage, raised porch and Tuscan columns facing you.

• Modjeska Monteith Simkins House (Columbia Historic District II)

  Civil rights history lives in this modest wooden house at 2025 Marion Street in Columbia, South Carolina — the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House.

• Taylor House (Columbia)

  Thomas Taylor's brick Neo-Classical mansion, the Taylor House, rises in front of you, the former home of the Columbia Museum of Art.

• Columbia Museum of Art (Senate Street)

  A 1908 private residence built by the Taylor family is where the story of the Columbia Museum of Art, your stop here on Senate Street…

• Kress Building (Columbia)

  White terra cotta wraps the Kress Building, the 1934 Art Deco commercial building across the street from the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South…

• Columbia Commercial Historic District (Columbia's Central Business District)

  Three blocks of Main Street between Laurel and Hampton Streets form the Columbia Commercial Historic District, a historic slice of the central business district of…

• National Loan and Exchange Bank Building (Columbia)

  Columbia's first skyscraper, the National Loan and Exchange Bank Building — also known as the Barringer Building — climbs 12 stories above you at 1338…

• Union National Bank Building (Downtown Columbia)

  Ten stories tall, the Union National Bank Building fills your view.

• Palmetto Building (Columbia)

  Between 1912 and 1913 the Palmetto Building rose here as an early skyscraper, and it towers over you now.

• Columbia Township Auditorium (Columbia)

  Picture Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington all performing inside this 1930 Columbia auditorium.

• Town Theatre (Columbia)

  Town Theatre, in Columbia, South Carolina, greets you with a glazed arch.

• Columbia City Hall (Columbia)

  Long known as the Old United States Court House and Post Office, Columbia City Hall shows you its Renaissance-style face.

• Capitol Center (Columbia)

  Capitol Center, an office skyscraper in Columbia, South Carolina, climbs 349 feet above you.

• South Carolina State House (Columbia)

  Home to the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina, the South Carolina State House rises in Classical Revival style in front of you.

• South Carolina Memorial Garden (Columbia)

  The Garden Club of South Carolina established this historic memorial garden in Columbia, the South Carolina Memorial Garden, in 1944–1945.

• South Carolina Governor's Mansion (Arsenal Hill)

  Arsenal Hill's only survivor of 1865, the South Carolina Governor's Mansion, shows you white stucco, a flat roof and a central pavilion.

• Gervais Street Bridge (Columbia)

  Reinforced concrete carries the Gervais Street Bridge — and you — in an open-spandrel arch across the Congaree River.

• Congaree River (Columbia)

  Born right here from the Saluda and Broad rivers, the Congaree River runs some 53 miles (85 km) as a short but wide waterway.

• Elmwood Cemetery (Columbia)

  Shaded lanes open ahead of you in Elmwood Cemetery, the historic rural cemetery of Columbia, South Carolina.

• Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Columbia)

  Modeled after York Minster, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral is the first Episcopal and the oldest surviving sanctuary in Columbia, South Carolina.

• First Presbyterian Church (Columbia) (Columbia)

  First Presbyterian Church in Columbia rises on ground that was once a cemetery.

• Washington Street United Methodist Church (Columbia)

  Since 1872 this church, the Washington Street United Methodist Church at 1401 Washington Street in Columbia, South Carolina, has held its corner.

• Allen University (Columbia)

  Allen University, a private historically black university in Columbia, South Carolina, spreads its historic campus in front of you.

• Randolph Cemetery (Columbia)

  Established in 1872, Randolph Cemetery was Columbia's first cemetery for the African-American population.

• Bethel A.M.E. Church (Columbia)

  Bethel A.M.E. Church, built in 1921, faces you at 1528 Sumter Street in Columbia, South Carolina.

• Carver Theater (Columbia)

  Brick and a vertical marquee mark the Carver Theatre, a historic African American movie theater in Columbia, South Carolina.

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