South Carolina State House

The South Carolina State House is the stunning state capitol building right in central downtown Columbia. Maybe other states call their capitol building a “state house,” but this is the first one I’ve noticed! It’s very accessible; I used it for an AC & bathroom break during my last trip to the Soda City Market on Saturday.

With it’s grand columns and copper dome, it’s a really beautiful building. It’s definitely worth a stop when you’re in town.

Inside

Outside, there are huge marble steps leading up to a grand veranda with huge pillars and a massive door. Don’t go up there except to take pictures. To get inside, use the public entrance around to the side. It’s on the left if you’re facing the State House. You will have to go through a metal detector, so be aware of that.

Inside, there’s a short hall with bathrooms at the end and to the left is a larger hall with a gift shop on the left and a tour office on the right. There are several tours a day, and this is where they start.

The hall is floored in beautiful pink marble, apparently recently polished. The tour guide said they used to be uneven, but now they shine! The pillars are blue granite from South Carolina. At the far end are more bathrooms, and on either side are offices – I think one side is the Governor’s.

Two grand stairs lead to the upper floor, where the large house and senate chambers are located. Local art lines the stairs, and a statue of Vice President John C. Calhoun stands proudly in the center of the room.

Dainty iron filigree steps lead up to public galleries in both chambers, and you can walk around the perimeter of the room at this level, getting a better look at the interior dome.

Back on the chamber floor and between the house and senate chambers is a large library, almost worthy of Beauty and the Beast.

Outside

Outside are beautifully landscaped and wooded grounds, a cool respite in the heat of summer. There are several monuments to be found here, from George Washington out front to the founder of modern gynecology tucked in one corner. Though, I guess I actively appreciate that guy more than all the confederate statues around, including one of Wade Hampton on a massive horse.

To the left of the State House, across from the public entrance, is a beautiful tribute to African-Americans in South Carolina. I kind of like these half-plaque/half-statue monuments. It at least spans a greater amount of history than any of those Confederate monuments.

Tours

The State House seems to generally be open most days, except for maybe Sunday. It’s hard to tell from their website. It looks like the building is open from maybe 9 am-4 pm on weekdays and 10 am-4 pm on Saturday.

To take a guided tour, they are offered every half hour from 9:30-3:30 while the legislature is in session January through May. June through December, tours are given every hour on the half hour. In both cases, no tours are given at 12:00 or 12:30. On Saturdays, tours are at 10:30, 11:30, 1:30 and 2:30. Parking is all on the street.

I happened on a tour during my “oh, it’s open!” visit the first Saturday I went to the Soda City Market. There’s a 15-minute video that explains how laws are made, then a tour of both floors. On my first visit, the chamber doors were closed. On my second visit, the outer doors to the house chamber were open and you could see the ceremonial mace they use to start sessions. It’s placed in a bracket at the front of the platform, the desk lights come on, and session is officially commenced. (The university has a ceremonial mace, too – is this just a South Carolina thing? The imagery seems awfully violent…)