In Columbia for the NCAA tournament? Here are 5 cool things to do
Rolling into Columbia for the NCAA tournament? Never been here before? Want to see the sights?
Here are five cool things to do in the Capital City:
1. Visit the State House
1100 Gervais St.
(803) 734-2430
southcarolinaparks.com/education-and-history/state-house
Columbia is the state capital of South Carolina. It is also the first planned city in the United States, older than Washington, D.C. (Well, Savannah is also a planned city and older than Columbia, but the United States didn’t exist when it was founded, so we’ll take the technicality.)
It was founded in 1786 specifically to be the capital because it is smack dab in the middle of the state.
The current State House (the state’s third) was under construction in February 1865 when Gen. William T. Sherman and his Union Army came rolling through during the Civil War. It wasn’t a pleasant visit.
Much of the downtown city was burned, including the former wooden State House. Some blame Sherman. Others just blame the misfortunes of war.
You can still see some scars from the period.
Six bronze stars on the west side of the capitol mark where Union cannon balls hit. And the sword on the statue of George Washington on the front steps is said to have been broken by a Federal soldier.
Oh, and by the way, Columbia hasn’t landed an NCAA tournament regional since 1970, in part because of an NAACP ban of the state beginning in 2000 in protest of the flying of the Confederate flag on the State House grounds. The flag came down in 2015, after the massacre of nine parishioners of the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston.
The State House is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m on Saturday. You can explore by yourself or join frequent guided tours. Everything is free.
2. Visit the S.C. State Museum
301 Gervais St.
803-898-4921
The Palmetto State is blessed with one of the finest state museums in the country (in our opinion).
You can trace the state’s history from the advent of Native Americans, through the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, reconstruction, the Civil Rights Movement to today.
It also has a natural history wing, art galleries, special traveling exhibits, a 4-D theater and planetarium.
And if you want more museum in your life, the S.C. Confederate Relic Room and Military History Museum is located in the same former textile mill building (the old Columbia mill was the first electric mill in the United States). The Relic Room is the second-oldest museum in the state, is fully accredited and has extensive displays of battle flags and military relics from the Revolution through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And across the parking lot is EdVenture Children’s Museum, home to Eddie, the World’s Largest Child and other hands-on children’s exhibits.
(Oh, and you notice the museums are near the intersection of Gervais and Huger streets? Here’s how you say the street names and the stories behind them.)
There are various ticket packages for the State Museum ranging from $11.95 to $17.95 for children to $13.95 to $19.95 for adults.
3. Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
500 Wildlife Parkway
(803) 779-8717
Riverbanks is one of the leading zoos in the Southeast and the No. 1 tourist attraction in South Carolina that isn’t a beach.
Yes, it has the prerequisite lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) as well as the full range of zoo animals from elephants to toucans. And feeding the giraffes is huge fun!
The zoo’s newest exhibits include sea otters and sea lions in their own separate enclosures and a gorilla base camp.
And there are lots of babies at the zoo right now, including a koala joey, lion cubs and a baby gorilla. So pick your cuteness.
The zoo also features a splash pad (probably a tad cold for that), a carousel, zip lines and a botanical garden.
Kids get in for $16.95, adults $19.95.
4. Eat, drink and be merry
Downtown Columbia is home to three distinct arts and entertainment districts: The Vista, Main Street and Five Points.
The Vista runs along Gervais Street from the State Museum to the State House.
The Main Street district runs generally from the State House north to Laurel Street.
And Five Points is its own little urban village near the University of South Carolina. And it’s the real Carolina, unlike some other university, of which we will not speak.
Five Points is the oldest running entertainment and shopping district of the three because of its proximity to USC. Yes, we’re the original USC, as opposed to that OTHER USC, of which we also will not speak.
It’s got a funky, youthful vibe and is chock full of restaurants, bars and boutiques. There’s cool fountains and even a statue dedicated to Hootie and the Blowfish.
And it’s only a short Uber ride from downtown hotels.
The Vista is an old district of brick warehouses, railroad tracks and depots. Today, it is a thriving arts and entertainment district.
It will probably be where most of the action is during the tourney, as it’s home to most of the downtown hotels and a short walk to Colonial Life Arena. There are more bars, restaurants and galleries than you can count, from the dive-y Uncle Louie’s to the upscale Ristorante Divino.
Main Street used to be the heart of Columbia back in the day, lined with movie theaters, department stores and office buildings. But like many American Main streets, it fell on hard times when the department stores moved to suburban malls.
Today, it’s undergone a renaissance. It is lined with restaurants and shops. And it’s become the city’s artistic core, thanks largely to the presence of the Columbia Museum of Art. The museum is currently hosting a Jackson Pollock exhibit, so it’s a really good time to visit.
And on Saturday morning, you CAN’T MISS the weekly Soda City Market, which features dozens of local vendors and is considered by many to be the coolest event in the city. It runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. rain or shine.
And connecting all three of the districts is the Soda Cap Connector bus service. It’s free, so hop on and hop off as you please!
5. Get outside
Aside from numerous city parks and the expansive Lake Murray, Columbia has two really special outdoor spaces: the Three Rivers Greenway and Congaree National Park.
The Three Rivers Greenway consists of a series of riverwalks in Cayce, West Columbia and Columbia. Their trails and boardwalks line the Congaree, Broad and Saluda rivers and are perfect places for hiking, biking or contemplative stroll, which might be a good idea if your team loses.
Congaree National Park is the largest intact expanse of old growth bottom land hardwood forest remaining in the Southeast. Located 17 miles south of downtown Columbia, the 27,000-acre park is home to pristine swamps, oxbow lakes and slow moving creeks. It is filled with incredible biodiversity from cypress and tupelo trees to alligators and wild hogs to the amazing synchronous fireflies.
It is also home to the largest trees in the eastern United States.
This story was originally published March 19, 2019 at 3:49 PM.