Iconic Columbia building burns at BullStreet development

An iconic piece of Columbia architecture is now a pile of ash and splinters.

A three-alarm fire ravaged the Babcock Building of the Bull Street district near downtown Columbia on Saturday morning, according to fire officials.

While the structure’s brick exterior still stands as of 4 p.m., the signature dome collapsed in the fire.

The dome was a landmark in Columbia, visible from many parts of the city and as people arrive in town from Interstate 126.

Fire engulfed all three floors of the vacant building and gutted the interior, according to Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins

The Columbia Fire Department battled the fire with at least 50 fire fighters. The first crews arrived around 6:30 a.m. after smoke was reported to be billowing from the building, according a department spokesperson.

Jenkins said the blaze was the “largest structure fire we’ve had in several years.”

The first crew found heavy fire spreading throughout the building. After more than nine hours, fires were still ongoing in parts of the building, Columbia FD said in a tweet. Crews will stay at the building through Saturday night and into Sunday to monitor the situation.

The investigation into what caused the fire will begin Sunday, the department said in a pair of tweets. The investigation will be led by the fire department and the Columbia police department, with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division assisting.

Two fire fighters suffered minor injuries Saturday from falling debris, according to Jenkins. The injuries are not life threatening.

Jenkins said the condition of building’s floors is a concern, alluding to a potential collapse. Sending crews inside to extinguish the fire was considered potentially too dangerous.

“This hurts,” Mayor Steve Benjamin said. “The beautiful red dome of the Babcock Building has been an iconic part of Columbia’s cityscape for a century and a half.”

“To see the tireless work of preservationists, planners, architects, historians, developers and public servants finally coming to fruition to then be met with today’s devastation can be heartbreaking. But we are resilient and we’ll bounce back,” he said while thanking the Columbia Fire Department and police department for their work.

The sprawling Babcock Building was built in stages beginning in 1858 as the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum. The Renaissance revival-styled building is 254,022-square-foot and has 1,100 windows and 20-inch thick masonry walls.

Its last patients left around 1991, and since then it has suffered damage from time, weather and a fire in 2018.

The building was the signature building on the BullStreet site because of its dome. Developers of the site used the image of the dome to market BullStreet.

Clachan Properties of Richmond, VA owns the building and has been working for more than four years on turning the building into apartments.

The restoration plans of the iconic building have been seen as a cornerstone in the development of BullStreet.

“It is impossible to properly express our deep emotions as Columbia firefighters ... battle the fire at the Babcock Building,” Robert Hughes, President of Hughes Development Corporation said in a statement from The BullStreet District. “For many decades, the community has worked together to preserve one of South Carolina’s most iconic buildings. It is a labor of love for so many people who cherish its historical significance

“Clachan Properties, which owns the building and specializes in reviving large-scale historic properties, was in the final stages of preparation to renovate it for future generations. Site cleanup had begun.”

Developers and the city have invested tens of millions of dollars in the 181-acre BullStreet development and have worked tediously to preserve a number of historic buildings, including Babcock, on the former asylum campus.

The 2018 fire setback those plans and the latest fire certainly will too.

“Though the iconic dome and the central portions of the interior are destroyed, we are thankful that the Columbia Fire Department was able to contain most of the damage to the central portion of the building,” Hughes said. “We are working closely with various law enforcement agencies to help determine the cause of the fire and will support Clachan as they move forward.”

After the 2018 fire, Benjamin said “The Babcock Building is a treasure, not just for the people of Columbia, but people across the state of South Carolina. It stands out, easily, as one of the most iconic and striking structures of South Carolina. Yes, it is the centerpiece of the campus. So a lot of us were gravely concerned as to how things might work out.”

Staff reporter Noah Feit contributed to this report.

This story was originally published September 12, 2020 at 8:24 AM.

David Travis Bland

The State

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David Travis Bland is The State’s editorial editor. In his prior position as a reporter, he was named the 2020 South Carolina Journalist of the Year by the SC Press Association. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2010. Support my work with a digital subscription