USC to transform museum, visitors center building into bustling student hub
A major renovation of the University of South Carolina’s McKissick Building, located at the east corner of the historic Horseshoe, is expected to transform the aging structure into a hive of student activity.
The 86-year-old neoclassical building, which originally functioned as the university’s main library and in recent decades has served as a museum and visitors center, will be reconfigured as part of a plan to breathe new life into the historic core of campus and create more shared learning spaces for students.
The $55 million project, developed as part of USC’s 10-year master plan, was approved Wednesday by the state’s Joint Bond Review Committee, a legislative body that oversees state capital improvement projects.
Construction on the McKissick Building, which has more than 60,000 square feet of space spread over four floors, a partial basement and a domed rotunda, could get underway as soon as fall 2026.
It will be funded with state institution bonds.
The McKissick Museum, established in 1976, has temporarily closed in anticipation of the renovation and will relocate its collections later this year. The university’s satellite visitors center, located at 1311 Pendleton St., will shoulder the needs of campus visitors during the renovation.
University architect Derek Gruner said last week that the McKissick renovation would reinvigorate the building, which for years has drawn minimal student foot traffic.
“After they go through the visitors center as high school seniors, they don’t go into the building the whole four years that they’re here,” Gruner said. “They will come to love this building.”
The renovated McKissick will be a “hub of campus activity,” with several new classrooms, common study areas with rotating art exhibits, a café, outdoor roof patio, event space and a modernized visitors center, officials said.
In addition to the functional changes, the renovation will also include updates to the building’s outdated mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, the addition of a fire sprinkler system and enhanced accessibility features for disabled visitors.
If all goes to plan, the refreshed building could be ready by August 2028.
Over the coming months, McKissick Museum staff will be recataloguing the museum’s collection of rocks and gems, historic textiles, sculptures, paintings and ceramics in preparation for their relocation to a climate-controlled university facility for the duration of the construction project.
When the building reopens, one of the new classrooms will be designed for the study and display of items previously housed in the museum, which closed in December .
By embedding the museum’s artifacts into the redesigned student hub, officials aim to make its nationally-recognized collection of Southern folk art more visible to students .