Columbia native Kim Aiken, 1994 Miss America (c) Soul Of America

Columbia

What makes a visit to Columbia, capitol of the Palmetto state, worthwhile? Most people begin their visit of loved ones at the University of South Carolina or Fort Jackson, one of our nation’s largest army bases. If you need a break from endless conversation about your daughter’s college friends or son’s Army buddies, you can find several interesting diversions while in town.

History
Around 1855, Waverly Historic District bounded by Harden, Taylor, Heidt and Gervais Streets, became Columbia’s first suburb. As time progressed, Waverly evolved into a self-sufficient community of black artisans, professionals and social reformers. Not long afterwards within the district, Benedict College and Allen University served … More

Cultural Sites
African American History Monument by sculptor Ed Dwight dedicated in 2001, the monument is the first of its kind on any of the nation’s statehouse grounds; it was designed to recapture the rich history of African Americans and their contributions to South Carolina … More

Family Attractions
South Carolina State Museum, Riverbanks Zoo & Botanical Garden, EdVenture Children’s Museum, Carolina Children’s Garden and McKissick Museum of Natural Science at University of South Carolina provide a rich cache of resources … More

Restaurants
Mac’s on Main, the standard-bearer Soul Food and Lowcountry cuisine owned by City Councilman, Blues guitarist and chef Barry Walker, Sr. and his wife, Susan Walker. Live entertainment nightly and guests can bring their instruments to sit in with the band … More

Places of Worship
Bethel AME Church, Bishop’s Memorial AME Church, First Calvary Baptist Church, Ladson Presbyterian Church, United House of Prayer for All People and Zion Baptist Church cover the gamut of Black church congregations … More

Historic Sites
The Big Apple, a former synagogue and nightclub, has been a Columbia landmark for the past 100 years. It was built as a synagogue around 1907 and originally located at 1318 Park Street. In 1930’s, the nightclub spurred the Big Apple dance craze nationwide and became one of Columbia’s most popular African American dance spots … More

General Attractions
South Carolina State House, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia Riverfront Park and Historic Canal, Nickelodeon Theatre, Koger Center for the Arts, State Farmers Market, University of South Carolina and Columbia City Jazz Dance Company … More

Trivia, Radio Stations and Famous Residents
Local resident Kimberly Clarice Aiken became the 5th African-American to hold the title of Miss America 1994 and Colonel Charles Bolden, Jr. piloted the Space Shuttle Columbia and ran NASA … More