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Top Attractions in Columbia

South Carolina State Museum

The South Carolina State Museum, located in Columbia, South Carolina, is the largest museum in the Southeastern United States. Positioned on an old shipping canal on the Congaree River that dates back to pre-Civil War times, the museum is widely recognized as a resource for South Carolina history and lifestyle. The museum opened October 29, 1988 and is housed in what it calls its largest artifact, the former Columbia Mills Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. When the mill opened in 1894, manufacturing cotton duck cloth, it was the first totally electric textile mill in the world. It was also the first major industrial installation for the General Electric corporation. On certain levels of the museum, the original flooring has been kept intact, distinguishable by hundreds of textile brads and rings that became embedded in the floor while it was still being used as a mill. The museum represents four disciplines: art, cultural history, science and technology, and natural history. Exhibits include life-size replicas of the Best Friend of Charleston, the first American-built locomotive, and the H.L. Hunley, the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat. The second floor is notable for its recreation of a Megalodon, named Finn, suspended mid-air just around a corner, which has scared countless groups of young children. The museum has an "Official" Story Chair designed and donated by Storyteller Mike Miller for the benefit of children and storytellers.

Hampton-Preston House

The Hampton-Preston House located at 1615 Blanding Street in Columbia, South Carolina, is a historic mansion that was the home of members of the prominent Hampton family. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 29, 1969. Ainsley Hall, a wealthy Columbia merchant, had the house constructed in 1818. It was purchased a few years later by former War of 1812 general Wade Hampton I, a wealthy cotton planter. In turn, his son Wade Hampton II and grandson Wade Hampton III also resided in the home at various times, although ownership passed after Hampton Is death to his daughter Caroline and her husband, State Senator John S. Preston. During the latter part of the American Civil War, the house was used as the headquarters of Union Maj. Gen. John A. Logan during the occupation of Columbia. The South Carolina Presbyterian Institute for Young Ladies acquired the mansion in 1890. The house is of a post-Colonial, Classical Revival style, having a broad veranda across the front with Doric columns and a fanlight above. Inside is a sweeping circular stairway with mahogany rails. A crystal chandelier hangs in the middle of the hall. The rooms are spacious, and one is adorned with a white marble mantel by the sculptor Hiram Powers. The gardens covered a city block and were known throughout the state, but they have been plowed under and felled, eventually becoming a parking lot. The Hampton-Preston House was restored and reopened to the public in 1970 as a museum that epitomizes the lives of the planter elite in antebellum South Carolina, and is operated by the Historic Columbia Foundation. It is located in the Columbia Historic District II.

Carolina Coliseum

Carolina Coliseum is a 12,401 seat multi-purpose arena in Columbia, South Carolina. The largest arena in South Carolina at the time of its completion, it was the home of the University of South Carolina mens and womens basketball teams and Columbias main events venue until 2002, when the Carolina Center, now Colonial Life Arena, opened a block away on Greene Street. It was home to the Columbia Inferno of the ECHL until poor ticket sales caused the Inferno to leave the Coliseum and plans to build an arena in Irmo collapsed as a result of the recession. The facility is also home to classrooms at the university, with active classrooms used in the lower levels, and high school commencement ceremonies in the metropolitan region, as many school venues are too small for such ceremonies. The arena, opened in 1968, was not designed for hockey, but as a result, the small rink has created an atmosphere which many ECHL coaches have called the toughest rink in the ECHL. Prior to the building of the Coliseum, the Gamecocks had played in Carolina Fieldhouse from 1927 until it burned in 1968, and the Carolina Gymnasium prior to that. The Coliseum was the host of the NCAA Basketball Tournament East Regional in 1970. Until 2002, when Greenvilles Bi-Lo Center was a host, it was the only time the tournament was played in South Carolina. The Metro Conference mens basketball tournament was held here in 1989. In 1977, the playing surface was renamed "Frank McGuire Arena" after head basketball coach Frank McGuire. Hed been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame a few weeks earlier. The coliseum has hosted concerts by artists such as Kiss, The Grateful Dead, Ted Nugent, Rod Stewart, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Metallica, and many others over the years of its operation. With the exit of Inferno hockey the Coliseum now returns to serve the community and hosts various events. Recently the Coliseum has been used as a tour rehearsal space for acts such as Elton John, John Mayer and Billy Joel. Although it is an older facility, its many positive technical attributes have made it a desirable venue for tour rehearsals. A conflict with a Miranda Lambert concert at Colonial Life Arena resulted an announcement by the Athletics Department on November 1, 2012 that the January 17, 2013 womens basketball game against Louisiana State will be moved to the Coliseum. This will mark the first use of the venue as the official backup venue for the teams. There was consideration of moving in some games to the Coliseum in order to allow Comcast to host larger events in Colonial Life Arena. In July officials announced that no more games would be played and during the fall of 2014, 3000 seats were removed and the arena floor was converted to two practice courts for the Gamecock mens and womens teams. The old coliseum playing surface was auctioned in January for $23,215.

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