South Carolina State House Architecture

The South Carolina State House in Columbia is a five-story, pentagonal (five-sided) building with these distinctive features:

• Main entrance faces south onto Gervais Street.
• Dome topped by a 20-foot copper star (added 1900; originally a copper ball).
• Legislative chambers (Senate & House) on the 2nd floor.
• Office suites for both chambers wrap the 1st, 3rd, and 5th floors around the perimeter.
• Rotunda on the 4th floor—open central space under the dome.
• Exterior: Granite (from Winnsboro, SC); Greek Revival / Renaissance Revival style.
• Grounds: Monuments (Confederate, African American History, Palmetto Regiment), mature oaks, magnolias.

Construction spanned 1855–1907 (interrupted by Civil War, funding, design changes). The building survived Sherman's 1865 march (shell damage visible on columns).