Columbia Historic District I

National Register Listing

Street Address:

Roughly bounded by Elmwood, Assembly, Laurel, and Wayne Sts., Columbia, SC (Richland County)

Alternate Name:

Arsenal Hill

---

NRHP Nomination

Record Number:

S10817740018

Description and Narrative:

The area of the Columbia Historic District I was established as a result of Columbia’s development into a center of government and trade between the upper and lower parts of the state. Also known as Arsenal Hill, the area was a complex of fine mansions and attractive homes built before the Civil War. The district is politically significant as a center of state and nationally related affairs with the Governor’s Mansion as the focal point. It is architecturally significant for the variety of architectural styles indicative or unique to the area such as Greek Revival, Italianate, Classical Revival, and the “Columbia Cottage.” Noteworthy landscape architecture in the district includes the Caldwell-Hampton-Boylston House gardens, a significant example of evolving garden planning from the time the house was built ca. 1830 through its development formally in the 1890s to the present. Arsenal Hill has retained stately tree-lined streets and a number of its original homes. Listed in the National Register May 6, 1971.

Period of Significance:

1825;after 1800

Level of Significance:

National

Area of Significance:

Architecture;Industry;Landscape Architecture;Military;Politics/Government

National Register Determination:

listed

Date of Certification:

May 6 1971

---