First Presbyterian Church, Gothic church building in downtown Columbia, United States

First Presbyterian Church is a Gothic-style church building in downtown Columbia with a tall tower that shapes the city's skyline. The interior holds space for roughly 1,250 people and contains a notable organ.

Meetings began in 1795, but the congregation had no building until 1813, when the legislature incorporated it and it received the shared cemetery lot at Lady and Marion Streets. That 1813 building survives as Jackson Hall; the English Gothic structure was built in 1853. Sherman's march spared it, but an 1875 hurricane destroyed the 180-foot spire, rebuilt in 1888 and damaged again by a 1910 fire. A 1925 remodeling by architect R. H. Hunt lengthened the building by 40 feet and raised capacity from 800 to 1,250.

The cemetery holds Henry William de Saussure, second director of the United States Mint, Jonathan Maxcy, first president of South Carolina College, and Martha Thomas Fitzgerald, the first woman elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. A local legend says the Presbyterians and Episcopalians drew lots for the land, and First Presbyterian received the old shared cemetery at Lady and Marion Streets.

The church is open and welcoming to visitors; you can explore the architecture and interior whenever the doors are unlocked. The downtown location makes it easy to reach on foot and combine with nearby areas of Columbia.

The 180-foot spire was toppled by an 1875 hurricane, rebuilt in 1888, damaged again in a 1910 fire, and then rebuilt eight feet taller. The 1925 remodeling by Chattanooga architect R. H. Hunt lengthened the building by 40 feet and raised capacity from 800 to 1,250.