Old Campus District, University of South Carolina, Historic district at University of South Carolina, United States.
The Old Campus District of the University of South Carolina is a historic district in Columbia, South Carolina, grouping the university's oldest buildings around a central lawn enclosed by brick structures. The buildings were built mostly in the Greek Revival and Classical Revival styles, and the district also contains the McKissick Museum, which holds permanent collections of minerals, artifacts, and decorative arts.
The university opened in 1801 and the first buildings on the site went up in the early years of the 19th century, forming the core of what is now the district. During the Civil War the campus was used as a hospital, which helped spare it from the destruction that affected much of Columbia.
The central green known as The Horseshoe is a curved lawn framed by old brick buildings that students and faculty cross every day. Its cobbled paths and shaded benches make it a natural meeting point during both quiet afternoons and larger campus events.
The district is open to visitors on foot and has no entry gate, so you can walk in at any time and explore the paths at your own pace. The McKissick Museum inside the district is free to enter, and weekdays during the academic year tend to give the place its most lived-in feeling.
The South Caroliniana Library, completed in 1840, is considered the oldest freestanding college library building in the United States that was built specifically for that purpose and still stands on its original site. It is open for research visits, though most people walking through the district pass it without knowing what it is.
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