May is National Preservation Month!

COLUMBIA,SC – May is National Preservation Month, and Historic Columbia, Columbia and Richland County’s preservation advocacy organization, has a full slate of events and activities to celebrate:

Behind-the-Scenes Tour: Vista Warehouse District | Thursday, April 30 at 6:30 p.m.
Tour some of the exciting business that have taken up residence in the Vista Warehouse District, including Copper Horse Distilling and Lewis + Clark Studios.
$25 for HC members, $35 for non-members. 21+ only. 929 Huger Street.

Happy Hour History Tour: Five Points | Fridays, May 1 and May 8 at 5:30 p.m.
Enjoy a Capital City cocktail with a twist on a Happy Hour History Tour of Five Points, highlighting the historic district’s stories and architecture in honor of Five Points’ 100th anniveary this year.
$20 for HC members, $25 for non-members. Tour meets at the Five Points Fountain.

Behind-the-Scenes Tour: Debruhl-Marshall House | Sunday, May 3 at 1:30 p.m.
Built ca.-1820, the Debruhl-Marshall House is one of Columbia’s most iconic historic homes. The Early Classical Revival-style brick building is on the National Register of Historic Properties, and the current owner is working closely with Historic Columbia, USC and other community partners to rehabilitate the home.
$15 for HC members, $20 for non-members. 1401 Laurel Street.

Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle, and Wolff: Building Modern Columbia | Monday, May 4 at 4 p.m.
Based in Columbia, Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle, & Wolff was perhaps the South’s preeminent architecture firm for thirty years following World War II and designed some of the state’s – and certainly Columbia’s – most notable buildings in a range of interpretations of Modernism. USC’s Modern architecture students will present on and then lead a tour of three of the most iconic buildings designed by LBC&W.
Free and open to the public. Lecture held in the Program Room at USC’s Thomas Cooper Library.

First Thursday on Main Street: Historic Tours | Thursday, May 7, 6 – 8 p.m.
Historic Columbia guides will give mini tours of significant historic sites on Main Street’s 1500, 1600 and 1700 blocks during First Thursday!
Free. 1500, 1600 and 1700 blocks of Main Street.

2015 Preservation Awards Luncheon | Friday, May 8 at 11:30 a.m.
Historic Columbia will celebrate recent projects that have maintained or added to the historical, architectural and cultural heritage of Columbia and Richland County.
$25. Agape Senior, 1620 Main Street.

National Public Gardens Day | Friday, May 8
Spend some time on National Public Gardens Day in Historic Columbia’s public gardens at the Robert Mills House, Hampton-Preston Mansion, Seibels House, Woodrow Wilson Family Home and Mann-Simons Site. National Public Gardens Day is an annual celebration of the nation’s public gardens to raise awareness of the important role botanical gardens and arboreta play in promoting environmental stewardship, plant and water conservation, green spaces, and education in communities nationwide. Historic Columbia’s public gardens are always free to visit and open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Second Sunday Stroll: Columbia’s Civil Rights History | Sunday, May 10 at 2 p.m.
2013’s Columbia SC 63 initiative endeavored to preserve Columbia’s Civil Rights History, and this walking tour is a direct result of those efforts. Explore Columbia’s rich Civil Rights history in this walking tour of Main Street, the site of many sit-ins, protests and marches where African American fought for self-determination and equality.
Free for HC members. $8 adults, $5 youth. Tour meets at S.C. State House.

Moonlight Cemetery & Secrets from the Grave Tours | Thursday, May 14 at 7:30, 8 and 8:30 p.m.
One hundred and sixty years of history will come to life during our popular Cemetery Tours! Grab your flashlight as we tour one of Columbia’s oldest cemeteries and discover centuries of stories etched in stone on the markers and headstones preserved within Elmwood Cemetery’s acres of carefully planned grounds. The perfect after-work activity, our cemetery tours are an event the whole family will enjoy.
HC Members: $8 adults, $4 youth. Non-members: $12 adults, $6 youth. 501 Elmwood Ave.

Dollar Sunday at Historic Columbia: Mann-Simons Site | Sunday, May 17, 1 – 4 p.m.
Residents of Richland and Lexington counties are invited tour Historic Columbia’s Mann-Simons Site for just $1! Each month, HC chooses one of its four house museums to feature for Dollar Sunday on a rotating basis, and in May, the featured house will be the Mann-Simons Site.
Free for HC members. $1 for residents of Richland and Lexington counties. All others $8 adults, $5 youth. The Mann-Simons Site is located at 1403 Richland Street. Purchase admission at the Gift Shop at Robert Mills, 1616 Blanding Street.

Historic Windows Restoration Workshop | Saturday, May 30, 9 a.m. – noon
Historic Columbia and the Committee for the Restoration and Beautification of Randolph Cemetery will hold a hands-on window restoration workshop at Thompson Cottage to wrap up Preservation Month! Led by historic preservation professionals Sean Stucker, Historic Columbia, and Staci Richey, City of Columbia, explore reasons to restore historic windows and techniques for doing so. Light breakfast is included, and tools and protective gear will be provided.
HC Members: $5. Students: $5. Non-members: $10. Thompson Cottage, 1623 Richland Street.

For more information about Historic Columba and to purchase admission to these events, visit historiccolumbia.org or call 803.252.1770 x 23.

About Historic Columbia

In November 1961, a small group of individuals intent on saving the Ainsley Hall House from demolition officially incorporated as the Historic Columbia Foundation. Over the next five decades the organization, which was founded on the premise of preservation and education, would take on the stewardship of seven historic properties in Richland County. Today, the organization serves as a model for local preservation efforts and interpretation of local history. Visit historiccolumbia.org or find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube for more details.