South Carolina State House to Open for Tours Every Saturday
June 20, 2014
COLUMBIA, SC – Beginning Saturday, July 12th, Columbia, SC’s most iconic landmark – the South Carolina State House – will be open to visitors every Saturday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. for free self-guided and guided tours that will commence every hour beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Guests will be able to purchase souvenirs in the gift shop during the hours of operation and officers from the Bureau of Protective Services will be on location to ensure safety and to keep a running count of the number of Saturdayvisitors. The main doors of the House and Senate Chambers will be open during the Saturday tours to allow guests to look inside, but the glass-paneled doors will remain closed as no one will be permitted to actually enter either chamber.
“The South Carolina State House is a remarkable building with a rich history,” said Bill Ellen, president and CEO of the Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism. “The State House is unique to the Columbia region and we are thrilled to have this opportunity to showcase it to the many visitors traveling to ‘The New Southern Hot Spot’ every weekend!”
The State House has previously only been open for weekend tours on the first Saturday of each month. The Columbia Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) has been marketing the State House’s first Saturdaytours by way of social media, delivering flyers to nearby hotels and stationing sandwich boards at Soda City Market. The Columbia CVB is looking forward to continuing those efforts on a weekly basis, as well as working in conjunction with the SC State House Tour Office, a division of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, to implement long-term initiatives for touting Saturday tours to the region’s 4 million annual visitors.
The State House will not be open for tours on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014 or Saturday, Dec. 27th, 2014.
About Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism
The Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism is a private, not-for-profit corporation funded primarily by revenue generated by visitors through accommodations taxes and is the parent organization of the Columbia Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center and the Columbia Regional Sports Council. The mission of the Midlands Authority is to strengthen the area’s economy by marketing and selling Columbia, its accommodations, restaurants, facilities and attractions a destination for meetings, conventions, tradeshows, special events and leisure travel. For more information, please visit columbiacvb.com/.
