Columbia SC reminded me of the Austin of 40 years ago

The Classic Revival SC State House was completed in 1875 with construction delayed by the Civil War; the impressive building houses the General Assembly as well as the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor

The hugely popular Soda City Market takes place every Saturday from 9a-1p; each of the 150+ vendors must make or grow their own products with the food trucks doing a great business

The world's largest fire hydrant is 40 ft tall and weighs 675,000 lbs; the band Hootie and the Blowfish are from the city (their 1994 debut album, Cracked Rear View, is the 19th-best-selling album of all time in the US)

The Hampton–Preston House was used as the headquarters of Union Maj. Gen. John A. Logan during the occupation of Columbia and is now a museum that epitomizes the lives of the planter elite in antebellum SC

In 1860, the SC Secession Convention took place in Columbia where delegates voted for secession, making this the first state to leave the Union; the first six states to secede were those whose planters held the most enslaved African Americans

This was the home of Woodrow Wilson from 1871 to 1875 (when he left to attend Princeton); completed in 1871, this is the only home Wilson's parents would ever own after having lived in church-provided housing in Augusta GA prior to this

The 359 acre campus of the University of South Carolina is spread out across downtown Columbia (reminding me of a smaller UT campus); this view is of the U-shaped quadrangle known as the Horseshoe, where most of the original buildings are

The Longstreet Theatre was built in the style of a Roman temple in 1855 by the University of SC as a chapel; it's named after a president of the University who was a staunch Secessionist (things are slow to change here)

The Darla Moore School of Business at the University of SC is well known for its undergraduate international business program; it's named after a USC graduate and Wall Street financier who donated $25 million

The Seibels House is thought to be the oldest surviving building in the city; records were lost when the city burned in 1865 on Sherman's March but a beam in the basement is carved with 1796 (city was founded in 1786)

When Columbia Mills opened in 1894 it was the first totally electric textile mill in the world (and the first major industrial installation for GE); the building now houses the huge SC State Museum

The Manns-Simon Cottage (1850) was the home of the first African-Americans to own property in the city; the property stayed in the same family for 130 years until it was turned into a small museum

EdVenture is the largest children's museum in the SE US and second only to the one in Indianapolis (the world's largest); opened in 2003, the 92,000 sq ft museum also now has a branch in Myrtle Beach

Built in 1823, the Robert Mills House is now named for its builder (he also designed the Washington Monument) rather than its original owner; it's one of five National Historic Landmarks in the city

The huge mural, Tunnelvision, shows a craggy portal to a world under a different moon which, if it were real, would be large enough to drive a large car through

The Gothic-Revival Trinity Episcopal Cathedral was completed in 1857 and was modeled after the York Minster in York, England; it is the oldest surviving sanctuary in the city and is just across the street from the SC State House

Strom Thurmond was governor before serving as US Senator representing SC for 48 years; the statue of this staunch segregationist and civil rights opponent was revised to add the name of his mixed race daughter

Town Theatre, built in 1924, is the oldest community theatre building in continuous use in the US; thanks to the University, downtown Columbia was vibrant with new residences, businesses, and plenty of bars and restaurants

In SC, the University of SC is known as Carolina (school colors are garnet and black) with the Gamecocks being their mascot; however among wiser people Carolina usually means the more respected University of NC

Columbia is often abbreviated as Cola, leading to its nickname as Soda City; the city is located about 13 miles NW of the geographic center of SC and has a population of roughly 140,000 (metro area 830,000)

The Columbia Museum of Art had an excellent permanent collection but rather dull temporary exhibits; Georgia O'Keefee taught at USC in 1915 while Jasper Johns grew up in SC and attended USC in the late 1940s

Ainsley Hall, a wealthy Columbia merchant, had this house constructed in 1818; it was purchased a few years later by former War of 1812 general Wade Hampton I, a wealthy cotton planter

To commemorate the Civil War centennial in 1962, the Confederate battle flag was raised atop the dome of the SC State House; it was taken down in 2000 and moved to the Confederate Monument (on the grounds) before finally being removed permanently in 2015