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University History

  • Thomas Cooper Reflecting pool from an areal view surrounded by green trees.

Green Spaces

The Columbia campus is an award-winning urban forest with more than 7,000 trees. Green and urban spaces interweave to form a vast, more than 400-acre environment of learning and living spaces.

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    A.C. Moore Garden

    Corner of Blossom and Pickens streets

    The secluded A.C. Moore Garden is home to a small duck pond surrounded by flowering shrubs and tall trees. The garden commemorates Andrew C. Moore, who twice served as acting president of the university. The garden, first created in 1936 and dedicated in 1941, was re-dedicated in 2001 as part of the university’s bicentennial celebration.
    Photo by Rick Smoak Photography

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    Anne’s Garden

    Arnold School of Public Health Courtyard

    The garden, named for alumna and Columbia Green founder Anne Rainey, features a centerpiece bronze sculpture, “Las Palomas.” The Spanish name translates into “The Doves” in English and honors the doves and enduring hope depicted by the sculpture.
    Photo by Rick Smoak Photography

  • Stone statue of fauns and other mythical creatures in front of a brick wall.

    Barringer House Garden

    Corner of Pickens and Barnwell streets (near Close-Hipp Buildings)

    The university’s former alumni house features two gardens — an expansive main garden and a private secondary garden. The picturesque building and grounds, which now serve as an event venue, feature walking paths, iron gates, renovated landscaping, tall trees and benches.
    Photo by Rick Smoak Photography

  • Raised garden box with green leafy vegetables growing in a row and a sign that says garden space.

    Community Garden

    Preston Green College Quad

    Full or half garden plots in the Carolina Community Garden can be tended by groups of at least four students, faculty or staff. The raised beds are often overflowing with seasonable herbs and vegetables and offer the peace of gardening for campus green thumbs.

  • Beautiful oak trees along a low brick wall with sunlight shining through.

    Davis Field

    Next to Russell House

    Before Russell House was built in the 1950s, Davis Field was an outdoor athletics and recreation venue that stretched along Greene Street from Longstreet Theatre to Melton Field (near the current location of the Russell House), where Carolina played football. Today the restored green space is smaller, but once again used as a gathering space for campus.
    Photo by Avery Williams

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    Gibbes Green

    Near McKissick Museum and Davis College

    The green was once an open space between the university and the City of Columbia. A circular walkway within the gentle hills is a hub for multiple brick pathways that connect nearby buildings and the pedestrian footbridge extending to the east campus.
    Photo by Rick Smoak Photography

  • Brick patio with white tables and chairs and red umbrellas and a fountain in the back with a plaque with a palmetto tree on it.

    McCutchen House Garden

    McCutchen House (on the Horseshoe)

    The McCutchen House, which features gardens on both sides, is flanked by colorful crepe myrtles and low- to mid-sized shrubs including nandina, camellia, loropetalum and fatsia. The patio is home to a seasonal outdoor café operated by the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management.

  • Brick walkway with a wrought iron bench at the end surrounded by flowering beds.

    Memorial Rose Garden

    Lieber College (on the Horseshoe)

    The Memorial Rose Garden was created by the Columbia Garden Club Foundation in 1960. Once part of the South Caroliniana Garden, it was moved to Lieber College in the 1970s and later expanded with an addition dedicated to former First Lady Norma Cannon Palms.

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    Norma Cannon Palms Rose Garden

    Lieber College (on the Horseshoe)

    South Carolina College was completely housed in Rutledge College the first four years. The central portion housed classrooms, laboratories, a library and the chapel, while wings on either side provided faculty and student housing.
    Photo by Rick Smoak Photography

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    President’s House Garden

    President's House (on the Horseshoe)

    South Carolina College was completely housed in Rutledge College the first four years. The central portion housed classrooms, laboratories, a library and the chapel, while wings on either side provided faculty and student housing.
    Photo by Rick Smoak Photography

  • Wooden benches along the sidewalk in a grassy area on the south side of campus.

    South Campus

    Wheat, Sumter, Whaley and Pickens streets area

    The south campus is undergoing a multistage redevelopment. Along with new academic environments and the South Quad residence hall, a campus village is underway featuring additional student residences, dining, green spaces, courtyards, bike paths and pedestrian walkways that connect to campus.

  • Tall crepe mytrles framed with a brick wall and a fountain in the middle of the garden.

    South Caroliniana Garden

    Behind South Caroliniana Library

    The South Caroliniana Garden is located behind the South Caroliniana Library. Once home to the Horseshoe's original Memorial Rose Garden, it now features a three-tiered fountain, a Civil War cannon ball and a defective marble column originally intended for use on the state capitol.
    Photo by Rick Smoak Photography

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    University Greenhouse

    Horseshoe (near President’s House)

    The University Greenhouse is used to grow potted palms, ferns, orchids and other tropical plants for events in the President's House and around campus. The structure replaced an aging greenhouse that was demolished to make room for a studio beside the School of Journalism and Mass Communications Building on Sumter Street.
    Photo by Rick Smoak Photography

 

 

University History

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