South Carolina State House

The seat of South Carolina's government in Columbia is a Greek Revival building of local blue granite, begun in the 1850s and not fully completed until 1907. During the Civil War it was shelled by Sherman's advancing army, and bronze stars now mark the points where cannonballs struck the western wall. The interior features marble halls, a domed lobby, and legislative chambers, while the grounds hold numerous monuments spanning the state's history. Free tours interpret both the architecture and the layered, contested memory it embodies.