1300 Greene Street
Longstreet Theatre
In 1855, South Carolina College constructed this building in the style of a Roman temple. The structure's acoustics were so poor that it could not be used for its original purpose as the college's new chapel. It was named after Augustus B. Longstreet, a staunch secessionist and president of South Carolina College from 1857 until 1861. During his tenure most of the student body enlisted to fight in the Confederate Army, causing the school to close.The building was used during the Civil War as a hospital for both Confederate and Union soldiers, which may have saved the building during the burning of Columbia. Later uses include a labratory and gymnasium. During the Works Progress Administration under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt the structure received an addition of a natatorium to its south elevation. Decorative tiles featuring swimmers and divers can still be seen near the addition's roofline. Rehabilitated in 1976 as a theatre, the structure features a theatre-in-the-round and costume workshop.
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Longstreet Theatre, "Artwork of Columbia, S.C., published by Gravure Illustration Company, 1905." Historic Columbia collection, HCF 2008.4.1C
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Longstreet Theatre, circa 1910s. Historic Columbia collection
