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Taylor House

Introduction

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This historic house was built by businessman Thomas Taylor, Jr. in 1908. Now owned by the University of South Carolina, it is the only turn-of-the-century mansion in Columbia still standing. The L-shaped home features a Neoclassical design with a two-story projecting portico supported by fluted Corinthian columns, a main entrance surrounded with stone columns and a broken pediment, and a Flemish bond brick exterior. For many years the Taylor House was the location of the Columbia Museum of Art. The current use of the house as of 2021 is unclear.

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The historic Taylor House was built in 1908 by its namesake, Thomas Taylor, Jr., who was a prominent local businessman. It house the Columbia Museum of Art for many years. Its now owned by the University of South Carolina.

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Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Thomas Taylor, Jr. was born to a distinguished family. He was the great-grandson of Colonel Thomas Taylor, who served in the Revolutionary War and owned a plantation that was chosen in the 1790s to be the site of the City of Columbia. Taylor was a prominent and influential figure in Columbia in the early 1900s, serving in a number of roles including as the president of the Taylor Manufacturing Company, vice president and secretary of the Carolina Glass Company, and the second vice president of the Palmetto National Bank and Trust Company.

The family donated the house to the Columbia Art Association in 1949, which was established that year. The Association converted the Taylor House into the Columbia Museum of Art, which opened the next year. The museum remained here until it moved to its current location in 1998. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and is a designated as a Grade 1 Local Landmark.

Sources

"1501 Senate Street." Historic Columbia. Accessed April 28, 2021. https://www.historiccolumbia.org/tour-locations/1501-senate-street.

"Historic Taylor House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. July 6, 1982. http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/richland/S10817740068/S10817740068.pdf.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taylor_House_left_oblique.jpg

Additional Information