Past Meets Present

A black and white photo of the old post office on Gervais Street, which is now the South Carolina Supreme Court.

An inquiry about the original doors to the Supreme Court of South Carolina building on Gervais Street turned into a treasure hunt, yielding images of Columbia that are pretty different than what we know today. The law librarian at the Court asked for anything we could find about the front doors to the building, which was a post office until the state bought it in 1966. Images like this one from the Digital Public Library of America show their appearance. Connecting with the National Archives, we learned that the building's architectural drawings and plans are on file in Maryland.

Upcoming Event

Len Lawson phot and the cover of his book, New Names for Stars.

Speaker at the Center Presents Len Lawson, Poet and Author

June 16, 2026, 6:00 PM

Please join us for our next Speaker at the Center talk on June 16th at 6:00 for our talk with Len Lawson, Poet and Author of New Names for Stars, accompanied by Miho Kinnas and Kathleen Nalley. Len Lawson is the winner of the Lit Fox Award (Lit Fox Books, 2026). He will be joined by Japanese poet Miho Kinnas and author Kathleen Nalley in reading selections from his newest release.