Capstone House

1967; Residence Hall, Top of Carolina Dining Room, Conference Center

This 18-story residence hall topped by a rotating dining facility was a significant "first" for the University of South Carolina and also for the Carolinas. Housing the first, and only, revolving restaurant in North and South Carolina, Capstone gave the area an attraction comparable to those in several major cities. "Top of Carolina," thought to be the only such dining facility on any university campus in the country, is now used only for catered events. The rotating platform and mechanism were acquired from an exhibit at the New York World's Fair and were gifts of a South Carolina manufacturer, Robert G. Wilson. The Campus Room on the first floor accommodates Board of Trustees meetings and other important functions.

Capstone House was the first honors residence at USC. Liberalized rules governing house regulations and curfews were among the innovations which occurred in student life when Capstone opened.

Guest rooms on the 17th floor of Capstone House have plaques commemorating former heads of the University: William Porcher Miles (1822-1899), John M. McBryde (1841-1923), Robert Henry (1792-1856), Henry J. Nott (1797-1837), Andrew C. Moore (1866-1928), Charles F. McCay (1810-1868), and Francis W. Bradley (1884-1971).