The University of South Carolina’s restoration of the Taylor House has received three prestigious South Carolina historic preservation awards recognizing excellence in renovation efforts.
USC was honored by Historic Columbia, the South Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and, most recently, with the South Carolina Preservation Honor Award sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History and the Office of the Governor.
Also, the facade work at Longstreet Theatre earned the Stewardship Award from the Department of Archives and History.
“To understand and restore the original design integrity of the home, the project underwent the usual research of historic architectural details using the original 1908 construction plans,” says university architect Derek Gruner. “However, the renovation also required enormous patience as the work was executed in phases over many years following a prescribed sequence of work.”
The project, which started a decade ago with the construction of the adjacent Joseph F. Rice School of Law, was completed in 2024.
The work not only returned the home to its former glory but also modernized it with numerous mechanical and life system upgrades such as fire alarms and a sprinkler system that were integrated to preserve the character and details of the rooms.
Other exterior work included reinstalling a historically appropriate terra cotta tile roof, repairing and fabricating new exterior copper soffit details and downspouts, restoring original windows where possible and repointing or replacing deteriorated brickwork.
Located at the corner of Bull and Senate streets, the Taylor House was originally constructed in 1908 for Thomas and Susan Ames Taylor Jr. The home had been a personal residence for the Taylors as well as the site for the Columbia Museum of Art before its latest transformation into an office and event space for the law school.
USC Facilities' planning, design and construction team relied upon other resources including photographs, postcards and the childhood memories of Susan Boyd, a Taylor family descendant, while also consulting with the State Historic Preservation Office and the city of Columbia’s preservation staff.
The university along with the Boyd Foundation, Tyler Construction and the BOUDREAUX Group helped restore or refurbish the Taylor House’s original lighting, plaster and wood details and finishes.
The Boyd Foundation, chaired by Susan Boyd, not only provided financial support but also donated original Taylor family furnishings to make the restoration even more authentic.
“To have the opportunity to work with Ms. Boyd, hear her recollections of life in the house and finally return family portraits and original furniture to the house enabled not just the architectural character of the house to be restored but, in a sense, the house has reclaimed its soul,” Gruner says.
This is the fifth award USC has received from Historic Columbia since 2016. USC was also recognized for its work on Longstreet Theatre (2024), USC’s chemistry lab (2020), the Kennedy Greenhouse Studio (2017) and Hamilton College (2016). It’s the second-consecutive year USC has been honored by all three outlets, with the renovation of the South Caroliniana Library earning the two statewide awards last year.