COLUMBIA, S.C. — Close to 200 years of history is packed into the walls of the Babcock Building Building in The BullStreet District. That history will come alive for some, thanks to Behind-the-Scenes Tours at The Babcock in February.
The Renaissance Revival style building, which was opened in the 1850s, has taken different shapes throughout its history, but is most well-known as the State Psychiatric Hospital, according to Kat Allen with Historic Columbia.
"It was built to house and treat people who had mental illnesses, who had physical disabilities and their treatment varied greatly," Allen said.
The property changed ownership a number of times, at one point laying vacant and abandoned, according to Allen. Now an integral part of revitalizing the Bull Street District, the building is being converted into apartments by Clachlan Properties. The building is set to offer 218 apartments, with less than 60 still in construction.
"It definitely comes with its own set of challenges," said Clachlan Properties Vice President Amy Creason. "You often don't know what's behind a wall or want to move something and you just can't because it's part of the structure, but it makes our apartments really unique, though."
In an attempt to preserve and share the building's history, Historic Columbia is offering tours of the "The Babcock," as it is now known, on February 25.
Participants will have an exclusive opportunity to walk through several sections of the rehabilitated building and learn about life at the site over the last 140 years. Allen says the tours will showcase some of the historic architecture, as well as patient stories.
"We're going to be hearing about 140 years of history," Allen said. "The tours are about an hour long, and we are spending the entire time in the Babcock Building. We're also going to be hearing about several individual stories from the period of the 1880s and the 1910s."
Samantha Miller has been living in The Babcock since July. She says before living here, she had no idea about the building's history.
"I actually ended up reading a book about this place after I signed my lease, just to learn about the history, how it functioned and all the things it did to help the people that were housed here when it was a mental facility," Miller said.
Miller says she sees the historic tours as a way to educate tenants and people in the surrounding neighborhood.
"I think it's a really good way to educate people, especially because I went to college here for four years and had no idea what this building was, where it was," Miller said. "I support it. I could see how some people might feel like it's an invasion of privacy, but I think it's a really great idea."
Tours will take place on Saturday, February 25, beginning at 9 a.m. and continue incrementally all day. Tickets are available for $35 exclusively to Historic Columbia members through January 31. Tickets for the general public will launch on February 1 for $50 each.
Learn more about the tours and reserve your tickets here.