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Lois Carlisle

Consulting Historian
MCM Home Interior

Palladium Goes Modern for Annual Fall Tour

By: Lois Carlisle, Consulting Historian

Monday, October 7th 2019

Mid-Century Modern is having a moment. Join Historic Columbia’s Palladium as it goes behind the scenes in some of the city’s most stand-out Modern structures during its Fall Tour on Sunday, November 3. Stops include private homes staged with contemporary and original mid-century furniture and art, and the iconic Seibels...

Restoration at Modjeska Monteith Simkins House

Restore, Don't Replace Your Old Windows

By: Lois Carlisle, Consulting Historian

Friday, March 15th 2019

Historic windows are both lenses and frames. These vital architectural features can define the character of whole neighborhoods and help us see our community in a whole new light. Often, damage to historic windows is superficial—someone painted them shut, the sash sags, they’re drafty. Almost all historic wood windows can...

Motel Simbeth postcard

#TBT: Motel Simbeth + Cornwell Tourist Home

By: Lois Carlisle, Consulting Historian

Thursday, February 21st 2019

We’ve talked about the Green Book before in this series , but here’s a refresher: As automobile travel grew increasingly popular from the 1930s through the 1960s, African Americans found themselves faced with what historian Gretchen Sorin called “an uncertain landscape,” much of which was “composed of white spaces where...

Modjeska Simkins on her porch

#TBT: Who is Modjeska Monteith Simkins?

By: Lois Carlisle, Consulting Historian

Thursday, February 8th 2018

For more than sixty years, Modjeska Monteith Simkins used the wooden cottage at the corner of Elmwood and Marion St. as both a home and a headquarters. One of the greatest human rights advocates in South Carolina's history, Modjeska Monteith Simkins led the charge for equality tirelessly her entire adult...

Trivia

From Hamilton to Hampton Street: HC Tackles Musical Trivia

By: Lois Carlisle, Consulting Historian

Friday, January 18th 2019

True or false: On January 25th, the award-winning smash musical Hamilton is coming to Columbia. We wish it were true. But on January 25th, Historic Columbia brings you the next best thing— Historic Happy Hour! And this month, we’re tackling the Tony award-winning giant, Hamilton: An American Musical. What does...

Historic Jubilee Photo

Jubilee Turned 40 in 2018

By: Lois Carlisle, Consulting Historian

Thursday, September 13th 2018

2018 marked the 40th anniversary of the Jubilee: Festival of Black History and Culture, making it the longest-running festival in recent Columbia history. Since 1978, Columbians have gathered on the grounds of the Mann-Simons Site at the corner of Richland and Marion streets to celebrate African American culture, cuisine and...

Gil

In Defense of Mid-Century Modern

By: Lois Carlisle, Consulting Historian

At the corner of Pickens and Gervais streets in downtown Columbia, there stands a Queen Anne mansion. The home is uniquely Victorian with a high turret and cedar-shingled roofline. There are few people in Columbia who, today, would say the house is anything short of beautiful. If you traveled back...

Russell House

#TBT: Mid-Century Mod

By: Lois Carlisle, Consulting Historian

Thursday, January 11th 2018

This is part of our #TBT collaboration with Cola Today.

rocket parade float

TBT: Santa in a spaceship to 1953

By: Lois Carlisle, Consulting Historian

Sunday, January 7th 2018

This is part of a #TBT collaboration with Cola Today