901 Richland Street
Matthew J. Perry Federal Courthouse
The courthouse, completed in 2003, is named in honor of South Carolina's most prominent civil rights lawyer and federal district court judge. A Columbia native, graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, and veteran of World War II, Matthew James Perry (1921-2011) achieved a number of "firsts" during his distinguished career. The first African American in South Carolina's history to be appointed to the U.S. District Court, Judge Perry was also the first African American lawyer from the Deep South to be appointed to a federal bench with the U.S. Military Court of Appeals. Judge Perry received numerous honors including the prestigious Order of the Palmetto, South Carolinian of the Year, and the NAACP's William R. Ming Advocacy Award.
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Postcard of federal courthouse, 1940s. Historic Columbia collection
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Matthew J. Perry, undated. Image courtesy John H. McCray Papers, South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia
