Intersection of Taylor and Williams Streets
Site of South Carolina State Penitentiary
Having established its penal system in 1866, South Carolina opened a penitentiary on the Congaree River’s east bank the following year. During the course of 127 years, this facility, later known as Central Correctional Institution (CCI), grew to accommodate increasing numbers of inmates and changes in reform methods. The prison closed in 1994 and the City of Columbia bought the 25-acre site in 1995. Despite attempts to preserve the prison’s historic buildings, all were demolished to make way for new development. Today, the CanalSide neighborhood belies the once-infamous character of the site.