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The purpose of the South Carolina Picture Project is to celebrate the beauty of the Palmetto State while preserving some of its vanishing landscapes.

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USC School of Medicine

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SC Picture Project / Richland County / USC School of Medicine

This brick duplex on the campus of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia was designed by architect J.E. Miller and built in 1932. Originally home to the William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veteran Affairs Hospital – better known simply as the Veterans Hospital – the campus was built in just one year, beginning in November of 1931 and completed in November of 1932. The duplex seen here served as housing for hospital staff.

School Of Medicine Duplex

Blake Lewis of Shaw Air Force Base, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

By the 1970s the University of South Carolina applied for a grant from the Veterans Administration to develop a medical school affiliated with the Veterans Hospital in Columbia. By 1977 the USC School of Medicine had opened on the hospital’s historic campus, which had been renovated to accommodate a modern medical school, while a new Veterans Hospital had been built adjacent to the former site. Clinical departments for the school are now located in Richland Medical Park in central Columbia.

USC School of Medicine

William Thursby of Ware Shoals, 2017 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Today the medical school continues to be affiliated with the Veterans Hospital. The USC School of Medicine is also affiliated with Palmetto Health, including Palmetto Health Richland and Palmetto Health Baptist, Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center, and facilities of the South Carolina Department of Mental Health.

USC School of Medicine

William Thursby of Ware Shoals, 2017 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The campus of the USC School of Medicine is listed in the National Register as the Veterans Hospital:

The William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of South Carolina School of Medicine Historic District, referred to by its historic name Veterans Hospital, is nationally significant in the areas of architecture and health care. The historic district is representative of early to mid-twentieth century institutional architecture, and as an “architectural set” of hospitals completed throughout the country, represents a major shift in veterans health care by segregating patients based on affliction. The original buildings date to 1932, with additional buildings completed in 1937, 1945, 1946, with a large expansion in the 1970s.

The campus is also significant on the local and state level for architecture, economics, and social history. The architecture attempted to reflect local character, and during the early years of the Great Depression, the construction of a large, federally funded hospital campus promised an infusion of money. Competing with other states, South Carolina won the new hospital and then witnessed a keen competition among its own cities and towns for the location of the campus. Columbia’s pursuit of the new hospital coincided with a local booster period and helped identify it as a significant, centralized city. The siting of the hospital just outside the city limits helped generate residential and commercial development in the area. Nineteen buildings and a covered walk contribute to the character of the historic district. Most of the oldest buildings feature a Georgian Colonial Revival architectural style. Vernacular structures for laundry, storage, engineering and maintenance are hidden behind the larger high-style hospital, recreation, dining, and residential buildings. The district also contains the historic landscaped front lawns which retain historic design concepts and trees.

USC School of Medicine

William Thursby of Ware Shoals, 2017 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Plan Your Trip: USC School of Medicine

Where is USC School of Medicine located?
Address: 6439 Garners Ferry Road, Columbia, SC 29209
GPS Coordinates: 33.979839,-80.964017
Website: http://www.med.sc.edu
What else should I see?
St. Joseph Catholic Church 3 miles
Owens Field 3.3 miles
Dovilliers-Manning-Magoffin House 3.5 miles
Fort Jackson Headquarters 4 miles
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Colleges
  • Columbia Historic Sites
  • See other South Carolina Military
  • See other South Carolina National Register
    USC School of Medicine Map

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