♪ (male host) This is the big picture, the view of the entire city of Columbia, capital city of the state of South Carolina.

If you are in this small plane from which these pictures were taken, you would also be able to see three rivers: the Broad and the Saluda, which combine to form the Congaree.

If you are high enough to see the borders of North Carolina and Georgia, you might notice that Columbia is almost at the geographical center of South Carolina.

It is served by four railroads, two interstate highways, and is currently enlarging the airport to accommodate jet aircraft belonging to the three airlines which use the facility.

A bit of historical research might show that Columbia was deliberately situated at the midpoint between the northern, or piedmont, area, and the predominately agricultural coastal areas.

It has become known as the Midlands, and many times represents a compromise between the often divergent opinions of the upstate and downstate.

Its founding fathers were wiser than they knew.

The United States Army operates Fort Jackson on the eastern boundary of the city, which each year trains thousands of recruits in basic military skills, including, uh, the white sidewall haircut.

The original city, authorized in 1786, was a square, two miles on a side, and newer portions have followed that rectangular outlook.

One feature you may have noticed is the large number of trees on almost every street.

From the air, they give a garden-like atmosphere, and from the ground, a refreshing shade during the warm summer days.

♪ The state capitol building, or Statehouse, bears a remarkable similarity to our national capitol in Washington.

The dome is almost identical, even though it was not necessary to make the remaining structure quite as large.

The South Carolina General Assembly, a bicameral legislature, meets here yearly.

The structure houses the library as well as offices.

The governor recently moved his office to the building immediately to the rear of the capitol.

A small park surrounds the Statehouse with trees, grass, squirrels, empty peanut hulls, pigeons, and park benches.

♪ You can see the imposing front of the capitol building with the long steps leading to the entrance.

Those who dislike climbing take comfort in the fact that there are entrances on the ground level and elevators in the interior.

♪ The janitorial staff has not been asleep.

Those marks on the capitol are honorable battle scars.

General William Tecumseh Sherman's cannon bombarded the structure from across the Congaree River in 1865, and after the war, a metal star was placed by each hit.

When Sherman crossed the river, though, he spared the Statehouse while burning most of the remainder of the city.

Uh, there are a few architectural diehards who wish he had reversed the procedure.

Three flags fly above the capitol: the flags of the United States, the state of South Carolina, and the Confederate battle flag.

♪ Across one street from the capitol is the graveyard of Trinity Episcopal Church, the resting-place of many eminent South Carolinians, including five governors.

The church itself, which is about one block away, was built in 1846.

If you were to stand to one side of the building and look up slowly, you would see the twin towers.

♪ Aspiring local thespians find satisfaction in entering the arboreal gate to the Town Theatre to take part in various dramatic productions, both light and serious.

South Carolinians have long thought these productions most professional and entertaining, as the theater has been playing to large audiences for 45 years.

This is not a giant oven, but a planetarium, an adjunct to the Columbia Art Museum, which is housed in a beautiful old building.

♪ The Statehouse is three blocks away, but still quite visible.

The museum conducts classes in art, and also has a junior museum for the small-fry.

Incidentally, this view of the Statehouse will soon never be seen again, as a multistory state office building will block it.

Even though one of our former Presidents moved into the White House from New Jersey, his boyhood home was here.

Woodrow Wilson was the President, and it is interesting to think that his contemporaries in Columbia might have called him... Woody.

♪ Even a governor can't spend all his time at the office, so the state provides this mansion for his use.

The mansion and garden provide a welcome refuge, as well as being a landmark for residents and visitors alike.

♪ This is not a recreation of a Greek temple, but the First Baptist Church.

The first secession convention met here to kindle the spark of war between the North and the South.

A re-creation of that convention was enacted here a few years ago.

♪ Educational facilities are a familiar part of the Columbia scene.

Columbia High School has changed in name and purpose from its original designation of the Columbia Female Academy.

This site, incidentally, will revert to a private owner should it ever be used for other than educational purposes.

♪ A more modern high school is Dreher, located in a mainly residential area about three miles from the center of the city.

Higher education for women is exemplified by a new addition to Columbia College, with one of the older dormitories to the right.

Much of the remaining portion of the women's college was destroyed by fire last month, and a tremendous rebuilding program is now underway.

By the way, Columbia College is known to the male students at the University of South Carolina as C-Square, for reasons having only partly to do with mathematics.

♪ Speaking of the University of South Carolina, these are some of the men's dormitories built during the past several years to house the ever-growing university population.

The distaff side has not been forgotten, however, as this women's dormitory just completed will prove.

The library for undergraduate students continues the trend of modern architecture.

♪ One of the more unusual buildings at the University houses the athletic department.

This edifice is familiarly called the Roundhouse, for obvious reasons.

Products of the football staff at the Roundhouse display their wares in Carolina Stadium, which is adjacent to the State Fairgrounds.

♪ Another type of education is represented by the Richland Technical Education Center, one of a series of such centers throughout the state which are designed to upgrade the technical skills of the people to meet the demands of this technological age.

♪ A quiet, tree-lined street in the residential section called Shandon shows the unhurried suburban pace of life, a local church, and the curiosity of the passersby.

♪ ♪ ♪ The local power company some years ago built a dam across the Saluda River which formed Lake Murray and provided a source of hydroelectric power.

Nowadays, a steam-generating plant provides the electricity, and the lake has become a popular recreational area.

Motor- and sailboats are quite prolific in the area, but, uh, many young couples declare that the nightly submarine races are much more enjoyable.

♪ Other recreational aspects might be exemplified by a local golf course.

The lake in the background is visited periodically by a scuba diver who recovers the results of hooks, slices, and general flubs.

Speaking of flubs, let's watch this putt.

Oops... he sure set a poor example.

♪ They say the third time's a charm.

♪ Better luck on the next hole, fellas.

♪ Back to town from the golf course as dusk approaches and the lights go on.

This is Columbia's Main Street, which is 150 feet wide.

Most of the other streets in the city are of comparable width, no less than 60 feet, and are able to handle both adequate parking and a large flow of traffic.

The hotel which you are now in is just to the right of the Statehouse.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ And don't worry.

We don't climb the steps to the capitol building.

There you have a capital city tour, which we hope you found capitally informative.

♪ ♪ ♪ Captioned by: CompuScripts Captioning www.compuscripts.com ♪ ♪