Downtown Columbia offers some of the most beautiful traditional and historical residential neighborhoods in the Southeast.

Elmwood Park, Eau Claire, Earlewood, and Cottontown

The grandest historical homes in Columbia, line the streets of these wonderful revitalized neighborhoods. Many of the houses located in this vicinity can be found on the National Register of Historic Places. Conveniently located near downtown Columbia, residents enjoy living in neighborhoods only minutes from the heart of downtown, the University of South Carolina, Columbia Museum of Art, Richland County Public Library and the historic Congaree Vista.

Earlewood Park is the centerpiece of the Earlewood neighborhood. Its urban forest covers sixty-six acres of rolling hills and valleys and mature groves and trees. Noted for its varieties of wild flowers, it is the largest and most natural park in Columbia.

University Neighborhood Community

Located northeast of the University of South Carolina and bordered by Gervais, Blossom and Laurens streets, the neighborhood's roots extend back to the earliest days of the city's history. It is located within the original two miles square boundaries of the town of Columbia in 1786, according to Belinda Gergel, Ph.D., president-elect, Historic Columbia. The original town commissioners designated Senate Street, one of the neighborhood's principal streets today, as one of the new town's two major thoroughfares. One structure remains from the area's early history, the Horry-Guignard House, located at 1527 Senate Street. Thought to have been built before 1813, this two-story Federal-style wood frame building is regarded as one of the town's oldest homes in the city.

The Congaree Vista

The Congaree Vista offers a variety of upscale and eclectic homes ranging from apartments and condominiums, to impressive houses, which can be found in neighborhoods like Governor's Hill.

Governor's Hill Community

Located directly across from the Governor's Mansion in the beautiful Congaree Vista area of downtown Columbia, residents enjoy newly developed, three-story Charleston style houses built within private, walled gardens. If you live at Governor's Hill, you can't escape the beautiful view overlooking Finlay Park and the city's breathtaking skyline.

Five Points Community

Some of the predominant neighborhoods surrounding the distinguished 5 Points area include Shandon, Heathwood, Wales Gardens and Wheeler Hill.

These quaint neighborhoods can be characterized by the shady, sidewalk-lined streets where residents can experience the lazy days of an old-fashioned lifestyle, sitting on front porches and taking walks that lead past garden-like yards filled with fresh seasonal flowers. This area offer residents the mixture of fine schools and beautiful traditional homes combined with access to fine dining and shopping, and are within a five to ten-minute commute of central downtown.