McMaster School

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = McMaster School

| nrhp_type =

| image = Facade of school.jpg

| caption =

| location = Columbia, South Carolina

| coordinates = {{coord|34.0025|-81.0263|region:US-SC_type:edu|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = South Carolina#USA

| built = 1911

| architect = William Augustus Edwards of Edwards & Walters

| architecture =

| added = July 25, 1997

| area = {{convert|2|acre}}

| refnum = 97000777{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

}}

The McMaster School, built in 1911, is an historic building located at 1106 Pickens Street on the corner of Senate Street in Columbia, South Carolina.{{Cite web

| last = Schmitz | first = Doris M. | title =McMaster School | work = National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory | date = May 4, 1995 | url = http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/richland/S10817740123/S10817740123.pdf | accessdate = 19 August 2012}}{{Cite web | title = McMaster School, Richland County (1106 Pickens St., Columbia) | work = National Register Properties in South Carolina | publisher = South Carolina Department of Archives and History | url = http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/richland/S10817740123/index.htm | accessdate = 19 August 2012}} It was designed by noted Columbia architect William Augustus Edwards of the firm of Edwards and Walter. Edwards and his partner, Frank C. Walter, designed sixteen schools according to standardized guidelines established by the state legislature in 1905.{{Cite journal|date=March 16, 1910|title=Cornerstone Will be Laid Tomorrow Programme Announced Yesterday by Supt. Dreher.|journal=The State}}{{Cite book|last=Montgomery|first=Warner M.|title=Columbia Schools: A History of Richland County School District One, Columbia, SC, 1792-2000|publisher=n.p.|year=2002|location=Columbia|pages=20–25}} The architects chose a Renaissance Revival style with H-shaped floor plans used as the standard for the state in buildings designed and constructed by other architects.{{Cite book|last=Richey|first=Staci|title=Columbia Downtown Historic Resource Survey|year=2020|url=https://scdah.sc.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/Historic%20Preservation%20(SHPO)/Research/Historic%20Contexts/DowntownColumbiaHistoricResourcesSurvey_FINAL%20Report.pdf|pages=31}} The State newspaper declared it the "handsomest school building in Columbia" when it opened in 1911.{{Cite news|date=April 14, 1910|title=Heat, Telephones and Clocks Used Warmth, Conversation and Time Provided for McMaster School - Supt. Dreher|work=The State}}

File:Fitz William McMaster.jpg

The local school administration named the building after Fitz William McMaster (1826-99), honoring his contributions to organizing Columbia's public schools, his leadership as a Confederate colonel, and his role in white supremacist resistance to Reconstruction in their dedication. South Carolina's current governor, Henry McMaster, is a descendant of Fitz William McMaster.{{Cite news|date=April 15, 1910|title=The McMaster School. Incidents of Gallant Colonel Are Recalled.|work=The State}}{{Cite news|date=September 12, 1899|title=Search for Health Ended in Death. Col. Fitz William McMaster Has Passed Away. An Eventful Career Ended.|work=The State}}

The building served as a public primary school for white children until 1956, when school districts across the state were consolidated in response to the state's low literacy rates, gaps between urban and rural schools, and federal mandates to end racial segregation.

The University of South Carolina purchased the building in 1960 and renamed it McMaster College.{{Cite news|date=February 12, 1960|title=If Assembly Provides $ USC Will Buy Land.|work=The Gamecock|url=https://historicnewspapers.sc.edu/lccn/2012218660/1960-02-12/ed-1/seq-8/}} UofSC renovated the building to house the music and art departments and added an auditorium and rehearsal hall.{{Cite news|date=September 16, 1960|title=McMaster Houses Music, Art.|work=The Gamecock|url=https://historicnewspapers.sc.edu/lccn/2012218660/1960-09-16/ed-1/seq-1/}}{{Cite news|date=December 8, 1993|title=USC Breaks Ground on Music Building.|work=The Gamecock|url=https://historicnewspapers.sc.edu/lccn/2012218660/1993-12-08/ed-1/seq-2/}} The School of Music moved into its own building in 1993 and the Department of Art took over, replacing the auditorium with a substantial addition that doubled the building's square footage in 1997–99.{{Cite news|date=August 24, 1995|title=Sumwalt to Close for Minor Renovations.|work=The Gamecock|url=https://historicnewspapers.sc.edu/lccn/2012218660/1995-08-24/ed-1/seq-2/}}{{Cite news|date=May 1, 1999|title=Campus Master Plan Moving Toward Completion.|work=The Gamecock|url=https://historicnewspapers.sc.edu/lccn/2012218660/1999-05-01/ed-1/seq-47/}} The Department of Art rebranded as the School of Visual Art and Design in 2015.

On July 25, 1997, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.