COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Sept. 12, 2020, a massive fire brought down the signature red cupola on the Babcock building in Columbia's Bull Street District.
Now, the building will soon be getting a brand new cap.
Roger Brasley was driving by the Babcock building on Sept. 12, 2020, when he saw the building on fire.
"And I just turned and I saw the building engulfed in flames," Brasley said. "So I took my phone out and I started recording the dome on the building, which was the most beautiful and iconic part to me."
As he recorded, the cupola collapsed into the building.
Now, the building owners are replacing the iconic feature the fire destroyed.
"We are putting the final touches on it, getting it all prepped, doing some final testing before we put it back on the building tomorrow," said Amy Creason, vice president of Clachan Properties. "The iconic cupola is a part of the skyline of Columbia, second only to the state capitol, so it had to be restored in order to create the historical significance."
The Babcock building was formerly the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum. It had just been slated for renovation when the fire happened.
Historic Columbia's director of Preservation says the building's owners took every opportunity to preserve the building's original features and functions while creating apartment homes and replacing the cupola.
"This will be truly kinda the crowning glory, of this national registry listed property," said Sherrer. "This renaissance revival structure has been a conspicuous landmark for not only Columbians but people coming to the capital city, ever since the center portion was completed in 1985."
Columbia residents like Brasley are excited to see the structure back in its former glory after the building was abandoned for so long and then caught fire.
"Six years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago- because it's been vacant and sitting dormant for a long time," Brasley said. "Just to see all this production is amazing, and to see the new dome here is mindblowing, cause it is beautiful. I'm looking at it like 'wow!' It is amazing to see this dome and how it's going and how it's going to go up. That is absolutely gorgeous to me."
Politicians, community leaders and others who helped advance the project will sign it before it goes on top.