USS Columbia, a 7375-ton protected cruiser built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was commissioned in April 1894. Her early service was in the Atlantic and Caribbean, with a voyage to Europe in mid-1895 for the ceremonies opening the Kiel Canal. She was laid up "in ordinary" at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in May 1897 but recommissioned in March 1898, as the threat of war with Spain increased. During the Spanish-American War that began in late April, Columbia operated along the U.S. East Coast and in the West Indies. She remained in that area after the war ended in August 1898 and was again laid up at the end of March 1899.

Columbia, whose very powerful engines made her expensive to operate, was only occasionally in commission during the Twentieth Century's first decade and a half. She was receiving ship at New York in 1902-03 and had active service with the Atlantic Training Squadron from November 1903 until May 1907. In June 1915, after eight years in reserve, Columbia recommissioned to become flagship of the Atlantic Fleet's submarines.

After U.S. entry into World War I in April 1917, Columbia initially patrolled off Delaware Bay and, in July, was assigned to convoy escort duty. She served in that role for the rest of the war, serving as an important part of the great floating "bridge" that conveyed America's army across the Atlantic to France. For some months in 1919 Columbia was a destroyer force flagship, She remained active in the Western Atlantic, Caribbean and along the Pacific Coast until late June 1921, when she was decommissioned for the last time. Columbia was reclassified CA-16 in July 1920, while still operational, and was renamed Old Columbia in November 1921, while laid up. The cruiser was sold for scrapping in January 1922.