University of North Carolina Part II

I had the chance to return to Chapel Hill this month and thankfully my return trip also afforded me the time to take a long trek across the University of North Carolina campus. The weather was perfect. The sun was out, the temperature was in the low 60’s, and given the move to Daylight Saving Time, I had several hours of good light. I decided to make the other academic units of the university my priority during this visit, and hence there are no photos of the health sciences units in this post. 
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The campus is deceptively large. When you look at it on a map, it seems big enough. It is, after all, about 760 acres overall. That is only 40 acres or so smaller than my undergraduate alma mater (the University of Tennessee). Of course, that means it is very small by my doctoral alma mater’s footprint, as Texas Tech comes in at 1,839 acres. As they say, everything is bigger in Texas. Still, the campus is extensive, and the number of buildings is large. Although it is green and has many lovely green spaces, trying to get a good photo of even the majority of buildings took a couple of hours, and that was just taking snapshots quickly. The campus is also rolling. Although I would not call it “hilly”, the landscape is not flat. The combination of size, topography, and my age had me a bit tuckered out after a couple of hours walking around (to be fair to myself, I had risen early in the morning that day and flown to North Carolina). So, what you have in this post is a good bit of the campus, but not everything and unfortunately not everything I had hoped to photograph.

From a historical perspective, one of the great things about the campus is that many of the original structures still exist and are in use on a daily basis. Many other colleges and universities have long since razed their earliest structures, even when they were not that old. UNC has taken the time to keep their buildings and history intact. It makes sense given the historic nature of the university. One of the many things UNC is known for is that it is the first public university in the United States. It is, however, not the only institution to make this claim. Two others often assert their status as the first. I have friends who are alumni of these schools, and they are quite vocal in their assertion that theirs is the older school.

​I had friends in Richmond when I lived in Virginia who disliked the claim that UNC was the first public university in the U.S. They were all alumni of the College of William and Mary. William and Mary opened its doors in 1693, a full 96 years prior to UNC receiving its charter and 102 years before UNC actually opened to students. William and Mary is a public institution, so given these numbers you might expect the folks in Williamsburg to hold the title as the oldest public college in the U.S. The problem is that when William and Mary opened, it did so under a Royal Charter as Virginia was a colony of the U.K. It was, therefore, a British institution. It was also a private institution, a fact which remained after the Revolutionary War. It stayed that way until 1862 when it closed during the Civil War. Drunk soldiers of the Union Army burned part of it down in 1862. It reopened after the war in 1869 but closed again in 1882 due to financial issues. The Commonwealth of Virginia stepped in to help and it reopened in 1888 but was not yet a public institution. It was not until 1906 that W&M became a fully public institution. So, despite the fact that it was the second chartered institution of higher learning in the U.S. (Harvard being the first) it was not truly a public institution until the 20th Century, well after UNC. Still, William and Mary has many firsts under its belt. The first collegiate secret society, the F.H.C. Society opened there in 1750. The first honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, opened there in 1776. It also has the notoriety of having the oldest still existing collegiate structure in the U.S., the Wren Building, on which work began in 1695 and which opened in 1700. Certainly, William and Mary predates UNC, but in the sense that UNC is and has always been a public institution it has a strong claim to the title of first.

My friends from Georgia also dislike the title. Why? The University of Georgia beat UNC to the punch in some respects as the state approved the charter for the institution on January 27, 1785; UNC did not receive its charter until 1789. On this basis, Georgia can and does claim the title of the first public university in the U.S. But Georgia did not admit its first students 1801, a full six years after students matriculated at UNC. Indeed, UNC had graduated its first class of students in 1798, three years before any students attended Georgia. In fact, UNC was the only public university in the U.S. to graduate students in the 1700’s. The UNC argument rests on the assertion that a university existing only on paper is not yet an actual university. Since UNC beat UGA to the punch in terms opening, enrolling, and graduating students, they declare it must therefore be considered the oldest. I understand UGA’s claim, but UNC’s as well. I am not one to talk. My alma mater Tennessee opened in 1794 but was a private institution for years, and Texas Tech did not open until 1923.

Regardless of my take, UNC is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the U.S., and one of the most well regarded. It is a great institution with a lovely campus and I was excited to be back and have the opportunity to see more of the campus.

I was staying at the Carolina Inn on campus, and the photos in this post follow my walk around campus in a somewhat circular fashion from the Inn and back. Directly behind the Carolina Inn is Joseph Carlyle Sitterson Hall which is seen in the first photo of the set below. Part of the building is called Joseph Carlyle and Frederick P. Brooks Computer Science Building. Sitterson, known to his friends and family as Lyle, had a long and storied association with UNC. He was born in Kinston, NC where his father worked for the local post office. As it happens, I have been through Kinston more times than I can remember thanks to work I did with Marines at Camp Lejeune during my time in the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. It is a small community now, and it must have been tiny during his youth. Sitterson entered UNC in the fall of 1927, graduating as part of the Class of 1931. He stayed on at Chapel to get his master’s degree (Class of 1932) and Ph.D. (Class of 1937). He joined the faculty upon graduation and stayed at Chapel Hill until his retirement. Along the way, he became a dean in 1955 and then Vice Chancellor in 1965. In 1966, he was named Chancellor. His time as UNC’s Chancellor unfortunately coincided with unhappy times on campus. Despite protests, strikes, a controversial law barring certain speech (which he opposed), and other unrest so common in the era, Sitterson’s time as Chancellor was marked by campus and enrollment growth, increased faculty publications and research, and his time is generally regarded as quite successful. I imagine he, like many campus leaders of the time, tired of the troubles quickly. Whether those issues facilitated it or not, Sitterson stepped down as Chancellor in 1972 and returned to faculty. He had never fully ceased teaching, but the return to a faculty role saw him in full swing as a history professor again. 

​An interesting fact about the building is that the state provided funds for it without the university having asked for it. The state provided a total $750,000 in 1983 and 1984 (somewhere in the neighborhood of about $2.2 million in 2024 value) to plan for a new computer science building on campus. This was followed by appropriations of $5,560,000 in 1984 and $2,690,000 in 1985 for construction of the building for a total combined budget of $9,000,0000, or about $26.3 million in today’s money. Construction began in 1986, and it was completed in 1987. As it neared completion, the state provided an additional $250,000 (about $693,000 today) for equipment and furnishings.

The second photo is the ​Naval Armory, seen in the first photo below. Work on the building began in 1941 and it opened in 1942. It was used by the Navy during World War II for the V-12 training program on campus. It reverted to the university proper in 1945 and has remained the home of the Navy ROTC program since. Costing $127,444 to construct (about $2.7 million in 2024 dollars), the building comes in 17,419 square feet of space. It was designed by Archie Royal Davis, a North Carolina State University grad and native of Morehead City, North Carolina. He settled in Durham, NC and opened his firm in 1939. He designed numerous schools and collegiate structures across the state including some interesting round houses. He would also lead the design work on the John Motley Morehead Planetarium and Science Center (see below). Arthur C. Nash served as consulting architect on the project. In 1962, the building was renovated and during the process the original trusses and columns of the building, all of which were wood, were replaced with steel members. It has had other work done over the years.

The set below beings with four photos of Max C. Chapman, Jr. Hall. Work on the building began in 2003 Chapman was completed in 2006 or 2007. A number of sources cite one or the other date, and thus I am not sure when it really opened. In the planning stages, the building was called the Phillips Science Complex Addition. Chapman was a member of the UNC football team where he was a kicker. He scored he winning field goal against Duke in their 1963 meeting. The game was scheduled for November 23rd, but the assassination of President Kennedy the day before forced the game to moved five days and it was held on Thanksgiving. The kick and the win allowed the Tar Heels the opportunity to play in the Gator Bowl in December. The team travelled south to play the Air Force Academy on December 28th. They won that game, which was the first bowl game UNC had ever won. He graduated from UNC in 1966. He served in many leadership roles in business and industry both in the U.S. and in Japan and was former Chair of the American Stock Exchange. He donated $5 million to help support the construction of the building. Coming in 128,000 square feet, Chapman Hall has a variety of labs, classrooms, offices, and even a rooftop astronomy area. It was designed by the HGA architectural firm. The first two photos are of the building's front (southern) façade. Just inside the doorway in those photos is the Goodman Remote Observation Room seen in the third photo and the stairwell seen in the fourth. The fifth photo shows the connection on the back of Chapman to Phillips Hall (see below). 

The last photo in this set is Murray Hall. Named for former chemistry professor Dr. Royce W. Murray. The building opened in 2010. He joined the faculty at UNC as an instructor in 1960. In 1961, he obtained a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor. He stayed at UNC for a total of fifty-five years. W. Lowry Caudill, Class of 1979, gave $5 million for the construction of Murray. He had conducted his senior research project under Dr. Murray during the 1978-1979. I will provide more information (see below) about Dr. Caudill below as a building on campus is named for him and his wife. On the far right in this photo you can just make out a gray concrete structure to which Murray is attached. That is the William Rand Kenan Chemistry Laboratories Building. Construction on the building began in 1968 during Chancellor Sitterson’s time. The ten-story structure opened in 1971. Interestingly, part of the building was left undone when it opened. Owing to a lack of funds, part of the seventh floor was left unfinished until 1977. The work on the floor would not be completed until 1980. Kenan was an alumnus of the university (Class of 1898) and during his time he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Along with John Motley Morehead, Kenan had discovered calcium carbide which, as noted above, led to the creation of the industrial Union Carbide.

The set below is of Carroll Hall. Carroll is one of a number of buildings completed in 1953. It is named after Dudley D. Carroll, first Dean of the then-named School of Commerce which is now the Kenan-Flagler Business School. Among the many firsts that occurred during his time as dean was the awarding of the business school’s first Ph.D. in 1928 and the first offering the MBA degree in 1952. The building was designed by architect H. Raymond Weeks. The addition on the west side of the building was completed in 1970. The first two photos are of the building’s original east façade, first up close and then from near the end of the quad in that area. The remaining three photos are of the 1970 addition on the west side.

The set below begins with a photo of Hanes Hall. Another building completed in 1953, Hanes is named for Robert M. Hanes (Class of 1912). Born in Winston-Salem, Hanes worked for a time after graduation, but elected to join the Army during World War I. Upon his return stateside, he was hired by Wachovia Bank and quickly rose through the ranks. He became president of the bank in 1931. He also served in the North Carolina House and Senate. Hanes opened as a dorm, but it would not serve in that role for long. By 1959, it had been converted to office space.

The second and third photos are of ​Gardner Hall. Yes, the two buildings look almost identical, especially in the smaller version embedded in this page. ​It was also completed in 1953 and is named for former North Carolina Governor O. Max Gardner. Governor Gardner was a leading force behind the consolidation effort that led to the statewide system of public colleges and universities in the state called the University of North Carolina System. Despite its name, its current institution list includes sixteen universities several of which are not named with the “University of North Carolina [location]”. For example, North Carolina State University in nearby Raleigh is part of this system.

The set below begins with two photos of Murphey Hall. ​Work on Murphey began in 1922, and the building was completed in 1924. It takes its name from Archibald De Bow Murphey, a member of the Class of 1799. Upon graduation, Murphey first spent some time teaching at the university but then went on to become a lawyer. He served in the North Carolina State Senate from 1812 to 1818. 

The third photo in this set is Carolina Hall. Carolina opened with the name Saunders Hall in honor of William L. Saunders. Saunders was an alumnus of the university (Class of 1854). After graduating from Chapel Hill, he went on to study the lar and became an attorney. He joined the Confederate Army during the Civil Way during which he would rise to the rank of Colonel. He was wounded three times, the last being a shot to the face which went through his mouth and out the back of his neck. This left him with difficulty speaking for the rest of his life. After the war, he would become the Secretary of State for North Carolina and a member of the UNC board. He would also lead the North Carolina branch of the Ku Klux Klan. These facts led to calls for renaming the building which occurred in 2015. The building was designed by architect H.P. Alan Montgomery.

The last six photos in this set are of the exterior and interior of ​Manning Hall. Manning is named in honor of John Manning, Jr. He came to the university in 1881 as the Dean of the School of Law. When he arrived, the school had only seven students; he would eventually raise that number to eighty-seven. Manning was an alumnus of Chapel Hill (Class of 1850). He began practicing law in 1853. He filled a vacant seat in the U.S. Congress from 1870 to 1871. In addition to being the dean of law, Manning served on the UNC Board from 1881 to 1899. His son Isaac would later become the Dean of the UNC School of Medicine. His son James would become a North Carolina Supreme Court Justice serving from 1909 to 1911 and then would later be the North Carolina Attorney General from 1916 to 1925. Manning Hall opened in 1923 as the new home for the law school. It had previously been in Smith Hall (now the Playmakers Theater, see below), and prior to that the South Building and Old West. Manning is the work of two principal architects. Apparently, H.P. Alan Montgomery began work on the building, but architect Arthur C. Nash completed it. At least, some sources indicate this was the case. As you can see, the building is home to School of Information and Library Science. It has its own small library and reading room. I thought the design of the crown molding (the last photo) was pretty cool. 

The first photo of the next set provides a view across the quad looking north toward South Hall, the Campus Y Building, and Steele Hall, all of which are detailed in this set. 

The second photo below is of the Campus Y Building. Construction of the YMCA began in 1904 and was completed dedicated in 1907. It was the work of architect Frank Milburn. Milburn, a Kentucky native, was prolific and largely known for his work on public buildings of different types. Courthouses, state capitals, and all manner of his other works stand all over the southeast. Although not included in this post, Bynum Hall was also one his designs. This was not the first YMCA on campus. An earlier “Y” opened in 1859. Milburn’s YMCA was much bigger than its predecessor. It had a small library and reading room, social spaces, classrooms, and an auditorium. The very first motion picture to be screened in Chapel Hill was shown in the building. It was also the location for the campus bookstore until 1968. It was last renovated in 2007. I have to say that I truly love the look of the building. It looks like something right out of Europe. Which surprises me that the author of one of the sources I used for this post found it unattractive. William D. Snider’s Light on the Hill: A History of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1992, the University of North Carolina Press) provides a good history of the university and is generally a good read. But on page 148 he described the YMCA Building as “an unattractive building, out of harmony with campus architecture in that area”. I would wholeheartedly disagree with this assessment. It is a lovely building despite being from a different design orientation that those buildings in that portion of campus.

The third and fourth photos show the Steele Building. Steele began its life as a dorm. It opened in 1921 and is named in honor of alumnus Walter L. Steele was a two-time alumnus of the university (Classes of 1844 and 1847). He was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1846 and then to state senate in 1852. He would later serve two terms as a Congressman beginning in 1877. It was designed by architect James A. Salter, who also designed buildings for East Carolina University, Elizabeth City State University (then called the Elizabeth City Normal and Industrial School), North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina Greensboro. 

Finally, this set closes with three views of the ​South Building. South was completed in 1814. It was a long time coming, as construction began sixteen years earlier in 1798. Three years into construction, the university ran out of money, and it sat in a state of noncompletion for years. Readers with a keen eye may notice a resemblance to Nassau Hall at Princeton University in New Jersey. That is no mistake, as Nassau served as inspiration for South Hall. It opened with the name Main Building. It was a multi-purpose building then, with both classrooms and dorm facilities. The cupola was added in 1861. It underwent a significant renovation during 1927 and 1928. The portico on the south side of the building was added during this time.

The next set begins with two views of Bingham Hall. Bingham takes its name from UNC alumnus Robert H. Bingham (Class of 1879). He and his family operated the private Bingham School in Hillsboro, North Carolina. He was part of the group of individuals who worked to re-open UNC in 1875 which had been shuttered and was in disrepair after the Civil War. It is another of many structures on campus designed by the architectural firms of McKim, Mead, and White, and Atwood and Nash. It was completed in 1929.

The third and fourth photos of this set are of Dey Hall. The building is named for long-serving faculty member William M. Dey. Dey was born in Norfolk, Virginia on June 30, 1880. Upon completion of his studies in 1897, he elected to attend UNC where his maternal uncle Walter D. Toy was Chair of the Department of Modern Languages. Dey only stayed in Chapel Hill for a year, after which he transferred to the University of Virginia. He graduated from Virginia with both a baccalaureate and master’s degree with both being awarded in 1902. He then went on to study at Harvard where he would receive another master’s degree (Class of 1904) and a Ph.D. (Class of 1906). His first appointment after completing his doctoral studies was at the University of Missouri. He would not remain there for long. Back in Chapel Hill, a decision was made to split his uncle’s department into two separate units in 1909: a Department of German and a Department of Romance Languages. His uncle would continue to chair German, and Dey was brought in to chair romance languages. He would remain a department chair there for the next forty-five years. That is such a long time to be a chair I cannot even imagine it. So impactful was his work that he was awarded the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by France on December 10, 1949. Dey died on January 31, 1961, just short of his 81st birthday. The building was under construction when he passed. Purpose built for the foreign language departments it was more than fitting that the university chose to name it in his honor. It opened in time for the 1961-1962 academic year.

The set concludes with thirteen photos of the Louis Round Wilson Library. The original portion of the building is truly beautiful. The building is an example of the work done by the combined efforts the firms McKim, Mead, and White, and Arthur C. Nash. Construction began in 1928 and was completed in 1929. The library was dedicated that October. An addition on the rear of the building was completed in 1951.

The library’s namesake was a UNC alumnus (Class of 1899) who served as the university’s librarian for thirty-one years. Wilson was also one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the UNC Press, which is a notable academic publishing house to this day. He also founded the UNC School of Library Science (now the School of Information and Library Science). 

The building is a magnificent structure. The original portion of the building is a beaux-arts beauty clad in limestone. It is a stately looking building and lends an air of academic stature to the area. The first five photos are of that portion of the building. The interior lobby, seen the following six photos, is equally impressive. Even the doors, as seen in the tenth photo of this set have great attention to detail. A portrait of Wilson, seen in the eleventh and twelfth photos, hangs in this area. The lobby looks like something out of a fancy boutique hotel. The polished bronze statue is called The Spirit of Life and is the work of artist Daniel Chester French. French, of course, was a prolific sculptor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. You know his work even if you have no interest in such things. The statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, is one of his pieces. He also did the Minute Man Statue in Concord Massachusetts. Even if you have not been there, you likely know it as it has adorned all manner of things; indeed, if you are old enough to remember the nation’s bicentennial in 1976 you will have seen it on tons of things. There are loads of his pieces on college campuses across the country as well.

The rear addition is a plain white box. Considering how impressive and beautiful the original part of the building is, the addition is bland and quite disappointing. I couldn’t find out who designed the addition. Perhaps they too felt it was an unpleasant looking edifice and asked that their identity be kept well hidden.

Next is the W. Lowry and Susan S. ​Caudill Laboratories. Caudill is named after two alumni: W. Lowry Caudill (Class of 1979) and his wife Susan S. “Suzi” Caudill (Class of 1980). He was trained as a chemist and she as a pharmacist. Mr. Caudill co-founded the pharmaceutical firm Magellan Laboratories. He also served on and chaired the UNC Board of Trustees from 2011-2019. The building is home to the Department of Chemistry and opened in 2007. It was designed by Wilson Architects, a firm which has subsequently been acquired by the HGA architectural firm which was responsible for the design of ​Max C. Chapman, Jr. Hall.

The next set is of the Morehead-Patterson Memorial Tower. The tower carries the names of the two men whose donations made it possible: John Motley Morehead (Class of 1881) and Rufus Lenoir Patterson (Class of 1883). From its base, it stands 167 feet tall. The tower contains a dozen bells which range in weight from 300 to 3,500 points. It was dedicated on November 26, 1931. It was homecoming, and the Tar Heels beat the visiting Cavaliers of the University of Virginia 13 to 6.

Morehead and Patterson were cousins. Together, they gave $100,000 for the creation of the tower, which is about $1.88 million in today’s value. The bells were made by the Meneely Bell Company of Troy New York. Morehead had wanted bells on campus for some time and felt that locating them in the South Hall cupola would be a good place. The university disagreed with him for reasons I do not know and so he and Patterson agreed to fund the tower. I love the way the brickwork in the arches is in Carolina Blue. 

The next set is of Kenan Stadium. I know what you’re thinking. UNC is a basketball school. That’s true of course and there is perhaps no better rivalry in college basketball than UNC and Duke separated by those mere seven miles along Tobacco Road. But I went to the University of Tennessee where football is king. Although I went to loads of basketball games during my undergraduate years, and a good number at Texas Tech which has a strong basketball program, when I think of collegiate athletics I think of football. Given that background, it should not be surprising that I chose to spend some time at Kenan Stadium. I have never been to a game at UNC, but I have seen a few on television over the years and I have often thought that Kenan was a wonderful looking stadium. I have to say, I was not disappointed.

​Prior to Kenan’s development, UNC played its games at Emerson Field, a multi-use facility where the football team had played since 1916. It was also home to the Tarheel baseball team, and only had seating for about 2,400 people. As the football program grew its attendance, thoughts turned to having a dedicating stadium for the team with more seats. The university needed $303,000 (about $5.4 million in 2024 value) to build the stadium, but by June 1926 they had raised only $27,926. William Rand Kenan Jr. gave $275,000 on November 13, 1926 (which is just under $4.9 million in today’s value) to support the construction of the stadium with the intent that it be named in honor of his parents. The new stadium would be immense compared to its predecessor having the capability to seat 24,000. Groundbreaking occurred in December that year and was completed the following August. In a way, the stadium had two first games. The very first game played there occurred on November 12, 1927. The Tarheels beat the Davidson College Wildcats 27 to 0. The official first game, thanks to the stadium having a dedication ceremony in conjunction with event, occurred about two weeks later on November 24th. This game was also a victory for the Tarheels as they defeated the University of Virginia Cavaliers 14 to 13.

The stadium has been enlarged and updated over the years, and currently has a capacity of 50,500. As you can see, the vast majority of the seats are of the chairback variety and in Carolina Blue. Like most Division I stadiums, it also offers a variety of club and loge seating, suites, and variety of other amenities. The largest crowd to date was for a game on November 8, 1997, when the then #2 ranked Florida State University Seminoles came to town. The crowd numbered 62,000 that day, but unfortunately for the home team the Seminoles won that game 20 to 3. My alma mater Tennessee has played UNC thirty-two times and holds the edge with twenty wins. But in their first meeting, UNC mopped the floor with the Volunteers. That game occurred on November 3, 1893, and the Tarheels whipped Tennessee 60 to 0. What is perhaps more impressive than the score itself is the fact that Carolina scored those sixty points without the forward pass. They ran the ball for each of those touchdowns. The Vols also lost their last matchup but that was back in 2010. The Tarheels have played against my other alma mater Texas Tech only three times and has the advantage with two wins in those three outings. They last played against each other on September 13, 1980. UNC won that game in Jones Stadium on the Tech campus in Lubbock 9 to 3.

The next two photos are of Hamilton Hall. Hamilton is, well, in my view unfortunate looking. The combination of the white and off-white color scheme and the blandness of a simple box in an L-shaped footprint pales in comparison to other buildings nearby. The structure takes its name in recognition of Joseph Grégoire de Roulhac Hamilton, a long-serving member of the Department of History at UNC. Hamilton was born in 1878 in Hillsboro fifteen or so miles from UNC. He completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of the South (Sewanee) in Tennessee and became a school teacher for a time. In due course, he decided to complete his doctorate, and he received his Ph.D. in history from Columbia University in 1906. He immediately took a position in Chapel Hill and would become chair of the Department of History by 1908, a position he held until 1930. He founded the Southern Historical Collection at UNC in 1930 at which time he left the history department to become the new center’s director. He stayed in that role until his retirement in 1951. He passed away on November 11, 1961. When UNC opened the building in 1972 as a new home for the social sciences, it named it in his honor.

​The buildings in the photo below are all dormitories and, with the exception of McClinton Hall which is on the Lower Quad, are part of the Upper Quad completed in 1922. The Upper Quad consists of four dorms, all originally for men, and were the work of the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White. Two other Upper Quad dorms are featured below. 

The building in the foreground in this photo is the Grimes Residence Hall. It was completed in 1922 and is named for John B. Grimes. Born in 1869, Grimes attended UNC for two years but did not graduate. He returned to work in his family’s tobacco farm and business. He would go on to help create the Tobacco Growers Association, a grassroots organization meant to support farmers in the face of big tobacco processing firms and cigarette manufacturers. He would eventually serve as North Carolina Secretary of State and would play a role in the creation of the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association.

The second building is the Manly Residence Hall. Manly is named for two people, brothers Charles and Matthias Manly, both of whom were alumni of the university. Charles (Class of 1841) was a member of the UNC Board twice, first from 1821 to 1849 and again from 1850 to 1868. A lawyer turned politician, Charles would serve as North Carolina’s 31st Governor from 1849 to 1851. Matthias was a member of the Class of 1824 who became an attorney and would serve on the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1860 to 1865. He too served on the UNC Board from 1874 to 1881. Matthias’ father-in-law was William J. Gaston. Gaston was a member of the North Carolina House and Senate, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a member of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Although a slave owner, he advocated for abolition. Gaston Lake, Gaston County, and the city of Gastonia are all named for him. There is also a large lecture hall/theater in Healy Hall at Georgetown University named for him.

You can just see a building behind Manly, and that would be the McClinton Residence Hall. Named for Hortense McClinton, the first African American woman to get a tenure-track faculty position at the university. She came to UNC to join the social work faculty in 1966. The building was originally called Aycock Hall and took its name from former North Carolina Governor Charles B. Aycock. Aycock was an alumnus of the university (Class of 1880) who went on to be an attorney. He was the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina from 1893 until 1897. He was active in politics and notable in the Democrat Party. Indeed, he played a big role in the Democratic Party’s “White Supremacy" efforts during the period from 1898 to 1900. Indeed, he was a member of the “Secret Nine” behind the violent overthrow of the Wilmington, North Carolina government, the so-called Wilmington Insurrection or Wilmington Massacre of 1898. None the less, he was elected the 50th Governor of North Carolina in 1900. During his time in office, he became known as the “Education Governor” thanks to his efforts to build schools and better the states K-12 system. He was even active in increasing the number and quality of then-segregated schools for African Americans. Yet he gave a speech in Baltimore in 1903 in which he argued for continued segregation and the removal of voting rights for African Americans. Not unsurprisingly, the Aycock name was removed in 2020. There was another Aycock Building at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. In 1927, a grand theater building opened on campus which was called the North Carolina College for Women Auditorium. In 1928, it was renamed in honor of Governor Aycock. In 2016, a committee at UNCG recommended removing his name. The administration agreed and it was given what was then described as the temporary name UNCG Auditorium. It’s been about eight years now, and as of this writing it still carries that “temporary” name. There was also an Aycock Hall at Fayetteville State University. When Fayetteville State moved to its present location on Murchison Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1908, the first building opened on the campus was named in the Governor’s honor. Given the governor’s view on race, that is particularly egregious. An HBCU, Fayetteville State was then called the State Colored Normal School. The building is no longer there. I am not sure if was purposefully razed or something happened to it. If you happen to know, please leave a comment. The Aycock Hall moniker was also used on a dorm at Duke University, but it too has since been changed to East Residence Hall.

The next photo also shows buildings on the Upper Quad as well as several beyond on the Lower Quad. The first building on the right is the Ruffin Residence Hall, completed in 1922. The building was named for Thomas Ruffin. Born in Virginia in 1787, Ruffin graduated from Princeton University (then called the College of New Jersey) before settling in North Carolina and studying law. He served in the North Carolina House and as a Superior Court Judge before finally taking a role on the North Carolina Supreme Court. He served on the Supreme Court twice, first from 1829 to 1852 and again from 1858 to 1859. He was Chief Justice of the court from 1833 to 1852. He was also on the UNC board for twenty-four years. He was active and prolific on the bench, and his opinions shaped not only the law of North Carolina but also of other southern states. However, today he is more commonly known for his opinion in an 1830 case called North Carolina v. Mann in which he wrote that a slave owner could not be prosecuted for mistreating a slave and in which he asserted slave owners had absolute power over their slaves. This fact is why I began this entry by saying the build WAS named for him. You may be asking how then it is still named Ruffin when it is no longer named for him. In 2020, the UNC board decided they could no longer support having a building named for him and thus decided to re-dedicate the building in honor of his son Thomas Ruffin, Jr., who was a justice on the state’s supreme court. Thus, Ruffin became Ruffin. 

The second building on the right is the Mangum Residence Hall. Mangum is one of a number of buildings on the campus named for multiple people of the same family. In this case, the name is in honor of two Mangum’s: Willie Person Mangum and Reverend Adolphus Williamson Mangum. Willie was a three-time alumnus receiving his bachelor's (Class of 1815), master's (Class of 1818), and law degree (Class of 1845) from Chapel Hill. He was a member of Congress from 1823 to 1826 and the U.S. Senate two times from 1831 too 1837 and again from 1844 to 1853. He served on the UNC Board from 1818 to 1859. Adolphus was a professor at UNC. 

The third building on the right, of which you can see only a sliver, it the Lewis Residence Hall. It sits on the Lower Quad, most of which (with the exception of Stacy Hall), was constructed during the period from 1924 to 1928 and were designed by the architectural firms McKim, Mead, and White, and Atwood Nash. Work on Lewis began in 1922 and was completed in 1924. Opened as a residence hall for men, the building is named in honor of former UNC Board member Richard Henry Lewis, a native of Pitt County who was born in 1850. His time on the board was in the 1890’s. He was Secretary of the North Carolina Board of Health from 1892 to 1909. He had begun his college career at UNC but was forced to leave when the university closed after the Civil War. He received an honorary doctorate from UNC in 1912. 

Just beyond Lewis is the Everett Residence Hall. You can only see the tiniest of slivers of it on the right. Everett is another building which began its life as a dormitory for men. It was completed in 1928 and is named for William Nash Everett, a UNC alumnus (Class of 1888) and a fixture in the state government. He served in both the North Carolina Senate and House. He became Secretary of State in 1923 and would serve in that role until his death. When the building opened, it had 51 bedrooms and a large, combined bathroom on each floor. 

The building you see at the rear of the photos is the Stacy Residence Hall. Stacy, the last addition to the Lower Quad, opened in 1938. It is named for Dean Marvin Stacy, a two-time alumnus of the university (Classes of 1902 and 1904). He joined the faculty in 1910 as a professor of civil engineering. During his career he served as a department chair, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and acting president of the university. In 1918, then President Edward K. Graham died of the Spanish Flu while in office. Stacy stepped in as interim, but he too died of the Spanish Flu in 1919.

Moving to the left (and back to front), the next building is the Graham Residence Hall. There are many things which carry the Graham name on the UNC campus, but this is the only one named for John Washington Graham. Graham was an alumnus of the university (Class of 1857) and a member of the Board of Trustees from 1876 to 1928. The building was completed in 1924, some four years prior to his passing, but I believe the building opened with the Graham name. 

As the photo continues to wrap to the left, you see McClinton and Manly again.

The following set provides exterior and interior shots of the ​Walter R. Davis Library. It is a massive structure. Indeed, it is the largest academic building in the state of North Carolina. Just how big is it? In addition to large reading rooms, numerous study rooms, offices, and other spaces, its holdings top 3.5 million volumes! If you are reading this and you are a student or an alum of a major research university, you may be thinking this is fairly normal sized. That would be a generally true assessment in such a case. The John C. Hodges Library, one of several libraries at my alma mater Tennessee, has about 3 million volumes in its collection and also has loads of additional spaces for studying, research, and more. So, in that respect Davis is not too big. But the difference between Davis and other academic libraries is twofold. First, Davis is not the only library on campus. Not only are there other libraries on the UNC campus, but several are also quite big. Indeed, the total collection of the combined libraries at Chapel Hill exceed 10.3 million volumes and the space available for research and study is immense. Second, libraries of this size are not the norm for most of the country's college and university libraries. For example, the total library collection at the University of Memphis where I currently work is 2.9 million. That is not the collection of the main library, that is the totality of the university's holdings. Across the state, UNC Asheville has a total collection of just over 254,000 volumes. When viewed in this light, you can see why I say the Davis library is huge. One of the big differences between smaller institutions and larger ones, and more importantly between those with better academic credentials, is the size and number of libraries on campus. UNC is a particularly noteworthy institution. Its various academic programs have very good and well-deserved reputations. Therefore, it is not surprising that there are numerous libraries on campus and their combined collections are massive.

Work on the Davis Library began in 1978 and was completed in 1983. It was the work of architects Mitchell/Giurgola, with the assistance of architect Leslie N. Boney, Jr. It took over the reigns as the primary library on campus when it opened, leaving the Wilson Library to become the home to special collections. It was one of the original post-modern buildings to constructed on campus. It is, in my humble opinion, much better looking on the inside than out. 

The eighth photo is something I had not actually seen before. I guess I am behind the times. This is a self-check-out station. I guess putting everything online instead of print just isn’t enough. Not only are we putting fewer actual materials in libraries these days, but we’re also getting rid of librarians. It makes sense, but I’m not sure I like it. I’m not a Luddite, but I am increasingly old fashioned. 

One of the things you notice on campuses is the presence or absence of students. Schools with a large residential presence always tend to have more students on campus than commuter schools. But when it comes to schools with a large on campus (and near campus) population, I have always noticed that the better the reputation of the institution the more likely you are to see students on campus. Obviously, you see more people out and about in the times between classes regardless of the type of college. But those schools with higher academic stature are much more likely to have students walking about and using the various facilities on campus. UNC has an excellent and well-earned reputation and my expectation of students being engaged on campus once again held true. The Davis Library was packed with students who were quietly studying. And I mean quietly studying. I took pains to get photos of the various buildings without people being in the frame, but campus was full of students despite the fact that it was late afternoon and early evening during my visit. It was quite refreshing to see! One of the things I always enjoyed during my time at the University of Tennessee was how people were always using the academic supports – the labs, the libraries, and other things around campus. As a doctoral student at Texas Tech, I could always count on my fellow graduate students being in the building from early morning until late evening, and the library was always busy. I am always disappointed when visiting colleges and universities where students are not as engaged in their studies, so again it was nice to see so many students taking advantage of their time at UNC.

The first four photos of the next set are of the ​Frank Porter Graham Student Union, which also called the  Carolina Union. It was completed in 1968, taking over the role of student union from the Graham Memorial in 1969. Construction on the building began in 1964. It was designed by the Cameron Little and Associates architecture firm from Charlotte, North Carolina. It has the standard amenities of modern student union: restaurants, lounges, study rooms, activity and recreation spaces, and a variety of student service and student organization offices. It was expanded in the 1980's and had a major addition in this century. The first two photos show the original portion of the building, and the third an interior shot just inside the doors you see in those first two pictures. The fourth photo shows the latest addition to the building. Frank Porter Graham was president of UNC from 1930 to 1949. He was also an alumnus of Chapel Hill (Class of 1909). 

Directly across from the Union is the UNC Student Stores Building seen here in the third photo of this set. It too is the work of Cameron Little and Associates and was completed in 1968. When it opened it was called the Josephus Daniels Student Stores. It has a bookstore, a convenience store, and a print shop. Josephus Daniels was an alumnus of the university, where he completed his law degree. He was a newspaper editor, politician, 41st Secretary of the Navy (future president Franklin Roosevelt was his aide), and the 10th Ambassador to Mexico. He was also a champion of segregation. His activities in support of this latter notion were notable and extensive. Thus, his name was removed from the building in 2016. The sunken area you see here is quite large and is referred to as The Pit. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s it was the site of protests. I imagine it still is from time to time. 

Next are two photos of Lenoir Hall which opened as a cafeteria in 1939. It replaced Swain Hall (see below) which was previously the main dining hall on campus. It is the work of architects Atwood and Weeks. Its capabilities were increased in 1947 when the basement was converted into a large dining area known as the Pine Room. The building is named for William Lenoir, a Virginia native who became a general in the American Revolution. He was a member of the North Carolina Senate after the war and a member of the UNC board upon its creation. 

Photos eight and nine of this set are of Greenlaw Hall, home to English, Comparative Literature, and the Writing Center. It was completed in 1970 and takes its name in honor of Edwin A. Greenlaw, former UNC faculty member and administrator. Greenlaw joined the faculty ranks in 1913 in the English department and would later be chair of the department and then dean of the graduate school from 1920 to 1925. His father, Thomas B. Greenlaw, established a normal school in Flora, Illinois called Orchard City College (it closed long ago). It was designed by Albert B. Cameron, of the Charlotte-based firm Cameron Little and Associates. The 55,000 square foot building cost about $1,512,000 to construct (about $14.7 million today). I took the ninth photo because of the bicycles locked up underneath the overhang of the building. Bikes are a quintessential feature on most college campuses. Other modes of personal transit come and go, but bikes remain. When I was an undergraduate, roller blades came into fashion for a time but quickly disappeared. Skateboards were extremely common in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s (as well as the 1970’s I believe), and although they are still seen around campuses their numbers are quite limited compared to their heyday. Scooters became the next big thing, followed quickly by electric versions most frequently in the form of rentable versions from numerous companies. The latter are still very common and clog sidewalks and entryways to buildings except in cases where they have been banned from campus. Bikes have always weathered through these challenges and have never lost their dominance, at least on the national scene. 

The last three photos of this set are of the Robert B. House Undergraduate Library. House opened in 1968 and is named for Robert H. House, a UNC alumnus (Class of 1916) and long-serving administrator. He served as an officer during World War I and returned home to first teach in the public schools and then went to work in what is now the State Archives in Raleigh before returning to his alma mater. House was Dean of Administration at the university from 1934 to 1945 and chancellor from 1945 until 1957. It is definitely a building from that era, a plain white box of a structure, its interior was renovated in the 2000’s.

The set below begins with a photo of the Playmakers Theater. It was formerly, and sometimes still concurrently (although not officially I believe), called Old Smith Hall. Construction on the building began in 1849 and was completed in 1852. New York architect Alexander Jackson Davis did the design work, and it is considered the most originally intact of his works in North Carolina. It was originally designed for very different purposes. It had a large ballroom for dances and events but was also used as the library. It ceased being used as a ballroom space in 1885. When the new library, now Hill Hall (not covered in this post) opened in 1907. It served as the home to the School of Law until it outgrew the space and moved into new digs in Manning Hall (see above). In 1927, it was converted into a theater and has remained as such ever since. 

​The last three photos in this set are of the Old Well. There are iconic structures on many college campuses that are well known to students, staff, the administration, alumni, and supporters of that particular institution. A handful of universities have structures that are recognizable to many people outside of those circles. Fewer have buildings or monuments known around the globe. The Old Well is one of those very few. Its association with college life is such that it has been imitated on many campuses and its likeness adorns graphics for higher education in general. People who have no idea what or where the Old Well is knows its appearance and associate it with collegiate life. 

The Old Well actually is an old well. It sounds silly to point that out, but the fact is that this was an active well used to acquire water on campus. It is not simply there for the appearance of it. Indeed, it did not always have its current appearance. It was simply a well for many years and the sole source of drinking water on campus. The well house was a much simpler and pragmatic structure. I am not sure if it is the original structure or not, but this photo on the UNC website shows how it looked prior to the current iteration. In 1896, Edwin A. Alderman became president of the university. During his time in office, a number of new buildings appeared on campus, and they were increasingly grand. He wanted to beautify campus in addition to increasing its physical plant. He desired to replace the old wooden well house with something more substantive and chose as his example the Temple of Love at the Versailles palace. The well house was designed by the university's registrar, Eugene Lewis Harris, an alumnus of the institution (Class of 1881). It was completed in 1897. 

The first two photos of the following set are of Gerrard Hall. Gerrard began its life with the name New Chapel. Construction on the building began in 1822, but it was not completed until 1837. Commencement that year was held in the new building. The delay in completing the building was due to the fact that the university ran out of money for its construction. The funds would be obtained thanks to Charles Gerrard. Gerrard was born in Beaufort County sometime around 1750. He was in favor of independence and joined the Revolution as a lieutenant in the Fifth Regiment of the Continental Army. He would eventually achieve the rank of Major. His service entitled him to land and upon his separation from the Army he was given 2,650 acres south of present-day Nashville, Tennessee. Eventually, he would acquire more than 13,000 acres of land. Upon his passing in 1997, the land was given to the university which was free to dispose of all but the original 2,650 acres once seven years had passed from the time of his death. The university slowly sold off all of that land until left with the original 2,650 acres. In 1833, the university asserted the right to sell this land which it did for $6,400. That would be about $239,845 in 2024 value. From this, $2,000 (about $75,000 in today’s value) was used to complete the chapel which was subsequently given the Gerrard name. Gerrard had a large portico installed in 1844 that was subsequently removed in 1901. Interestingly, since the entrances to the building are on the end and not the side, the portico did not lead to an entrance. None the less, it was often used as the location for photographs. It was renovated in 2007, and a new portico was installed (on the opposite side of the building from these photos). 

The second photo in this set shows Old East (with The Old Well and South on the right). Obviously, when something is first constructed, it is not referred to as “Old”. The various “Old Main” and “Old Administration” buildings on campuses across the U.S. began life simply as “Main” and “Admin”. Old East was simply East when it opened and stayed that way until 1859 when New East came along. To put that in perspective, New East is fifty-one years older than my current employer (the University of Memphis), and sixty-three years older than my alma mater Texas Tech. Old East's cornerstone was placed during a ceremony held on October 12, 1793. Old East is currently the oldest public university building in the U.S. It was significantly enlarged in an effort completed in 1844 which saw a third floor added as well as an extension to the existing structure. Old West was enlarged during the same period, and in both cases New York-based architect Alexander Jackson Davis did the design work. Old East began its life as a dorm, a role it continues to serve today. The building was completely rehabbed and brought up to current standards in 1993, its bicentennial year. It began life as a residence hall and so it remains.

Photos four, five, and six are of Old West. Old West’s cornerstone was put in place on December 20, 1822. It was designed to match the general appearance of Old East. Construction on Old West began in 1822, and it opened in 1823. State architect William Nichols did the original design work. As noted above, Old West and was enlarged in an effort beginning 1842 and completed in 1844 with the additional architectural work being completed by Alexander Jackson Davis. It too remains a dormitory for UNC students.

The last photo in this set is New West. Enrollment growth fueled the need for more dorm space, and by 1855 the university found itself able to house only about half of the student body. The trustees determined to construct two new dorms, and New East and New West were the result of these plans. Both were completed in 1859. I don't have a good photo to share of New East, unfortunately. I apparently had my finger over part of the camera and the ones I took were unsalvageable. Both New East and New West were designed by Richmond, Virginia-based architect William Percival. Percival could be the subject of his own post. He claimed to have been an officer in the British Army and to have been trained as an architect in the U.K. However, neither the Royal Institute of British Architects nor the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence have any records of him. It is possible that one of these two sources could have simply not included him or have been lost. But the army’s records from that time are pretty much intact and it is doubtful that someone who was an officer would simply be omitted. He claimed to have obtained the rank of Cornet, a now defunct status equivalent to a second lieutenant. But I digress and interested readers are encouraged to look him up. Despite these inconsistencies, Percival developed an active architectural practice in Richmond. He designed the building for the Virginia Mechanics Institute, a school for adult learners in 1855. This building, located on 9th Street and Bank Street across from the Virginia State Capital would host the command of General Robert E. Lee for a time and would be destroyed during the Civil War. I mention this for context and to add that the institute continued after the war. Today, on the Medical Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University there stands a building called Virginia Mechanics Institute Building (or VMI Building to most folks at VCU). That particular building was constructed in 1924 and 1925. It houses the medical campus post office and a variety of human resources and other offices. I have been in it more times than I can remember. I will leave the history of that for a post on VCU. Regardless, Percival was hired by UNC after his commission for the VMI building. He completed the work on both New West and New East. The windows you see in this photo in the center section are not the original style. They were once higher, but were modified during a remodel which was completed in 1925

The first photo in the next set is Memorial Hall, a work of the architectural firms McKim, Mead, and White, and Atwood and Nash. Memorial replaced an earlier building with the same name. The older building, a Victorian-style structure completed in 1885, was determined to be unsafe in 1929 and it was razed the following year. Construction on the current building began immediately thereafter. It was completed by the summer of 1931. The former Memorial Hall was completed in 1885 and was formally dedicated on June 3rd that year. It was named Memorial in honor of the members of the university community who died during the Civil War. It had four large marble plaques – two on each side of a stage in the building – listing the names of those who lost their lives in the war. These plaques were moved to the current Memorial Hall upon its completion. The building was renovated and slightly enlarged in an effort completed in 2004.

The second and third photos are of Phillips Hall. Phillips opened in 1920 (some sources say 1919) as the home for the then-named School of Applied Science. Applied Science was the home to the engineering programs at UNC. These programs were removed from Carolina and installed at North Carolina State in Raleigh as part of a state led realignment and cost savings effort. Phillips was designed by architect C.C. Hook and takes its name in honor of not one but several members of the Phillips family who were on faculty at the university. James Phillips taught math at UNC prior to the Civil War. His son Charles would follow in his footsteps and teach math and engineering. James’ grandson William Battle Phillips taught agriculture and chemistry. I find it rather pleasing that they were collectively honored in this way. For that matter, it is both remarkable and pleasing just how many things at UNC are named for faculty. Some critics complained it seemed out of place with other buildings in the vicinity and that it looked too much like a schoolhouse of that time. You cannot see it in these photos, but a large addition to the building was added in the rear in the 1960’s.

The last photo in this set is Swain Hall. ​Swain sits where the UNC President’s house once stood. Construction began on the building in 1913, and it opened in 1914 as a dining hall. It is notable as the last building on the UNC campus designed by Milburn and Heister. In its original configuration Swain could seat 460 people. After a fire in the kitchen in 1924, the building was enlarged. As I understand it, the kitchen itself had a good portion of the increase in size. The addition was designed by architects Atwood and Nash. It is named in honor of UNC president David L. Swain who served in that role from 1835 to 1868. During its time as a dining facility the students gave it the nickname “Swine Hall”. When the dining services moved to Lenoir Hall in 1939 Swain was repurposed. Numerous units have occupied the space since. Today it is the home to Communication, English, and Comparative Literature. 

​Peabody Hall, home to the UNC School of Education, leads off the next set. Construction on Peabody began in 1912 and progressed quickly. It was dedicated in May 1913. The George M. Peabody Fund provided the money for its construction. Mr. Peabody was a successful financier who became the model of modern philanthropy. He created the endowment in 1867 to support education and libraries, schools, and more carry the Peabody name as a result. As previously covered in this blog, Peabody Hall at the University of Mississippi is the result of such a donation. The Peabody College at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, the Peabody Library at Sam Houston State University, and the Peabody Halls at the University of Arkansas, the University of Georgia, the University of Florida, the University of Virginia, and Louisiana State University also came into being thanks to his generosity. The building was designed by Franklin P. Milburn.

The second and third photos of this set are of the Mary Ann Smith Building. I just love the look of this building! Something about it just speaks to me. Work on Smith began in 1901 and it was completed in 1904. The Jacobethan Revival building is the work of architect Frank P. Milburn. The name is thanks to a donation from her estate. Her father was a noted businessman in nearby Raleigh. I have to say that I really love the look of this building. Milburn had his hands on the design of several buildings on campus, but this may just be the best of the lot. It almost looks like a mansion. It was a men’s dorm from the time of its opening until 1945 when it began to house women. Sometime in the 1960’s, I am not sure when, it was converted into classrooms and offices. If you know when that happened, please leave a comment. 

This set concludes with two views of the Alumni Building. Work on Alumni began in 1898, making it the first new structure on campus since New West and New East were completed in 1859. It opened in 1901. It is so named thanks to its construction largely being funded by alumni. It is the work of architect Frank P. Milburn who completed the beaux arts building just in time for the beginning of the 20th century. The Boston Public Library on Copley Square reportedly served as an inspiration for the building. 

​The first photo below is Person Hall, or rather the east wing of Person. The building opened in 1797 and is named in honor of General Thomas Person who donated funds to the university. The building began its life as a chapel. The original part of the building is the current east wing which you see in this photo. It was completed sometime around 1797, with some sources saying it opened in 1798. The center portion was added in 1866. Finally, a west wing, similar to the east, would be completed in 1892. It is the second oldest public university building in the U.S. When a new chapel was built – Gerrard Hall, mentioned above – Person was transitioned into classroom space in 1837. 

The quad area you see in the second and third photos is known as McCorkle Place. It is a lovely, park-like space the likes of which are rare on modern campuses. As I was walking around McCorkle, taking snapshots with my phone, I was wishing I had brought along a real camera and not just my phone so that I might get better photos.

The fourth photo shows the Caldwell Monument. When I first saw it on the campus map prior to my visit I assumed it was merely a monument. It would be more fitting to call it a gravestone, as it marks the place where the university’s first president, Joseph Caldwell, his second wife Helen, and stepson William Hopper. It may be difficult to tell from the weathering, but it is made of marble. It is the second stone to be placed here. It was installed in 1858 and replaced an original monument made of sandstone.

​As it happens, I ran across the gentleman you see in the fifth photo setting up shots and then using a remote control to take pictures. For those who are not into photography, the use of a remote control reduces the movement of the camera caused by physically pressing the shutter and thus potentially blurring or moving the image. He saw me amateurishly arranging shots with my phone and smiled politely. Then I took this one of him. If I were an actual photographer, I would call this “Snapshot of a Photographer”. I would like to think a real photographer would find that title amusing. 

The set closes with a photo of the John Motley Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. Mr. Morehead informed the UNC board that he would be donating his art collection to the university along with $1 million for the construction of a new museum and planetarium for its housing in February 1946. Groundbreaking for the new facility took place in November 1947 and it opened in the spring of 1949. It was designed by architects Eggers and Higgins. In 1969, the university had a Zeiss Projector Model VI installed in the planetarium, which was one of only seven in the U.S. at the time. The dome and columns remind me of The Rotunda at the University of Virginia.

The set below begins with a photo of Graham Memorial Hall. The building gets its name in honor of Edward Kidder Graham, UNC’s ninth president. He was an alumnus of the university (Class of 1898) and upon graduation returned to his native Charlotte to become a teacher. A year later, then UNC President Edwin A. Alderman, who knew Graham as a student, hired him to be a librarian for the university. In 1908, he married Susan Moses, and they welcomed a son, Edward K. Graham, Jr. in 1911. He subsequently began teaching English, and in 1909 he became chair of the department and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. In 1913, then UNC president Francis P. Venable was in Europe and Graham served as interim president. He was chosen to be president full-time in 1914. His time in the presidency was productive and well received, but not what you could call a personally happy one. His wife passed away in 1916. I am not sure of all of the specifics, but rather than try to raise Edward Junior alone, the elder Graham sent his seven-year-old boy to be raised with his cousins in the home of his uncle Louis Graves. Graves was the founder and editor of the Chapel Hill Weekly newspaper. Graham would succumb to the Spanish Flu while in office in 1918 leaving his then nine-year-old an orphan. As noted above, his cousin, Frank Porter Graham, would also join the ranks at UNC and would serve as the university’s 11th president from 1930 to 1949.  Edward Junior would also enter academe. He followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating with both his bachelor’s (Class of 1933) and master’s (Class of 1934) degrees from UNC. He completed his Ph.D. at Cornell University in 1938. He would also serve in academic administration at Washington University in St. Louis, UNC Greensboro, Boston University, the University of Denver, and the College Center of Finger Lakes. The building was designed by the McKim, Mead, and White architecture firm and the Atwood Nash architectural firm and was completed in 1931.

The final photo of this set and post is a combination/complex building making up of Battle Hall, Vance Hall, Pettigrew Hall, and Hyde Hall. The Battle-Vance-Pettigrew part of the complex opened as a dorm. Construction began in 1912 and was completed within the year. Before their construction, a hotel facing Franklin Street stood in this location. The group was designed by the architects Milburn and Heister. The Hyde portion of the building opened nearly a century later in 2002. Battle is named in honor of Kemp Plummer Battle, who was president of the university when it first reopened after the Civil War. Vance takes its name from Zebulon Baird Vance, a former governor of North Carolina and U.S. Congressman. Interestingly, he served two nonconsecutive terms as governor with one during the period when North Carolina was part of the Confederate States of America. Pettigrew is named in honor of James Johnston Pettigrew, a North Carolina native who was a general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The Hyde name pays tribute to Barbara Rosser Hyde and J.R. “Pitt” Hyde III. Pitt, a UNC alumnus (Class of 1965). He started the AutoZone company as a spin-off of Malone & Hyde, a store started by his grandfather. Barbara is herself a UNC alumnae (Class of 1983).

Frequently I end my posts with the college’s version of the ever-present lamppost sign. Oddly enough, I did not see a single one during this nor my last visit to Chapel Hill. I don’t know if they simply do not have them, or if I just happened to be there when none were up. I am inclined to believe they do not have them, since it was about eight and a half weeks between my first visit and this one and nothing changed. 

I noted in my post on Montana State University last year that I was impressed with the cleanliness of campus. It was the end of the day when I started across the Chapel Hill campus. Although it was just after 4pm, students and faculty were everywhere. Despite this, it was also an extremely clean and well-kept campus. I don’t wish to throw shade at other institutions. After all, many are financially strapped these days and one way to save money is to scrimp on cleaning services. But it is so refreshing to see clean campuses. UNC is up there as one campus that is still tidy, the way most schools were when I was a college student. The people were also extremely friendly. I had students who were on their way to class stop so they would not walk in front of me as I took a photo. Sure, that’s common courtesy, but as the saying goes common courtesy, like common sense, is not all that common. I was looking in a building and a faculty member asked me if I needed any help. I told him I was just exploring campus and taking photos. He responded that I should take my time and ask anyone I see questions as people there are friendly and love to help. I agree with his assessment. It was also refreshing to be in a place where everyone drove the speed limit and stopped without hesitation to let pedestrians cross the street, even when they were nowhere near a crosswalk. I cannot count the number of times I have nearly been hit when crossing the street at my current institution despite the fact that pedestrians have the right of way in marked crosswalks.

After my visit, I had time to reflect on the campus and the institution on my flight back to Memphis. I have noted before that I will sometimes think about whether a school would be a good fit for one or both of my sons. My oldest has always expressed interest in things engineering. UNC has programs in Environmental Sciences and Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, but these areas have not been on his radar. Otherwise, I could see him there. My youngest is less established in his thinking at this point in terms of career trajectory. He is interested in the health sciences generally speaking. He is certainly an excellent student, but still has a very broad range of interests. I suppose I can see him UNC as an undergrad, but the thing that stood out to me was that it would be a great university for him to go to medical school or graduate school for the health sciences. Of course, you never know what the future holds.