t Urn
a
S f
Cy JIFF HSDAY
Every day at 2 p.m., a group of people
leave the west entrance of the Morehead
Planetarium. Sometimes the group is large,
sometimes small; but always it is a group
taking an historical tour, a tour fast growing
in popularity.
The historical campus tour is sponsored
by the Service League of Chape! Hill, and
began five years ago as a Bicentennial pro
ject designed to last only during the summer.
But the tour has continued as a year-round
event League members, town residents and
even students act as guides on the hour-long
tour which covers the old part of the cam
pus. Those who take the tour include prospec
tive students, curious town residents, and a
few visitors from foreign countries. Sylvia
Noin, 20, arrived from Paris with her parents .
to look at UNC. She will go to an American
university in two years after she graduates
from the political science university she is
attending in Paris. Noin said she was most
impressed by the "trees, squirrels, and the
people" of Carolina.
The groups taking the tour vary in size.
Cuide Shara Partin called a 15-member
group large, but the tour is still given if only
one person shows up. No reservations are re
quiredwhoever shows up for the tour may
go. Special tours for larger groups may also
be arranged in advance. The tour runs every
day from March 1 to the beginning of
Christmas break in December.
Each day, the tour leaves from the
Planetarium rotunda and proceeds to the
Davie Poplar, with the guide continually
spewing historical tibits. After learning about
the folklore of the Davie Popular, the group
hears the real story behind the tree and the
founding of the campus site.
At this point guide Harry Braiford
describes the way things were when he at
tended Chapel Hill in 1926. Construction for
Kenan Stadium began then, and the "bowl"
the stadium presently sits in had to be blasted
out of a granite creek bed, he said. Everyone
was up early because "you heard it at 6
every morning."
The group then continues to Person Hall,
where the "Flemish Bond" brick design and
previous purposes of the building are ex
plained. The guide points out a couple of
statues and a pair of gargoyles which adorn
the outside walls of Person HalL For your in
formation the gargoyles were found in the
early part of this century amid some rubble
below Big Ben in London, waiting to be de
stroyed. . 1?,
Next on the tour 'are the chambers of the
Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies,
located on the top floor of New West
Along with an explanation of the history
and tradition of the Societies, various ar
tifacts in the Di-Phi Chambers are pointed
out like a bust of Sen. Sam Ervin and a
painting of native author Thomas Wolfe.
i
1
m ;.. r
Mi?
' . ,
iff i - 4 i m
4 9
if i
4
i nr
jn3
Kara it Is fo!f:sl A vafy sp3dal sofa . ... 25 sofas in cna.
iugost ib mm &3pt3nU33r7;.
t , V7o ccu'.d hz'3 hnd a sIs every v,csk but then thsrs wouldn't
r J hv3 been smthfng jpcclnl cbcut them. So v.ticn you rc3 a
Vldcer's Sa!2, you better jump. We den't tev2 them every vvsclt.
103 to H0eo c7? all homa and auto hlfl compononts Including Csrvar,
iruiniiy, ycniquisi, onyr Hrpina ana many more. Ana an cur
- equipment is worth more than wa normally chorgo for It
fcr hr.7 pr.'c, 13 f:. cf 12 r-jr2 rpr;.':cr
C fH f a-?aaaa J " , .
Cw r SI 3 Cwi &ftj SuV? ever Saw3 c3 p'rl
3. end ever SIC3 a pIrf
. $115, sr."2$!C3spc:rI
Cuy cny rccc.?er cn zzlz, ctt a pzlr cf A1CG
riCuciisnrs tf pries I
C'jy 20 fL cf 12 rjpcr.lrc, nsrrr:.'y S1
a ft., fcr I0J a fcctl
CiiyadaihcrfsrcnfySSaCrthasli-s .
dccnrrfcrcny$4.S3I
fcr$2SI
1 f - a ,-, --....t f a--,
f c; I
1 1
t s
After leaving New West, the tour visits
Old West an historic building that looks as
old as Old East, but was actually built about
30 years later in 1824, the guide said. The
cornerstone for Old East (not old West), the
University's first building, was laid Oct 12,
1793. The guide said that during those for
mative years of the University, Old East was
the University. It was the only building on
campus, and housed not only the students,
as it does now, but also the classrooms and
administrative offices. Old East is the oldest
state university building, and a National
Historic Landmark.
Between Old East and Old West lies the
Old Welldescribed as the unofficial symbol
of the University. The guide said that during
the early part of the 19th century, public
health officials closed down the well
because it used a bucket to draw water;
soon after, a pump was installed.
From the Old Well, the group circles
around to the side of South Building facing
Wilson Library. The building was originally
built as an architectural companion to Old
East and Old West but construction was
halted because of insufficient funds after
the first floors-and-a-half were completed.
When construction was continued, plan
ners decided to "spruce up" the front of the
building to match "elegant" VVilson Library
by adding the large columns and terracing,
the guide said. ' .
Next to South Building is Playmakers
Theatre, describes as an 1851 Creek Revival
structure, which was originally built to be
the University Ballroom. State legislators
were so enraged that state funds were to be
used for such a "frivolous" activity, that the
building was transformed into a library
with movable bookshelves that were cleared
away for dancing.
The guide also pointed out the facade of
granite blocks which is actually bricks
covered with mortar.
From Playmakers Theater, the group
wanders through Coker Arboretum, which
was once a pasture for cows and horses.
Then the tour returns to the Morehead
Building.
Guide Carolyn Oldham, a registered nurse
in Chapel Hill, said the tour had been very
successful and should continue indefinitely.
The project could not have succeeded
without the support of the University and
the Morehead Building, she said.
o
Another tour is given during the regular
school term by Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed
service fraternity. The APO tour is con
ducted Monday through Friday at 2 p.m. and
Saturday at noon. The tour leaves from the
Undergraduate Admissions office on Coun
try Club Road.
f
J
1213The Tar HeelThursday, August 6, 1C31