North Carolina State University Main Campus
Encyclopedia
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
of North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
, located in Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, inside the Beltline
Interstate 440 (North Carolina)
Interstate 440 in North Carolina, also known as the Raleigh Beltline and the Cliff Benson Beltline, is a 16.4-mile partial beltway that nearly encircles central Raleigh. Prior to August 2002, it was a complete loop and shared a concurrency with its parent, Interstate 40 along the loop's southern...
. Notable features of Main Campus include the Bell Tower and D. H. Hill Library
D. H. Hill Library
The D. H. Hill Library is the main library at North Carolina State University. It is the third building to house NCSU Libraries, following Brooks Hall and Holladay Hall...
. The campus is known for its distinctive red brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
buildings, sidewalks, plazas, and sculptures; some are dotted with decorative brick mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
s. University Plaza is nicknamed "The Brickyard" because it is mostly a flat, open, bricked area.
The Main Campus is divided into three sections: a North Campus, a Central Campus, and a South Campus. The North and Central campuses are separated by the railroad tracks that run through the area. Pedestrian access between these two campuses is by one of five locations: three pedestrian tunnels, an underpass at Dan Allen Drive, or a bridge at Pullen Road. Of the three pedestrian tunnels, the Free Expression Tunnel
Free Expression Tunnel
The Free Expression Tunnel is the longest, widest, and most heavily used pedestrian tunnel under the railroad tracks at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina . The special aspect of the tunnel is that anyone is permitted to decorate its walls, ceiling, and floor...
is the largest; the other two, nicknamed the Reynolds Tunnel and the Thompson Tunnel, are much more narrow and do not have handicap access ramps.
North Campus
The North Campus consists predominantly of classroom buildings and laboratories. It is the oldest section of the university and is often the busiest of the three campuses during class operational hours.The Brickyard
Officially known as University Plaza, "the Brickyard" is the university's largest plaza, situated at the heart of North Campus. The Brickyard is located just south of Hillsborough Street in front of D.H. Hill library. It is a brick-paved courtyard reminiscent of St. Mark's Square in Venice. The brickyard is a popular gathering place for students who are on their way to and from class, eating a snack from the Atrium food court, or just taking a break. Many organizations, demonstrators, and vendors also gather in the brickyard to pass out information about their organizations, to fundraise, or to sponsor various activities.
D.H. Hill Library and The Atrium
D.H. Hill Library, the university's largest library, and the adjoined Atrium food courtFood court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
are found between Hillsborough Street and the Brickyard. The NCSU Libraries are home to over 3.6 million volumes. NC State's library system is considered to be one of the best research libraries in the nation.
Harrelson Hall
Cylinder (geometry)
A cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes, the surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given line segment, the axis of the cylinder. The solid enclosed by this surface and by two planes perpendicular to the axis is also called a cylinder...
, 261 feet (79.6 m) in diameter
Diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
, with a mostly open-air plaza ground floor. It was named after mathematics professor John W. Harrelson
John W. Harrelson
John William Harrelson was born in Double Shoals, Cleveland County, North Carolina, USA, on 28 June 1885. He was educated at North Carolina State University, where he earned a B.A. in engineering in 1909 and an M.S. in mechanical engineering in 1915...
. Constructed in 1961, Harrelson Hall was the first cylindrical classroom structure ever built on a university campus. It is four stories high (although top floor is designated as the third floor). A ramp with access to floors 1 through 3 wraps around the building's central column; three stairways and one elevator also provide access to the upper floors. The 105732 square feet (9,822.8 m²) building houses offices and classrooms for Mathematical Sciences
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, Foreign Languages
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
, Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, and Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
. Lecture halls are found around the inner portion and offices are along the rim. Harrelson and Poe Halls are the only non-brick buildings on NCSU Main Campus.
Harrelson Hall has earned a reputation on campus for having extremely uncomfortable rooms with extremely tight and antiquated seating. Due to the Talley Student Center Renovations, the NC State bookstore has moved inside of Harrelson Hall, as have several student organisations.
The building is slated for demolition by the end of 2014.
Memorial Bell Tower
Possibly the university's most notable symbol is the Memorial Bell Tower, which is situated on the northeast corner of North Campus at the corner of Hillsborough Street and Pullen Road. The bell towerBell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
was completed in 1937 and appears on NCSU's official seal. Its blending of Romanesque features and Gothic verticality are reminiscent of the towers of West Point. The 115 feet (35.1 m) monument, called "a legend in stone" contains 1,400 tons of stone set on a 700-ton concrete base, and exceeded $150,000 in cost. Although 33 alumni died in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the memorial plaque contains 34 names. Before the armistice ended the war, the name G. L. Jeffers, Class of '13, was wrongly reported killed in action. Many years later, however, when the memorial plaque was made, a list was furnished to the manufacturer from which Jeffers' name had never been removed. When the error was noted on the finished plaque, a decision was made to alter the extra name beyond recognition. It was therefore changed to G. E. Jefferson, a symbol of unknown soldiers from State and elsewhere.
The door of the tower presents the words, "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares
Swords to ploughshares
Swords to ploughshares is a concept in which military weapons or technologies are converted for peaceful civilian applications....
." This is a reference to a passage in the Book of Isaiah, in which the world is peaceful and weapons are converted to prosperous and useful tools.
The outside inscription on the cornerstone of the tower is marked with the Masonic symbol and uses both the standard notation and year; Anno Domini (Year of our Lord) 1921 and Anno Lumini (Year of Light) 5921, using the Masonic yearly count, where the history of the world begins in 4000 B.C.
The bell tower is lit up with red lights for a variety of special occasions, including athletic victories. The Bell Tower does not actually have a bell; the carillon system that can be heard ringing from the bell tower is actually housed in nearby Holladay Hall. Originally, a 54 bell carillon system was part of the bell tower's original plan, but an electronic system was chosen due to financial difficulties during the Great Depression. A grassroots movement, Finish the [Bell] Tower, is currently campaigning to have a real carillon system in the tower. The bell tower (Bt) is sometimes used as a unit of measurement, equivalent to the 115 feet (35.1 m) the tower stands tall.
Holladay Hall
Court of North Carolina
The Court of North Carolina (informally the Court of Carolinas), located west of the Bell Tower and east of the Brickyard, is a large, mostly green quadQuadrangle (architecture)
In architecture, a quadrangle is a space or courtyard, usually rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building. The word is probably most closely associated with college or university campus architecture, but quadrangles may be found in other...
on North Campus. It is surrounded by the 1911 Building Hall, Tompkins Hall, Caldwell Hall, Winston Hall, Poe Hall, Page Hall, and Leazar Hall. The west side of the Court is sloped upward along a hill that the 1911 Building is situated upon. It was once home to 100 trees (one for every county in North Carolina; thus the court's name name), but damage caused by Hurricane Fran
Hurricane Fran
Hurricane Fran was a powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season that made landfall near Cape Fear in North Carolina at Category 3 strength. Throughout the eastern United States, early statistics on Fran reported 27 deaths and $3.2 billion in damage...
in 1996 reduced the number significantly, including the destruction of a particularly old and large tree which was some 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter. Some replanting has occurred, but the Court's former appearance is far from being restored. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, NCSU saw an influx of new post-war students as per the G.I. Bill of 1944. To accommodate the need for classrooms, many temporary classroom buildings (Quonset hut
Quonset hut
A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semicircular cross section. The design was based on the Nissen hut developed by the British during World War I...
s) were constructed on the Court of North Carolina.
Central Campus
Talley Student Center
Talley Student Center is a building on NCSU's Central Campus on Cates Avenue for student and campus affairs. Many student organizations like the Student Union are housed in the building. In the basement of Talley is the Wolves' Den, a WolfpackNC State Wolfpack
The athletic teams of the North Carolina State University, known as the Wolfpack, compete in 24 intercollegiate varsity sports. NC State is a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and has won eight national championships: two NCAA championships, two AIAW championships, and four titles...
based sports bar style restaurant and recreation center, featuring billiard
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
tables, ping pong tables, card tables, and board games. A Taco Bell
Taco Bell
Taco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items...
Express, as well as a Lil' Dino Sub Shop, an Emporium Ice Cream Shop, and a C-Store (convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
) are located on the main floor. Stewart Theatre, a large arena
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
-style theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
most notably used for orientation
Orientation week
Student orientation or new student orientation, is a period of time at the beginning of the academic year at a university or other tertiary institution during which a variety of events are held to orient and welcome new students. The name of the period varies by country...
and comedy sketch programs, occupies the west end of the Talley Student Center. A grand ballroom
Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
is located on the second floor. Renovations are currently underway on Talley Student Center with completion in late 2014.
Witherspoon student center
Home to the Campus Cinema, Student Government, Student Media, and the African American Cultural Center, this building was built in 1991.Campus Cinema
North Carolina State has its own movie theater located in Witherspoon Student Center. The Campus Cinema usually shows movies just before they become available on DVD. The format is usually 35 mm, and the price for students is $1.50, and $2.50 for General Admission. The cinema also occasionally hosts Sneak Previews of soon-to-be-released hits. There is also a concessions stand where movie-goers are provided with candy, soda, and popcorn at very reasonable prices. The movie schedule is updated twice a semester.Dining halls
All three of the university's major all-you-can-eat dining halls are located on Central Campus: Fountain, Case, and Clark. Fountain Dining Hall is the largest of the three and predominantly serves western Central Campus. Due to the limited seating capacitySeating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
, Case dining hall is restricted primarily to residents of nearby residence halls on Central Campus and athletes.
Reynolds Coliseum
Reynolds Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena on Central Campus that hosts many campus-oriented and sports events, most notably the Wolfpack
NC State Wolfpack
The athletic teams of the North Carolina State University, known as the Wolfpack, compete in 24 intercollegiate varsity sports. NC State is a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and has won eight national championships: two NCAA championships, two AIAW championships, and four titles...
Women's basketball games. Prior to the completion of the RBC Center—located off-campus—it also hosted the Men's basketball games. One non-conference men's game is played in Reynolds each season, and is known as the "Heritage Game".
Carmichael Complex
The Carmichael Complex or Carmichael Gymnasium is a set of interconnected sports and physical educationPhysical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
buildings situated on Cates Avenue on Central Campus. The complex features a weight room, and indoor running track, a gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium and the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center, a swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
and aquatics building. The NC State swim team calls the Casey Aquatics Center home, but the pool is often open to recreational swimming.
Doak Field
Doak Field is a baseball stadium located west of the major residence halls on Central Campus. It is home to NC State's Wolfpack baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team, and has been since its completion in 1966.
Derr Track & Dail Stadium
Paul Derr Track and the adjoining Curtis & Jacqueline Dail Softball Stadium are currently being reconstructed on Central Campus, south of Reynolds Coliseum. The old Paul Derr Track was from 1993 home to Sprint Capitol USA, the group of sprinters trained by BALCOBalco
Balco can refer to:* the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative - a controversial sports medicine/nutrition centre in Burlingame, California.* Balco balcony systems who develops, designs and manufactures balcony systems and glazing solutions....
informant and now federal investigated Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n coach, Trevor Graham
Trevor Graham
Trevor Graham is a Jamaican-born former athletics coach, based in the United States. Following the BALCO scandal, the US Olympic Committee barred him indefinitely from all its training sites as a number of the athletes he was training had tested positive for drug abuse.-Athletics career:Graham was...
.
When completed, the new Paul Derr Track will be a stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
for NC State track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
events and soccer games. It will consist of an oval
Oval
An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...
(rounded rectangle) running track with a soccer field situated in the center. Dail Stadium will be a new softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
stadium, primarily for NC State's softball team. It is being constructed at the corner of Morill Drive and Cates Avenue next to Derr Track. When complete, the track and the softball field will share the same main entrance.
South Campus
South Campus lies south of Western Boulevard and consists of Greek (Fraternity) Court, the McKimmon Center, Visitor Center, and the Avent Ferry Complex, as well as few labs and specialty buildings. South Campus is the least developed of the three sections of Main Campus; no large classroom halls are located there. South of South Campus lies Centennial CampusNorth Carolina State University Centennial Campus
Centennial Campus is a research park and educational campus owned and operated by North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Composed of two locations, the property provides office and lab space for corporate, governmental and not-for-profit entities, in addition to providing...
. South Campus is intertwined with commercial businesses and non-university buildings, mostly along Avent Ferry Road and Western Boulevard.