Hey guys, I'll be giving a historic tour of old campus with a twist tonight. Meet at 1045p. Front steps Holladay Hall. Bring a flashlight. This is going to be a really interesting night. Questions encouraged!

Covering things like, but not limited to:
Holladay Hall Cemetery
Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1917 on campus in the Infirmiry where folks died.
Pullen Hall Fire of 1965
Watauga Hall Fire of 1901
Tompkins Hall Mill Fire of 1914
The real cornerstone of State College (it's not in a building)
1911 Dormitory Barracks - when NCSU was a military school
Brooks Hall (Old DHHill) Special plan
Freemasons Involvement in Campus Design and masonic cornerstones and the All Seeing Eye
Why UNC and NCSU are rivals. (It has nothing to do with sports)
Why we buried our old well and where it is located.
Historic Remnants of old Campus Dorms and Classroom Buildings
The old Courtyard Creek

10/29/2009 5:23:58 PM

hey, thanks for the advanced notice!

10/29/2009 5:26:06 PM

NC State will be around for more than a few days so there can be more-- just ask!

10/29/2009 5:27:35 PM

I'm game. I don't have anything better to do for once.

As an aside, what's your background? How do you know all this and is it just bs?

[Edited on October 29, 2009 at 6:58 PM. Reason : -]

10/29/2009 6:57:50 PM

I'm a grad student in architecture at state. got my undergrad at state, too. My thesis is on the evolution of the built history of the campus and these are some of the stories I've found that I just can't fit into a thesis document or formal lecture. It's good stuff and I like to talk. :-)

It's not BS. I couldn't try to make some of this shit up. You won't be disappointed.

I started the Finish the [Bell]Tower group http://bells.ncsu.edu based on my thesis research.

[Edited on October 29, 2009 at 7:03 PM. Reason : yay bells]

10/29/2009 7:02:02 PM

For those of us who can't go, you should start a blog about the different neat things on campus, or something of the like. A book would be pretty neat, too. I wanna learn! But I live far away now

10/29/2009 7:05:14 PM

Im interested but its too late for me tonight. Do you plan on doing this again?

10/29/2009 7:05:26 PM

^^^ Matt Robbins?

Ok, you're legit then. I'm Dan btw. I do the forwarding of ncsubells.com for you, lol.

Cya tonight, I love random shit like this.

[Edited on October 29, 2009 at 7:14 PM. Reason : -]

10/29/2009 7:12:45 PM

can you just post the facts so I don't have to walk around the entire campus like a damn freshman at orientation?

I mean, this sounds like a really cool thing, I just don't have the time really.

[Edited on October 29, 2009 at 7:15 PM. Reason : .]

10/29/2009 7:14:29 PM

^.

10/29/2009 7:17:35 PM

Ohai Dan! thanks for the fwding. I am currently working on a book. I have one for the Bell Tower history. There's just too much at this point to just get down on paper. It's kinda like an oral tradition, anyway. Once I graduate in December, maybe I'll have time to get it all down. But, I have well over several phone-books worth of documents, photos, articles, and stories. It's good stuff.

Any questions about anything off hand that anyone would like to ask?

10/29/2009 7:30:52 PM

Damn cool idea...I'd come if I wasn't living in Durham now. Longish drive for late at night and I have to work tomorrow. Sounds like fun though!

10/29/2009 7:32:32 PM

any questions?

10/29/2009 8:33:09 PM

^ Sup Matt?

10/29/2009 8:44:40 PM

Hey Andrew, thanks for the Turkey Day invite, but I'll be in Winston.

10/29/2009 8:50:20 PM

Sounds cool...my friend Sara Yasin was an OC and she used to tell the freshmen all sorts of scary stories...yo Matt, I wrote that first viewpoint column about the Finish the Belltower campaign in the Technician, and I'm still mad I didn't get my t-shirt before I graduated. : P

10/29/2009 8:52:07 PM

Got any info on the "State College" stack? I know a few years back that part of the top caved in on itself and they had to rebuild it, but any details on it's construction originally?

What about the old Field House over by the eastern-most tunnel? Is that thing even used any more for anything? Any interesting facts on it?

Steam tunnels?

[Edited on October 29, 2009 at 8:52 PM. Reason : -]

10/29/2009 8:52:11 PM

I saw people painting or something in the old fieldhouse by the tunnel, maybe they're fixing it up to actually use it for something besides vending machine shelters

10/29/2009 9:04:04 PM

State College stack I will talk about tonight - make sure you remind me. I don't know anything of it's construction. Although, I have some documents, I haven't made my way over there in my research yet. I know that it originally it was a coal burning facility complete with its on rail spur.

Field House? Yes! Built around 1937 (judged via photos) Now flex space for COD and random contractors. Know that block S that faced the old field on that building? They removed it (its now in the bldg, I took a few photos) and they intend to put it in a new athletics building. I don't know where. But I know they have extracted it and plan to use it again. The building will sadly be demolished once the new parking deck over there goes in and the college of design gets their new building on top of that deck. I don't know that students realize that every time they walk through it, that they are walking where the Wolfpack used to run out onto the field every game.

Steam tunnels? There are several miles of tunnels under the college. Lots of access near Cox. That little door in the free expression tunnel? Access. Cameras in them though, youll get caught and trespassed if you get into the tunnels. I know a teacher who has a map and layout of them.

10/29/2009 9:06:03 PM

There might be cameras...but are there motion detectors!? I know they ain't payin someone to watch steam tunnel cameras 24/7.

10/29/2009 9:44:18 PM

Most of the cameras on campus are motion sensing. they only record when motion is activated.

10/29/2009 9:46:00 PM

If I ever become a bajillionaire, I'm gonna build an exact replica of the 30s/40s Riddick Stadium and you guys are welcome to play football in it any time you want.

10/29/2009 10:23:10 PM

^ haha sweet. My plans upon becoming a bujillionaire are:
1) pay for NC State to use pine straw instead of mulch
2) finally build that fucking monorail they promised us 20 years ago

10/29/2009 10:26:03 PM

^ try prob about 25 mil and youll be good.

10/29/2009 10:26:25 PM

Wish I had more notice, this sounds awesome.

How often are you doing these?

10/29/2009 10:42:59 PM

Wow I'm really glad I went to this. Matt did a great job and he really is the unofficial resource for all history NC State. That being said I'd love to see you do a couple more of these where you focus on other areas of campus.

I also drove home tonight through Centennial Campus and now I think of it completely differently. There's so much history on Main Campus. Centennial just feels like this hollow shell.

10/30/2009 1:22:31 AM

^ i thought of the same thing. But give it a few years. Textiles i know already has some and the engineers are making some as well.

10/30/2009 2:09:08 AM

thanks for coming out, those who came out! We had about 20-30 show up. It was a realllllly good tour with good questions. When should I do another? I want more folks to be able to come. I've been thinking about doing a big NCSU history lecture in Witherspoon. Loaded with pics, movies, etc. I'd cover a lot of the same. Would you come?


(thanks for being there DPK, makes me happy)

10/30/2009 2:16:03 AM

I am interested in both another tour and a lecture. More notice this time and I would have made it. I hope to make the next one.

10/30/2009 6:28:06 AM

actually, i WOULD come to something like this

i love haunted tours

10/30/2009 8:32:47 AM

I'd be tempted to drive to Raleigh for that lecture.

10/30/2009 8:56:03 AM

Quote :

"Centennial just feels like this hollow shell."

It's not:
http://dejaviews.org/projects/ncsu/orphanage/

Also note the destroyed subdivision of psychiatric halfway houses just on the north side of Centennial.

10/30/2009 9:11:16 AM

a couple of years ago (early 2007, maybe?), i went walking through the woods around the lake on centennial by myself, just because...brought my camera along and stumbled across this







definitely reminded me of the orphanage

10/30/2009 9:14:39 AM

There's a car out in those woods too.

It's also worth noting that this area has been inhabited for at least 10,000 years. The previous owners were just kind enough not to fuck it all up with lame attempts at neoclassical buildings and commercial/educational mixed use office parks.

10/30/2009 9:27:10 AM

^^ Dude, that's some crazy stuff right there. Yeah, I wasn't really thinking about the orphanage at the time I typed that. That is true though and the Avent Ferry realignment. Wasn't there also some guy (a student/alum) who was living still on Centennial up until a few years ago in a house?

I'd definitely come to another tour and definitely even a lecture. It's up to you in terms of your free time (much appreciated btw) although I'm sure it doesn't take you long to prepare for this stuff since it's all up in your head anyways. It'd be cool if there was maybe even just one of these tours a month. However you're graduating soon so once a month only would leave us like 2 more tours, lol.

For the next chunk of your tour you should pick up where you left off and take the section of campus bounded by 1911, Park Shops, through the engineering area, and toward the Brickyard (minus Polk since I think that is kind of a Brickyard building). Basically more/less the buildings sitting on Current, Stinson, Lampe, and Broughton Drives. Then another tour could cover everything in just the Brickyard area. Just ideas, I'd come to another tour just on the different kinds of NCSU brick if you did it, hah.

Would love to hear some more history on Patterson Hall since I work in that building right now. I swear this building has so many bricked in windows/doors it's hilarious.

10/30/2009 9:41:14 AM

a lecture/presentation would be awesome

10/30/2009 10:52:33 AM

Please let us know when the next one will be. I really, really regret not being at the first one. I'll definitely try to make the 2nd tour.

10/30/2009 11:03:54 AM

sure. I'm thinking about getting Witherspoon (the theatre room) to have the lecture.

any other good ideas of places we could have it?i thought of a few

outside at dusk at harris field, with a sheet strung between those two towers. it'd be cold, but dress warm. that way, its outside, folks walk by and join in. If it's inside, we dont get those 'wandering' folks who live in west/central who walk by on their way home/to dining hall.

same deal, but in the quad

what about places inside? good, solid lecture halls? riddick, nelson, and poe come to mind. but i bet those are already booked.

10/31/2009 2:32:22 PM

EB 1 and 2. No one ever uses them after 5pm. theres about 5 large lecture halls. I know they also have systems to "link" the projectors for events.

also dabney's 2 large lecture halls, and cox's semi smaller ones might work.

10/31/2009 3:55:08 PM

Quote :

"Please let us know when the next one will be. I really, really regret not being at the first one. I'll definitely try to make the 2nd tour."

10/31/2009 6:44:13 PM

I haven't really dug very deep for this one, but I figure this might be something you're interested in, so many it's a quick answer.

Could you point me in the right direction of where I might find photos of the Court of the Carolinas before Hurricane Fran (I think it was Fran) took out all the trees? I'm especially interested in the particularly large tree that occupied the area.

Also, if you scheduled a lecture I'd be sure to come. If I'd seen about the tour earlier I definitely would have as well. Hell, if you did one in the next few days I'd go, but I figure after Halloween you have better things to do.

10/31/2009 10:23:18 PM