The Free Expression Tunnel - Part 2

Following up on the last post about the Free Expression Tunnel, here are more recent images. Pictured above are Kyle and Matt.

Someone made a passionate plea in The Technician last year for higher quality graffiti and less of the familiar fraternity/sorority advertisements:

There are few places you can take cans of spray paint and draw or write whatever you want on a public structure, within law and reason, and get away with it.

However, on campus, we have this luxury in the Free Expression Tunnel and should utilize it to the fullest extent.

Advertisements for sororities and fraternities with the occasional "happy birthday so-and-so" message don't cut it. We have a design school and many other programs on campus that are meant to foster creativity, but we don't illustrate that in the tunnel.

Give fellow students something to marvel at as they make the dreadful journey to Harrelson Hall and its extremely uncomfortable seating accommodations.

The Free Expression Tunnel - Part 1

The images above were from 2005, when my friend and neighbor Paxton helped me out with a class project. The idea was to create a movie from still images of something from beginning to end. The last image is of me; he used a photo of me wearing trendy glasses and was taken when I used to sport longer hair.
A description of the tunnel by NCSU says that

Since the 1960's, the Free Expression Tunnel has been the University’s answer to combat graffiti on campus. Located on Central Campus the tunnel connects the two halves of campus split by the railroad track. The Free Expression Tunnel gives students a venue for expressing their thoughts and feelings about anything--from “Happy Birthday” to announcing club and organization meetings.

Life Slows Down As The Semester Winds Down

Did you hear that? It was the sound of Raleigh deflating its population by about thirty thousand people. Almost overnight, Hillsborough Street becomes much more friendly to cyclists, late night pizza joints and bars suddenly cut their hours back, and the amount of open space and peacefulness around NCSU campus seems to open up threefold.

Pictured above is Jacob. He's an R.A. (and Eagle Scout), and like the rest of them he found himself with a bit of time on his hands as the semester is over and most students have gone back home for the summer or off to their jobs somewhere else. I bumped in to him as he was walking about campus essentially because there wasn't much else to do as everything suddenly became quiet.
He's a sophomore majoring in Materials Science.

For the next couple of months there's a noticable absence of noise and traffic, in addition to the lines at Harris Teeter becoming shorter. There are outdoor festivals and gatherings every weekend.

Regardless of what the Gregorian may tell you, summer has arrived in Raleigh.

The Bamboo Gazebo Outside Of Kilgore Hall

I don't know the story behind the bamboo structures in front of Kilgore Hall. There are several benches and seats which make a beautiful outdoor picnic area.


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Brick Formations at NCSU

So these pictures are of one of the many brick formations at NC State. These in particular are next to Stewart Theatre. If you are interested in Stewart Theatre, check out a virtual tour someone put together.
So, what exactly is the story with these things all over campus? I've heard that there used to be many many more. I've also heard other stories, about an anonymous donor who donated bricks every year to the university, so these things were built all over with the surplus.

The NC State article on Wikipedia says that

Due to oversupply, odd brick statues dot the landscape, a large section of main campus is paved over with brick (University Plaza, a.k.a. "The Brickyard"), and most sidewalks are also made with brick. These sidewalks are also dotted with white brick mosaics.

An alumni association web page talking about the brickyard has the following Q & A:

An anonymous donor gave NC State the bricks for the university plaza.
FICTION. The bricks were donated but not secretly. The N.C. Bricklayers’ Association provided them. The original design by landscape architect Richard C. Bell ‘50 called for the Brickyard to be built with Belgian block, a hand-cut, granite cobblestone. But that was too expensive. He altered the plans and solicited donations from the brick industry. “Ever since the shift of campus activities in the early ‘60s to the catacombs of the roundhouse and the busy hubbub of the union, people have been screaming about the muddy paths around Harrelson and the bleakness of the quadrangle. Technician editors, student leaders, design students, even secretaries in open-toed sandals have begged, pleaded, and demanded the building of sidewalks in place of the donut’s rickety wooden thresholds and gooey, gray pathways.”
-Technician, May 13, 1966

I can't help but wonder if the anonymous donor to the brickyard story spawned the ones about the structures. Why was there an oversupply in the first place? Was it left over from building the brickyard? Or just from other donations?

Carmichael Gymnasium

I initially had some mildly interesting things to say about Carmichael. However, when trying to find more factual information, I discovered that Carmichael Gymnasium is also the name of a complex at UNC. I've asked a few current and former students both here and at Chapel Hill, and no one seemed to know there was a similarly named building at the other campus. I should probably mention that my scientific poll consisted of the number of people you can count with one hand.

The Tunnel Across From Reynolds Coliseum

These two tunnels are shorter than they appear in the photos. When walking through them I often wondered how many paint jobs it would take to lower the height 3 inches. Weird, I know. It's also unique for me in that it's the only dual, separated, and opposing lane pedestrian tunnel that I've ever traveled through.
Does anyone have any unique memories, stories, or associations with it?

The Witherspoon Student Center

According to the NC State website,

The Witherspoon Center is the location of the NC State African-American Cultural Center. A key building in the new student services courtyard, the student center annex is part of a student services core that includes Harris and Pullen Halls. These buildings house services available to students or created by students, separate from the solely academic activities on the main part of campus. Along with a planned student health services building, Pullen Hall and the Witherspoon Center form a landscaped courtyard.

The center was intended to replace and expand several facilities in the existing Student and Cultural Center. The Witherspoon Center was completed in the fall of 1990, and offices for student government and campus publications were soon relocated to the building. On the first floor is a 500-seat theater used as a multi-purpose space for the cultural center and student center offices. A gallery, library, study area, and assembly rooms for student government are located on the second floor of the building. More offices for student government are on the third floor, along with the cultural center, WKNC, and publications offices for the Technician, Windhover, and the Agromeck.

Skateboarding at NC State

Alex, Eric, and Travis

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No, unfortunately it isn't a class that is offered. Although it would be difficult to give number grades, it seems much more worthwhile than say water step aerobics or squash. That's just my opinion though.
I started out skateboarding when I was 14 or 15, but never really got any good. I could so stuff like boardslide, grind, 180, and shovit over some gaps, rails, and ledges. That was about it.
Unfortunately my flash batteries were dead when I saw these kids out skating, so I couldn't get any good pics of them doing various tricks off the platform.

The Greenhouses

They are located on the corner of Yarbrough and Brooks. This is also where Brooks Avenue begins. Once again, Google Maps has the street names wrong when embedding the map as a widget.

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The Tubes Outside of Williams Hall

I've walked by these things a thousand times and always thought they'd be neat to photograph. As the post title implies, they are outside of Williams Hall. I have no idea as to their purpose. I know that they have been the target of taggers and have been repainted several times.

Scott Hall

All I know about Scott Hall is that it is the home to The Poultry Sciences. This is the rear of the building, furthest from Hillsborough St.

Harrelson Hall (and its ultimate demise)

By a somewhat coincidence, the topic of Harrelson Hall came up at work, shortly before I had planned to write about it. Working in a software development company in the Raleigh or Durham area means that there are quite a few NCSU comp sci alumni in my midst. Harrelson Hall, being the math building and all, means that everyone is familiar with it and has some sort of opinion on it. The fact it is across from D.H. Hill Library/the brickyard means that it would be difficult to say you went to State and did not know this building.
It seems as though the the talk of its destruction has been going on for at least a few years now. Wikipedia says that

Future plans call for the demolition and reconstruction of Harrelson Hall after a temporary hall has been constructed. A rebuilding plan was chosen after the estimated expenses for remodeling were compiled and deemed too costly.

Jason, a friend from work, said during the discussion that Harrelson was often the base for some recurring dreams he's had. I don't find it that surprising. There are somewhat unreal elements to it, due to the nature of it being round and all. It is also odd that although everyone has an opinion, and it is generally not negative (but not necessarily positive), no one I know seems terribly sad that it is going to be torn down, myself included. I'm not sure why this is.

• What are your experiences in this building?
• Any quirks you remember when having classes here?
• What are your thoughts on its inevitable demise?

Wikipedia goes on to say that

Its structure is in the shape of a cylinder, 261 feet in diameter, with a mostly open-air plaza ground floor. It was named after mathematics professor John W. Harrelson. 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 105,732 square foot building houses offices and classrooms for Mathematical Sciences, Foreign Languages, Sociology, and Anthropology. Lecture halls are found around the inner portion and offices are along the rim.

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Park Shops Renovation

According to NCSU, this renovation project is scheduled to be complete in early 2009. There is some funkiness going on with this map, as it is listing Morrison Drive when it should be Current Dr.

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Riddick Labs

I believe it now houses Physics and Animal Science. Beyond that, I don't have much more information.

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The Court of Carolinas

This week has been dubbed "NCSU Week" here at Goodnight, Raleigh! This first entry is the Court of Carolinas, which according to Wikipedia,

is a large, mostly green quad 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 in 1996 reduced the number significantly, including the destruction of a particularly old and large tree which was some 12 feet in diameter. Some replanting has occurred, but the Court's former appearance is far from being restored.

The Court of Carolinas is really beautiful place, with a diverse amount of life and greenery.

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