Polk Place

In the chronology

1. 1921 Steele Dormitory, the first building of the new south quadrangle, goes up Designed by Raleigh architect J. A. Salter and built just south of Smith Hall, Steele was the first building on what became Polk Place and the best-equipped dormitory the campus had yet seen. NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 53
2. 1922-1923 Murphey, Saunders and Manning halls are designed in the university's building office On the east side of the new south quadrangle, H. P. Alan Montgomery, architect in the university's building office under Thomas C. Atwood, laid out a smaller court of classroom buildings, with McKim, Mead and White as consulting architects: Murphey Hall for languages and literature, Saunders Hall (now Carolina Hall) for history and social science, and Manning Hall, with an Ionic portico and cupola, for the law school. People: Arthur Cleveland Nash, Thomas C. Atwood NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 53 · Also: UNC Names in Brick and Stone: Grimes Residence Hall; NC State Historic Preservation Office: Arthur C. and Mary S. A. Nash House nomination
3. June 7, 1941 University trustees name a dozen campus buildings and the McCorkle and Polk places The University trustees gave names to buildings known until then by letters and numbers, among them the women's dormitories Kenan, Alderman and McIver, the men's dormitories Stacy and Alexander, Wilson Hall for zoology, Whitehead for the medical dormitory, Gore for the power plant and Lenoir for the dining hall. They also named the old campus McCorkle Place and the new campus to the south Polk Place, with the upper and eastern dormitory quadrangles named for William Rufus King and John Motley Morehead. The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 13, 1941, p. 3
4. May 6, 1970 The student body meets in Polk Place and more than 4,000 march through downtown Chapel Hill behind four coffins Tom Bello chaired an emergency meeting of the student body in Polk Place, then led a march half a mile long down Franklin Street behind four coffins for the Kent State dead; estimates ran from 4,000 to 6,000. That night 900 students planned the boycott, 2,500 held a candlelight memorial at McCorkle Place and marched again down Franklin Street, and strikers camped in Polk Place for an all-night vigil. People: Tom Bello The Daily Tar Heel, May 7, 1970, p. 1 (OCR text)
5. October 17, 1986 Anti-apartheid students protest at C. D. Spangler's inauguration on Polk Place About 30 members of the UNC Anti-Apartheid Support Group held a silent protest with signs at the inauguration of UNC system president C. D. Spangler on Polk Place and dropped a DIVEST NOW banner from South Building windows, which University Police removed within seconds. They were protesting the trustees' decision to put off divestment for more information; Dean of Students Frederic Schroeder called the protest appropriate. People: C. D. Spangler Jr. Black Ink (Black Student Movement, UNC), November 6, 1986, p. 1
6. September 11, 1990 Students hold Save UNC Day to protest state budget cuts After an all-campus student meeting in Carmichael Auditorium on September 10, students held Save UNC Day against the General Assembly's cuts to the university system, with a noon rally at Polk Place set to hear Chancellor Paul Hardin, Student Body President Bill Hildebolt and Representative Joe Hackney, and an afternoon panel of legislators. Black Ink later regretted that few Black students took part. People: Joe Hackney Black Ink (Black Student Movement, UNC), September 4, 1990, p. 3 · Also: Black Ink (Black Student Movement, UNC), October 9, 1990, p. 2
7. September 12, 2001 More than 10,000 gather on UNC's main quad to mourn the September 11 attacks More than 10,000 students, faculty, staff and others gathered at noon on the main quad, where Chancellor James Moeser and student body president Justin Young urged the campus to hold together. A teach-in followed, the BSM held a moment of silence, and that night the Campus Y led a candlelight vigil in the Pit at which the UNC Gospel Choir sang. People: James Moeser Black Ink (Black Student Movement, UNC), October 2001, p. 9
8. March 5, 2008 Thousands gather on Polk Place to remember Eve Carson On the day student body president Eve Carson was killed, thousands gathered on UNC's Polk Place for a moment of silence. UNC News Archives: Carolina in the News, Monday, March 10, 2008
9. October 12, 2008 Allan Gurganus speaks at Holden Thorp's installation as chancellor At the University Day ceremony on Polk Place installing Holden Thorp as UNC's tenth chancellor, Gurganus, who had known Thorp since childhood, spoke before Thorp's address and hailed a North Carolinian as chancellor. People: Holden Thorp The Daily Tar Heel, October 13, 2008, p. 7
10. March 4, 2010 The Eve Marie Carson Garden is dedicated on Polk Place UNC dedicated a garden behind the Campus Y in memory of Eve Carson and of all students who die before they graduate. A stone slab carries a quotation from her, and private gifts paid for it. People: Holden Thorp Documenting the American South, Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina: Eve Carson Memorial Garden, UNC (Chapel Hill)
11. October 12, 2013 Carol Folt is installed as chancellor at Chapel Hill Folt was installed as the eleventh chancellor of the university on University Day in Polk Place, the first woman to hold the post. Chief Justice Sarah Parker administered the oath, and system president Tom Ross presided and presented the chancellor's medallion. UNC-Chapel Hill: Together, we can make history

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