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University buildings and grounds

Dean E. Smith Center

In Chapel Hill. 9 dated events, 1990–2022.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

People in its history

People named in events about this site, ordered by number of mentions. Each example links to an entry with a source citation.

Sites linked through the same people

In the chronology

  1. Janet Jackson brings her Rhythm Nation tour to the Smith Center Janet Jackson played to more than 20,000 people in the Dean E. Smith Center on her Rhythm Nation 1814 tour, a two-and-a-half-hour show with fireworks and a live panther, after an opening set by Chuckii Booker and an introduction by MTV's Julie Brown. Black Ink (Black Student Movement, UNC), March 7, 1990, p. 8
  2. Spike Lee speaks to more than 7,000 at a Black Cultural Center rally in the Smith Center Filmmaker Spike Lee, who had called the BSM after reading of Black football players leading the campaign, spoke at a coalition rally for a freestanding Black Cultural Center in the Dean E. Smith Center, before a crowd Black Ink put at more than 7,000. Nation of Islam minister Khalid Muhammad also spoke, and his remarks drew wide complaint that they drove away white supporters. Black Ink (Black Student Movement, UNC), October 5, 1992, p. 2
  3. Roy Williams is named head coach of UNC men's basketball Williams left Kansas a week after losing the NCAA championship game and was introduced in Chapel Hill as UNC's head coach, succeeding Matt Doherty. People: Matt Doherty ESPN: Men's college basketball news, April 14, 2003
  4. The U.S. 15-501 bridge over Morgan Creek is named the James Taylor Bridge The 1987 bridge on U.S. 15-501 South, a mile from Taylor's boyhood home, was named the James Taylor Bridge at a public ceremony at the Dean Smith Center held by the N.C. Department of Transportation and the Chapel Hill Museum. Taylor attended. CelebrityAccess: Bridge to Be Named After James Taylor
  5. Bubba Cunningham is named UNC's director of athletics Chancellor Holden Thorp introduced Lawrence R. (Bubba) Cunningham, athletics director at the University of Tulsa, at a press conference in the Dean E. Smith Center, and the trustees approved his six-year contract that morning. He took office on November 14, succeeding Dick Baddour as the seventh athletics director in UNC history. People: Holden Thorp, Dick Baddour UNC Athletics: Tar Heels Appoint Bubba Cunningham As Director of Athletics
  6. The Smith Center floor is dedicated as Roy Williams Court UNC announced on August 2, 2018 that it would name the Dean E. Smith Center playing floor for Williams, and the floor was dedicated on August 24. People: Carol L. Folt UNC-Chapel Hill: Carolina to name Smith Center floor for Roy Williams
  7. Roy Williams announces his retirement at the Smith Center Williams, 70, announced his retirement at a Smith Center news conference after 33 seasons as a college head coach, with 903 wins and three NCAA titles at UNC. WUNC: UNC Men's Basketball Coach Roy Williams Retires After 33 Seasons
  8. UNC names its athletics media center for Woody Durham UNC Athletics and the Rams Club named the media and communications center beside the Dean E. Smith Center the Woody Durham Media and Communications Center, with trustee approval, and recognized his family at halftime of the February 16 men's basketball game against Pittsburgh. People: Bubba Cunningham University of North Carolina Athletics: UNC Names Athletics Media Center To Honor Woody Durham
  9. Daniel Wallace gives UNC's Winter Commencement address Novelist and English professor Daniel Wallace was the speaker at UNC's Winter Commencement in the Dean E. Smith Center. UNC-Chapel Hill: Daniel Wallace to give Winter Commencement address

Open these in the chronology →

Indexed works

The index has no works about Dean E. Smith Center itself yet. The surveys and maps below cover where it stands. Search the index for Dean E. Smith Center, or tell us about a book or record we have missed.

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about Dean E. Smith Center alone: the architectural surveys that cover its town or the county, and maps drawn while it stood. Several of the surveys can be read free online at NC Digital Collections.

The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, North Carolina: 1795-1975

Little-Stokes, Margaret Ruth · 2006

Margaret Ruth Little-Stokes's survey of Chapel Hill's town and campus buildings from 1795 to 1975, published by the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill in 2006. Chapters run from the first campus buildings through David Swain's romantic campus to midcentury modernism, followed by area surveys of the campus, east and west Chapel Hill, downtown, Northside and the suburbs.

Included because: A survey or map of the town or county where the site stands.

NC Cardinal UNC Duke NC State Durham Chapel Hill PL Library of Congress CH Historical Society

The town and gown architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975

Little, M. Ruth · 2004 · Preservation Society of Chapel Hill

M. Ruth Little's 2004 architectural history of Chapel Hill and the university campus from 1795 to 1975, written for the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill. A 99-page survey with a bibliography.

Included because: A survey or map of the town or county where the site stands.

NC Cardinal NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Chapel Hill historic sites survey : final report.

Gatza, M. B. · 1992 · Chapel Hill Planning Department

M. B. Gatza's final report of the 1992 Chapel Hill historic sites survey for the town Planning Department, with contributions by Beverly C. Kawalec and Catherine Bishir. It covers historic buildings and districts in Chapel Hill in 80 pages.

Included because: A survey or map of the town or county where the site stands.

NC Cardinal NC Digital Collections DPLA

NC Digital Collections record courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Found a book OCPL doesn’t own? You can often borrow it through interlibrary loan at OCPL.

Start at OCPL

    Where to look on the shelf

    These books don’t necessarily mention Dean E. Smith Center, but they cover where it stands, its kind of building and the land, family and burial records behind it, and they are where a search for a place like this usually goes next. All are at OCPL, most in the Wall Collection.

    Histories of the town and county

    • Rebecca Wall Collection · NC 975.656 STO Chapel Hill: A Pictorial History Stolpen, Steven · 1978

      Steven Stolpen's pictorial history of Chapel Hill, one of the Donning Company's photographic town histories, published in Norfolk, Virginia in 1978. Photographs and portraits carry the story of the town and the university, including references to Thomas Wolfe's years as a student at Carolina. 156 pages with illustrations.

    • Foundational · 975.656 RYAN Orange County Trio: Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro, North Carolina, Histories and Tour Guides Ryan, Elizabeth Shreve · 2004

      Elizabeth Shreve Ryan's combined histories and tour guides for Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the three towns of Orange County, with the University of North Carolina treated alongside Chapel Hill. Each town gets a narrative history and a tour of its streets and buildings. Published by Chapel Hill Press in 2004, 369 pages with illustrations and maps.

    Buildings and surveys

    • Foundational · NC 720.975 BIS A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Piedmont North Carolina Bishir, Catherine W. · 2003

      Catherine W. Bishir and Michael T. Southern's field guide to the historic buildings of the North Carolina Piedmont, arranged county by county from Wake and Franklin in the east to Mecklenburg and Gaston in the west. The Orange County section takes in Hillsborough, Chapel Hill and Carrboro along with the rural county, with entries on individual buildings and maps for finding them. Published 2003, 596 pages with illustrations and maps.

    • Foundational · NC 917.56 HIS Historic Buildings and Landmarks of Chapel Hill, N.C Chapel Hill Historical Society · 1973

      A pocket-sized guide to the historic buildings and landmarks of Chapel Hill, prepared by the Chapel Hill Historical Society and printed by Creative Printers in 1973. Forty pages with illustrations and maps, 14 by 22 cm. Topics include architecture, historic buildings and historic districts in Chapel Hill, and the guide is useful for a walking tour of the older parts of town.

    Research sources

    Sources cited in this site’s history, National Register documents, and places to get research help. Research guide: Investigate a school or community institution.

    Background 7

    Show all 7

    Historic sites, markers, and maps

    Records of the time

    Collections and databases

    Local help 5

    Nearby

    Two mice reading back to back against a leaf, with the hand-lettered words Friends of the Orange County Public Library
    Illustration by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell, gifted to the Friends 2026