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University buildings and grounds

Smith Hall (Playmakers Theatre)

Smith Hall, now the Playmakers Theatre, is the Greek Revival temple-form building that Alexander Jackson Davis designed, built from 1850 to 1852 by Hillsborough builder John Berry and named for former governor Benjamin Smith. It held the university library and later the law school before the Carolina Playmakers dedicated it as their theatre on November 23, 1925.

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.

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Sites linked through the same people

Indexed works

Books, articles, records, and images about Smith Hall. Each has been reviewed for relevance; materials held at OCPL appear first.

About the site

The principle [sic] library buildings of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in context

Chen, Robin S. D. · 2005

A 2005 study by Robin S. D. Chen tracing the principal library buildings of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1853 to 1984: Smith Hall, the Carnegie Library, the Louis Round Wilson Library and the Walter Royal Davis Library. Academic library architecture is the subject throughout, set against buildings elsewhere in the United States. 65 leaves.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC

Playmakers Theatre at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill joins the United States Postal Service historic preservation postal card series.

1993 · USPS

A philatelic souvenir from the University of North Carolina bicentennial: a single printed sheet cut to hold the nineteen cent Playmakers Theatre postal card, which the Postal Service issued in its historic preservation series. The card was designed by Bob Timberlake and cancelled with a bicentennial postmark dated September 15, 1993. Playmakers Theatre itself stands on the university campus in Chapel Hill.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC

Playmakers Theatre postal card : University of North Carolina, September 14, 1993, Chapel Hill, NC

1993 · U.S. Postal Service

Program for the September 14, 1993 ceremony dedicating a United States Postal Service postal card picturing Playmakers Theatre at the University of North Carolina, together with a card bearing the first day of issue postmark from Chapel Hill. Designed by Bob Timberlake, the card marked the university's bicentennial in the Postal Service's Historic Preservation series. One folded sheet in color.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC

A rededication of the Playmakers Theatre : a national historic landmark built in 1851, remodeled in 1924, restored in 1981 : at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, September 11, 1982.

1982 · The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Program for the rededication of Playmakers Theatre at the University of North Carolina on the evening of September 11, 1982, after the restoration finished the year before. The title gives the building's dates: a national historic landmark put up in 1851 and remodeled in 1924. Six unnumbered pages with two illustrations and a portrait.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC

Scholarly books and frolicsome blades : A.J. Davis designs a library-ballroom

Allcott, John V., 1905-1989 · 1974 · Society of Architectural Historians

John V. Allcott's article on Alexander Jackson Davis and the library and ballroom he designed for the University of North Carolina, the building known since as Playmakers Theatre. An offprint from the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians for May 1974, pages 145 to 154, with illustrations and plans of the Chapel Hill building.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC

50th anniversary, Carolina Playmakers, Playmakers Theater : forum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, March 29, 1969

1969

Transcript of the forum held on March 29, 1969 at Playmakers Theater for the fiftieth anniversary of the Carolina Playmakers, the theatre company of the University of North Carolina. Reported by Elizabeth Overby across 52 leaves. The proceedings cover the company's first half century and the Chapel Hill building it performed in.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC
Show 14 more works

Commemorative North Carolina postal cachets, 1993

Timberlake, Bob; Carter, Al, 1947; MacNelly, Jeff; Forbes, Bart; Gatewood, Maud, 1934-2004; Stone, David K. · 1993

Limited-edition set of commemorative North Carolina postal cachets from 1993, a postal card and five envelopes in a leather portfolio, signed by the artists and numbered 20 of 200. Artists include Bob Timberlake, Jeff MacNelly, Maud Gatewood and Bart Forbes, with images of Playmakers Theatre and teaching and learning at UNC.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

DPLA

Talk by Sam Seldon, 1974 (Chapel Hill Historical Society cassette)

1974

Samuel Selden spoke to the Chapel Hill Historical Society in 1974 about the Playmakers Theatre on the UNC campus, long the home of the Carolina Playmakers. Cassette recording in the Society's Audiovisual Materials Collection, CHHS.012.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

CH Historical Society

Interior of the Playmakers Theatre, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Wootten, Bayard Morgan, 1875-1959 · 1938 · Student Supply Store, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C

Bayard Wootten's view of the inside of the Playmakers Theatre on the Chapel Hill campus, home of the Carolina Playmakers, on a hand-colored postcard sold by the university's Student Supply Store. A sender in August 1938 wrote that after the fire the room might never look this way again.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

DPLA

Playmakers Theater First Performance: photographs (Chapel Hill Historical Society)

1920

Three actors seated around a table on stage, in a 1920 photograph given as the first performance at the Playmakers Theatre. From the Carolina Playmakers group of the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Prints and Photographs Collection.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

CH Historical Society

Playmakers Theatre: photographs (Chapel Hill Historical Society)

1920

Eleven photographs of Playmakers Theatre in Chapel Hill taken between 1920 and 1981, showing the building from the front, the north and east sides and a front corner. Part of the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Prints and Photographs Collection, CHHS.002.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

CH Historical Society

Law Building, University of North Carolina. Chapel Hill, N.C.

1917 · Foister

The university's Law Building in Chapel Hill, later the Playmakers Theatre, on an Albertype postcard published by Foister. It was mailed on 21 December 1917 to Dr. Caroline Osborne of Worcester, Massachusetts, carrying Christmas wishes from the Chases.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

DPLA

Law Building, University of North Carolina

1915

Real photo postcard of the Law Building at the University of North Carolina, dated 1915. Irene wrote to her mother, Mrs. A. F. Drake of Union City, Michigan, that she was in Chapel Hill for a week studying law with Joe and found the unpaved town hot and dusty.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

DPLA

Playmakers Theatre at Night, Chapel Hill, N. C.

Graycraft Card Co. (Danville, Va.) · 1915 · Danville, Va.: Graycraft Card Co

Night view of Playmakers Theatre on the UNC campus, printed on a black and white Graycraft Card Co. postcard of about 1915 to 1930. Built in 1850 as Smith Hall, the building is now a National Historic Landmark. From the Ellen Payne Odom Genealogy Library Postcard Collection.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

DPLA

Margaret Vale papers, 1878-1955 and undated

Vale, Margaret, 1878-1947 · 1878

Papers of Margaret Vale (1878-1947), dating from 1878 to 1955 with undated material, in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, collection 70150. The papers concern theater, women and the Playmakers Theatre in Chapel Hill. The materials are in English.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC

Library circular : to the trustees and friends of the university ...

University of North Carolina (1793-1962). Librarian · 1870

Circular addressed in 1870 by the university librarian to the trustees and friends of the University of North Carolina, announcing that the library collections were being returned to Smith Hall, the building raised on the Chapel Hill campus to house them. The notice also reports on the makeup of the collection, including 267 new titles relating to North Carolina.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

UNC

Playmakers Theater: Promotional: photographs (Chapel Hill Historical Society)

Promotional image of the Playmakers Theatre in Chapel Hill: an exterior view of the building framed by headshots of actors around the border. Undated. Part of the Carolina Playmakers photographs in the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Prints and Photographs Collection.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

CH Historical Society

Playmakers Theatre at Night, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Wootten, Bayard Morgan, 1875-1959 · Graycraft Card Co., Danville, Va

A night view of the Playmakers Theatre in Chapel Hill, credited to Bayard Morgan Wootten and printed by the Graycraft Card Company of Danville, Virginia.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

DPLA

Smith Hall: photographs (Chapel Hill Historical Society)

Smith Hall on the UNC campus, captioned as the library, in one undated photograph from the Chapel Hill Historical Society's Prints and Photographs Collection (CHHS.002).

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

CH Historical Society

The Playmakers Theatre, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Student Supply Store, U. of N.C., Chapel Hill

Sold by the Student Supply Store at the University of North Carolina, a postcard of the Playmakers Theatre in Chapel Hill.

Included because: The site is named in the title, catalog subjects, or description.

DPLA

Surveys and maps of the area

Not about Smith Hall 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.

When Chapel Hill was a village

Love, Cornelia Spencer, 1892-1981 · 1976 · Chapel Hill Historical Society

Cornelia Spencer Love's recollections of Chapel Hill as a village, published by the Chapel Hill Historical Society in 1976 with drawings by John V. Allcott. Love lived from 1892 to 1981, and the book covers Chapel Hill biography, the town's social life and customs, and the faculty of the university before 1962. viii and 87 pages with illustrations.

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

UNC Library of Congress CH Historical Society NC Cardinal

[Map of the site of the University of North Carolina and Chapel Hill].

Daniel, John (Surveyor) · 1792

John Daniel, a surveyor employed by the university trustees, made this pen and ink map of the future university site in 1792. It shows the tracts of land, the springs and creeks, nearby mills and the roads running from Fayetteville to Hillsborough, Pittsborough to Petersburg, Hillsborough to Newberne, and on to Raleigh. William S. Powell describes the map in First state university.

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

UNC

A plan of the situation of ye University, ye ornamental ground, ye adjacent village : the lands belonging to ye trustees together with ye springs : June 1st, 1795.

1795

Dated June 1, 1795, this pen and ink plan lays out the University of North Carolina site in its earliest years: the village, the cleared ground, the avenue, the ornamental ground, the lands belonging to the trustees and the springs. Archibald Henderson reproduced it in The campus of the first state university and identified it as the lost 1795 map by Charles W. Harris. Manuscript map, 30 x 36 cm.

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

UNC
Show 7 more surveys and maps

Plan of the village at the University with the adjoining lands belonging to the institution.

1804

Early hand-drawn plan of the University village at Chapel Hill and the lands around it, which Archibald Henderson dated to between 1797 and 1812. It shows town lots with owners' names, Main Building (South Building), the steward's and president's houses, the chapel, Franklin Street and a Grand Avenue, plus a partial list of buyers at the 1793 lot sale.

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

UNC DPLA

Plan of the village of Chapel Hill on a scale of 200 yards to an inch.

1812

An early manuscript plan of Chapel Hill drawn at 200 yards to the inch, dated 1812, with a note on the verso reading September 4, 1817. It copies an earlier pen and ink plot in the possession of William Pannill, taken in turn from one by John Craig, and it marks boundary lines, town lots with some owners named, the University buildings, the president's lot, the chapel and the preparatory school.

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

UNC

Map of Chapel Hill as it was in 1875 to 1885

Carter, H. D. (Henry Dennis), -1941 · 1934

Henry Dennis Carter's reconstruction, drawn as a blueprint in 1934, of Chapel Hill as it stood between 1875 and 1885, showing the buildings of the village. A note on the map says the information came from old residents who gave it to Mary L. Thornton.

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

UNC

[Map of Chapel Hill and vicinity].

Harris, Hunter Lee, 1866-1893 · 1888 · Hunter Lee Harris?

Dating from 1888 and attributed to Hunter Lee Harris, a map of Chapel Hill and its vicinity, reproduced as a photocopy measuring 22 by 37 centimeters. Harris died in 1893, which brackets the drawing to the late nineteenth century. An early depiction of the streets of the village and the land around it.

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

UNC

[Map of Chapel Hill].

1895

Pen-and-ink manuscript map of Chapel Hill dated 1852, with a table of measurements, showing the University campus, the village around it, street widths and layout, and the town limits. Later notes attributed to Kemp P. Battle give the longitude and latitude of landmarks as measured from atop New East Hall in 1880.

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

UNC DPLA

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Chapel Hill, Orange County, North Carolina.

1925

Sanborn Map Company fire insurance map of Chapel Hill, June 1925, on eleven sheets, with Carrboro also drawn. Sanborn maps recorded the outline, construction and use of each building for fire insurers, so the set shows both towns block by block in the mid 1920s.

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

Library of Congress Digital Collections

Map of Chapel Hill & vicinity.

1933

Street and property map of Chapel Hill and the surrounding country, revised to 1 January 1933 and printed in the town. Topics include streets, real property and the historical geography of Chapel Hill along with maps of the University of North Carolina in its 1793 to 1962 period. A useful sheet for tracing lot lines and street names as they stood at the start of the 1930s.

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

UNC

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 Smith Hall, 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.

    In the chronology

    1. Benjamin Smith gives the university 20,000 acres of western land Davie announced at the trustees' first meeting that Smith of Brunswick County had given land he received for Revolutionary service, in what became Obion County, Tennessee. It sold some 25 years later for $14,000, and Smith Hall, now the Playmakers Theatre, bears his name. People: William Richardson Davie, Benjamin Smith Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 73
    2. Alexander Jackson Davis makes his first visit to the university Davis came to Chapel Hill in February 1844, and that year trustee John Motley Morehead met with him and Swain there about the design of a new hall, later Smith Hall. Davis stayed in touch with Swain and the trustees about campus work until the mid-1850s. People: David L. Swain, John Motley Morehead NC Digital Collections: M. Ruth Little, The Town and Gown Architecture of Chapel Hill, 1795-1975 (2004), p. 22
    3. The literary societies ask the trustees for a building for dances and alumni meetings The Dialectic and Philanthropic societies petitioned the university trustees to put up a building for dances and alumni gatherings. The request led to Smith Hall, finished in 1850 and later the Playmakers Theatre. NC State Historic Preservation Office: Playmakers Theatre, National Register nomination (OR0016), p. 3
    4. Smith Hall is built to Alexander Jackson Davis's design as the university library and ballroom The New York architect Alexander Jackson Davis designed Smith Hall, built from 1850 to 1852 for just over $10,300 and named for the trustee and former governor Benjamin Smith. It served as library and ballroom and is now the Playmakers Theatre. People: Benjamin Smith UNC Names in Brick and Stone: PlayMakers Theater · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, February 2, 1982, p. 1
    5. Trustees honor Benjamin Smith by naming the new hall for him In 1852 the trustees gave the new library and ballroom building the name of Benjamin Smith of Brunswick, whose gift of 20,000 acres of Tennessee land at the board's first meeting was the first donation to the university. Kemp P. Battle, An Address on the History of the Buildings of the University of North Carolina (1883), scan p. 16 · Also: The Daily Tar Heel, February 2, 1982, p. 1
    6. University library moved from South Building to Smith Hall The university's books were taken from the president's lecture room in South Building to the new Smith Hall, and Hubbard, Charles Phillips and the librarian were told to prepare a catalogue. At the start of the Civil War the books were stored in a room of the East Building. People: Charles Phillips, Fordyce M. Hubbard Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. I (1907), p. 634
    7. School for the Application of Science to the Arts opens Under a trustee resolution of 1852 the university opened a scientific school with departments of civil engineering, under Charles Phillips, and of chemistry applied to agriculture and the arts, under Benjamin S. Hedrick, with a laboratory in the basement of Smith Hall. Its students could earn a Bachelor of Science in about two and a half years. People: Charles Phillips, Benjamin Sherwood Hedrick Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. I (1907), p. 642
    8. The commencement ball is held in the university's library and ball-room hall The 1857 commencement ball was held on Thursday evening in the building that served as both the university library and its ball room, hung with the American flag and a banner to the graduating class. Nancy Hilliard of Chapel Hill oversaw the supper. People: Nancy Hilliard The Chapel Hill Gazette, June 6, 1857, p. 2
    9. A new chemistry laboratory under the university library is lit with gas The university fitted out a new chemical laboratory below the library, lit with gas, where students in long aprons did all their own experiments. Hope Summerell Chamberlain, Old Days in Chapel Hill (1926), scan p. 261
    10. James Cole Taylor works as an assistant at the state experiment station in Smith Hall James C. Taylor and William B. Phillips, Chapel Hill graduates of 1877, worked as assistants at the state's fertilizer control and experiment station at the university, with W. Warnecke of Germany and A. D. Mickle of Chapel Hill. The station had four rooms in Smith Hall. In December 1878 the Chapel Hill Ledger found it busy under Dr. Ledoux, Warnecke and Phillips, with Taylor handling its correspondence. People: William Battle Phillips, Andrew Mickle Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 138 · Also: The Chapel Hill Ledger, December 14, 1878, p. 2
    11. State experiment station opens at Chapel Hill After Kemp P. Battle pressed for it with the State Grange and farm societies, the legislature created a Board of Agriculture, taxed commercial fertilizers and placed an experiment station at the university, whose trustees elected Albert R. Ledoux its chemist in 1877. Working in Smith Hall it analyzed fertilizers, seeds, soils and waters until it moved to Raleigh in 1881. People: Kemp Plummer Battle, Washington Caruthers Kerr, Albert R. Ledoux Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 136 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, April 20, 1928, p. 5
    12. The trustees bar dancing from university buildings Pressed by church members who opposed the modern dance, the trustees prohibited the commencement ball in Smith Hall or any other university building. Battle welcomed the ban because he wanted Smith Hall kept as a library. People: Paul C. Cameron, Kemp Plummer Battle Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 312 · Also: Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), February 21, 1885, p. 3
    Show all 35 dated events
    1. The literary societies merge their libraries with the university's The Philanthropic Society voted almost unanimously and the Dialectic 42 to 30 to join their books to the university library in Smith Hall, to be called the Library of the University of North Carolina endowed by the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies and opened every weekday. Borrowing rose from 3,657 books in 1885-86 to 4,761 the next year. People: George Tayloe Winston, James Lee Love Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 356
    2. Baths and a sewer line are installed with the repair appropriation With the $10,000 repair appropriation of 1893 the university planned baths and water closets in the basement of Smith Hall, under the library. By about 1895 bathtubs, shower baths and closets were in use there, with a sewer run into Chapel branch south of the campus, and the university had contracted for an infirmary cottage. Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 511 · Also: The Tar Heel, March 2, 1893, p. 1; The Daily Tar Heel, February 2, 1982, p. 1
    3. Summer School students perform the colonial play Esther Wake In the summer of 1912 the Summer School for Teachers presented Esther Wake, a play by instructor Adolf Vermont about colonial North Carolina, on the steps of Smith Hall. People: Adolph Vermont Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 738
    4. Trustees set aside Smith Hall and $25,000 for a Playmakers theatre, and the Carnegie Corporation pays to equip it By June 1923, the Tar Heel reported, the trustees' executive committee had set aside $25,000 to turn Smith Hall, then the law building, into a theatre for the Playmakers. The Weekly said the building was turned over to them in 1923 before any money was at hand, and that the trustees voted $25,000 from the Smith bequest for the remodeling at their June 1924 meeting; Koch remembered the trustees' unanimous vote as coming in 1925. When the remodeling money left the theatre $13,000 short of what it needed for seats, lights and stage equipment, Augustus Thomas took the Playmakers' request to Carnegie, still unanswered in December 1924, and the Carnegie Corporation later sent a check for the balance. People: Frederick H. Koch, Augustus Thomas, Harry Woodburn Chase Archibald Henderson (ed.), Pioneering a People's Theatre (1945), scan p. 42 · Also: The Tar Heel, June 14, 1923, p. 5; Chapel Hill Weekly, June 13, 1924, p. 5; Chapel Hill Weekly, August 14, 1924, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, December 23, 1924, p. 2
    5. Work is under way turning the old law building into the Playmakers' theatre The News reported that the old law building at the university was undergoing considerable changes and was being entirely reconstructed as a playhouse, the home of the Carolina Playmakers. The News (Chapel Hill), September 18, 1924, p. 5
    6. An anonymous donor gives $13,000 to seat and equip the Playmakers Theatre A donor who asked not to be named gave $13,000 to fit out the Playmakers Theatre in the old law building with leather-upholstered chairs like those of the Reynolds Memorial Theatre in Winston-Salem, a curtain, lighting, carpets and furniture for the dressing rooms under the stage. Director Frederick H. Koch could not yet say when the theatre would be finished. People: Frederick H. Koch The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 12, 1925, p. 1
    7. Carolina Playmakers give a free performance for freshmen in their new theatre Before the formal opening, the Carolina Playmakers gave a special free performance for freshmen in their remodeled theatre, presenting Paul Green's The Miser and Lucy Cobb's Gaius and Gaius, Jr. With only 345 seats, tickets went to the first freshmen to ask. People: Paul Green The Chapel Hill Weekly, October 9, 1925, p. 2
    8. Playmakers Theatre opens The Carolina Playmakers dedicated their theatre in the remodeled Smith Hall, the 1850s building later used as a library and law school, on Monday, November 23, 1925, with talks by Frederick Koch and President Harry W. Chase and three new folk plays. People: Frederick H. Koch The Tar Heel, November 24, 1925: dedication of the Carolina Playmakers Theatre · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, March 5, 1925, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, April 30, 1925, p. 7; Chapel Hill Weekly, October 2, 1925, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, November 27, 1925, p. 3
    9. A regional conference on the drama meets in the Playmakers Theatre Drama critics, producers and teachers met at the Playmakers Theatre on April 4 and 5, 1928 for what the Tar Heel called the first Eastern Regional Conference on the Drama, held as its Southern division; the state's own drama festival followed on April 6 and 7. Henderson's book counts it as one of two Chapel Hill drama meetings of more than state importance. Archibald Henderson (ed.), Pioneering a People's Theatre (1945), scan p. 18 · Also: The Tar Heel, April 5, 1928, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, April 6, 1928, p. 1
    10. Carolina Playmakers corporation limits its theatre to University teaching use Meeting in President Graham's office, the members of the Carolina Playmakers corporation resolved that the Playmakers Theatre be used only for the University's educational program, and voted that radio stations pay stage royalties for broadcast plays. Frederick H. Koch reported 72 performances before about 25,000 people in the past year. People: Frederick H. Koch The Chapel Hill Weekly, October 31, 1930, p. 1
    11. Paul Green reads Tread the Green Grass with music by Lamar Stringfield Paul Green read his play Tread the Green Grass, a fantasy somewhat like an opera, in the Playmakers Theatre, with music Lamar Stringfield had composed for it played by a string quartet under his direction. The reading had been put off from November 16. People: Paul Green The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 21, 1930, p. 1
    12. Lamar Stringfield gives a chamber music recital of his folk-based works in the Playmakers Theatre Lamar Stringfield played the flute and conducted the faculty chamber orchestra, with Mrs. Fred McCall at the piano and D. A. McPherson on violin, in a recital given with the Carolina Playmakers and the music department. The second half was his own compositions drawn from Black and mountain folk tunes. People: Adeline Denham McCall The Chapel Hill Weekly, January 30, 1931, p. 1
    13. Termites force the rebuilding of the Playmakers Theatre floor A spring-vacation inspection found termites had eaten through the main girder and joists under the Playmakers Theatre, and the floor from the stage halfway to the entrance was taken up. Building superintendent Burch's crew laid a new floor in time for the state drama festival. People: Frederick H. Koch The Chapel Hill Weekly, March 18, 1938, p. 1
    14. Fire guts the interior of the Playmakers Theatre A fire that started near the main switchboard on the stage ran up the curtain and through the loft of the Playmakers Theatre, the old Smith Building. Chapel Hill firemen, cutting through the roof, kept it from the front offices, but the stage, its equipment, the seats and the interior walls were destroyed, a loss put at about $30,000. The University said it would rebuild the theatre that fall, housing the Playmakers in the old gymnasium meanwhile. The Chapel Hill Weekly, August 19, 1938, p. 1
    15. The Playmakers Theatre is rebuilt after the August fire The Playmakers Theatre, gutted by fire in August 1938, was repaired with a new stage, seats, curtains and lighting, a steel fly gallery that freed floor space on the stage, chandeliers that could be switched on from the front of the house, outside lights and graded lawns in place of the steep steps at the side exits. H. D. Carter's year-end review counted the reconstruction among the University's 1938 work, and the theatre was set to reopen January 11, 1939, with four experimental plays. People: Frederick H. Koch The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 9, 1938, p. 4
    16. The Playmakers Theatre reopens after the 1938 fire The Playmakers Theatre, gutted by fire the previous August, reopened with a bill of four experimental plays from Frederick H. Koch's playwriting course; the house was packed and hundreds were turned away. The New York Times marked the reopening with an article on Koch and the Carolina Playmakers. People: Frederick H. Koch The Chapel Hill Weekly, January 20, 1939, p. 5
    17. The Playmakers present the 100th program in their experimental series of new plays On December 12, 1944 the Playmakers gave the 100th program in their Experimental Series, the evenings where student plays were staged and the audience then talked back to the author. Archibald Henderson (ed.), Pioneering a People's Theatre (1945), scan p. 18
    18. The Carolina Playmakers give the American premiere of Niels Locher's Day of Glory The Playmakers staged the first American production of Danish playwright Niels Locher's play about the French Revolution, with Locher present for opening night. The Danish ambassador, Lt. Gov. Cloyd Philpott, President William Friday and Chancellor William Aycock were to take part in the opening ceremony. The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), March 23, 1961, p. 23
    19. Playmakers Theatre (Smith Hall) is listed in the National Register On June 24, 1971 the National Park Service listed Playmakers Theatre (Smith Hall) in Chapel Hill in the National Register of Historic Places. NC State Historic Preservation Office: North Carolina Listings in the National Register of Historic Places, Orange County · Also: NC State Historic Preservation Office: Playmakers Theatre, National Register nomination (OR0016)
    20. The National Park Service presents a National Historic Landmark plaque for the Playmakers Theatre Before the University Day exercises, R.J. Rogers of Atlanta, regional landmark coordinator for the National Park Service, presented Chancellor N. Ferebee Taylor a bronze plaque and certificate marking the Playmakers Theatre, the Smith Hall of 1849, as a National Historic Landmark. Interior Secretary Rogers Morton had named it one of 17 new landmarks that March, and Vice Chancellor William F. Little told how the building began as a ballroom the students had sought for years, served as the library and became a theatre in 1925. People: N. Ferebee Taylor, William F. Little The Daily Tar Heel, October 14, 1974, p. 1
    21. Restoration of the Playmakers Theatre begins Work began in mid-April on a $180,000 restoration of the Playmakers Theatre (Smith Hall), paid by a U.S. Interior Department grant through the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service. The work covered the columns, outside surfaces, roof and basement and was to be finished by October. The Daily Tar Heel, April 29, 1981, p. 1
    22. Playmakers Theatre reopens after renovation The renovated Playmakers Theatre, the 1850 Smith Hall designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, reopened with the Playmakers Repertory Company production of Angel Street, which opened January 28, 1982, after a preview the night before. The work, begun when the building was fenced in May 1981 and paid for with a $160,000 grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, replaced the roof and the column bases, repaired the wheat and corn capitals, sealed the leaking basement and added a ramp to the restrooms for disabled patrons. The Daily Tar Heel, February 2, 1982, p. 2
    23. The Postal Service issues a Playmakers Theatre postal card for UNC's Bicentennial A first-day-of-issue ceremony in Polk Place on September 14, which the Daily Tar Heel called the first official ceremony of the Bicentennial Observance, unveiled a U.S. postal card bearing alumnus Bob Timberlake's watercolor of Playmakers Theatre. Cards went on sale in Chapel Hill that day, with 15 million available nationwide the next. People: C. D. Spangler Jr. The Daily Tar Heel, September 15, 1993, p. 1

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