Harrelson Hall
Title
Harrelson Hall
Description
“On first sight, Harrelson Hall looks as if it was designed to be dunked in the Union coffee or to be used as a giant tractor tire,” wrote Technician reporter Max Hurlocker in 1967. When Harrelson Hall was built in 1961, it was the first cylindrical building on a college campus. Once a prominent feature of the brickyard, directly across from D.H. Hill library between Polk and Williams Hall, Harrelson Hall was demolished in 2016 and replaced by grassy landscaping.
Harrelson Hall is named after John W. Harrelson, former Chancellor of the University and the first alumnus to serve in the position. Harrelson served from 1934-1953, and upon his death in 1955, Harrelson left the school an endowment of more than $100,000. When Harrelson was first appointed his title was “Dean of Administration.” It was changed to Chancellor in 1945. According to Alice Regan, in “North Carolina State University: A Narrative History,” Harrelson’s early leadership was seen by students as paternalistic and students compared school rules such as strict attendance policies to those of high schools or the military. This tension was mitigated after 1939 with the appointment of a faculty-student committee. Harrelson also proved he was willing to stick up for students’ freedom of expression in the months before the United States entered World War II. Despite anger aimed towards students proposing “America First” policies, Harrelson defended students' right to freedom of expression within the student newspaper, the Technician.
During Harrelson’s tenure the School of Forestry and the School of Design were established. Harrelson recruited Henry L. Kamphoefner to be the first dean of the school of design. Kamphoefner hired Professors James W. Fitzgibbon, Duncan Stuart, Edward Waugh, and George Matsumoto. Letters held in NC State’s Special Collections show that Chancellor Harrelson questioned their political loyalty, worrying that they might have political beliefs which aligned with communism. A letter from Bruce Goff, Chairman of the School of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma, assured Harrelson that none of the professors had ever belonged to a “subversive group.” These letters, written in 1948, are related to a growing fear of Communists in the United States. During this time, academics were especially susceptible to being accused of communism, due to an association many made between academics and left-wing politics.
Harrelson Hall’s unique circular design was created by architect Edward Waugh, faculty at NC State while the working drawings were made by the architectural firm Hollaway-Reeves. One of the several myths surrounding Harrelson Hall was that a disgruntled architecture student submitted a failed design to the University out of spite. Far from being a vindictive design, Harrelson Hall was meant to tackle all manner of modern problems on the growing campus. The cylindrical shape was meant to maximize the building’s efficiency, using the least amount of materials for the largest possible space. The rounded classrooms with slanted floors were meant to facilitate large classroom sizes. Offices were located in the outer-ring while classrooms were located in the inner-ring. This meant the classrooms had no windows. This too was seen as a beneficial design aspect, due to the fact that the rooms would not require blackout curtains in order to utilize classroom technologies such as slides, movies, or televisions.
While the building initially drew interest and accolades from various newspapers, as early as 1962, the Technician published an article announcing design students’ plans to boycott any classes they had in Harrelson Hall due to its design flaws, both structurally and aesthetically. It was known for being extremely difficult to navigate and students often found themselves getting lost in the circular hallways.
An undated University pamphlet simply titled, “Harrelson Hall,” highlighted the modern design of the building, explaining that the ramps which “gracefully wrapped” the core of the building alongside the scissor staircases, which led to outer corridors, would facilitate “fast-moving pedestrian traffic.” As time went on students would complain about the incline on both the ramps and the stairs as being punishingly steep, making treks to class both exhausting and annoying.
The core of Harrelson Hall contained all of the mechanical aspects of the building, including wiring, plumbing, and the hall’s heating and cooling systems. The heating and cooling systems were not nearly as functional as the designers hoped, and almost from the beginning were breaking down. One of the most cited complaints by students and faculty was the fact that Harrelson Hall was often either freezing cold, or sweltering hot.
Years away from school did not seem to make students’ memories of the building fonder.
A 1990 article published in the NC State Alumni Magazine called the building a “Carousel of Horrors.” Danny Peele, class of 1974, in an oral history interview conducted at the Wake County Alumni Society’s event, "Last Look at Harrelson Hall” held in 2015, remembered how the rounded shape of the classroom would cause an echo, meaning depending on where you sat in the longer classrooms, students would sometimes hear things two or three times. Laurie Mitchell, class of 2004, interviewed at the same event called Harrelson Hall a “dismal building,” and hoped NC State would never again build a circular classroom building.
The ramp connecting the floors in Harrelson Hall, while derided for being an inefficient method for getting to class, offered students an opportunity for pranks and joyrides. Students reportedly would ride skateboards, rollerblades, shopping carts, or wheeled chairs down the ramp. Other antics include 2,012 bouncy balls being dropped down the Harrelson Hall ramps or a 1967 prank described in the Technician: “During exams a few years ago, a group of students saved their empties and placed beer cans and bottles completely around the top of the building.”
In the early 2000s, the school looked into renovating Harrelson Hall, but soon found that it would have been too difficult and expensive to fix all of the building’s problems. In addition to constant problems with the building’s heating and cooling systems, it had low ceilings creating a bad line of sight for students, and due to its sloping floors was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The North Carolina General Assembly approved Harrelson’s demolition in 2011. The building was not immediately demolished however due to the school’s continued need for space as renovations went on around campus.
When demolition began in the summer of 2016, NC State’s Sustainability Program saw that more than 90% of the building was recycled or reused. Items such as chairs, whiteboards, fire alarms were sold by Habitat for Humanity.The fire department took items like doors and hinges to help train firefighters to break down heavy doors. Limestone, once part of Harrelson Hall’s facade, was incorporated into the landscaping which replaced it.
Original Source References
Alvin Marcus Fountain Papers, MC 00007, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
JessC. Comment on “Harrelson Hall.” Foursquare City Guide.
https://foursquare.com/v/harrelson-hall/4afc9b57f964a5205b2422e3
John William Harrelson Papers, MC 00001, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
Mitchell, Laurie. Wolf Tales recording with Laurie Mitchell: Wake County Alumni Society "Last Look at Harrelson Hall," 30 October 2015. Mc00581-wt-mitchell-20151030, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center. https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/mc00581-wt-mitchell-20151030
North Carolina State University, University Archives Reference Collection, University Buildings, Sites, Landmarks Files, UA 050.004, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, Office of Finance and Administration, Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Records, UA 003.005, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, College of Design, Office of the Dean Records, UA 110.001, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, Office of the Chancellor, John Tyler Caldwell Records, UA 002.001.004, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
Peele, Danny. Wolf Tales recording with Danny Peele: Wake County Alumni Society "Last Look at Harrelson Hall," 30 October 2015. Mc00581-wt-peele-20151030, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center. https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/mc00581-wt-peele-20151030
Technician (Raleigh, N.C.) (LH1.N6 T4), Special Collections Research Center at NC State University Libraries.
thewilddeeper. “Tribute to Harrelson Hall: Bizarre Cylindrical Classroom Building at NCSU.” YouTube. Jan 9, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE3WRCN_oYE
Williams, Matthew. “Wolf Tales recording with Matthew Williams: Wake County Alumni Society ‘Last Look at Harrelson Hall,’" 30 October 2015. Mc00581-wt-williams-20151030, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center. https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/mc00581-wt-williams-20151030
Secondary Source References
Cioffi, Chris. “Harrelson Hall demolition begins on NC State University campus.” The News & Observer, (Raleigh, NC), May 16, 2016. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article77967567.html
Cioffi, Chris. “NC State’s Harrelson Hall is gone, but its pieces live on.” The News & Observer, (Raleigh, NC), March 3, 2017. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article136218298.html
Ferris, Virginia. “Remembering Harrelson Hall.” NC State University Libraries. July 25, 2016.
https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/news/special-collections/remembering-harrelson-hall
“Harrelson Hall.” Oak City Preservation Alliance. Accessed on March 14, 2021.
http://www.oakcitypa.org/harrelson-hall
“Harrelson Hall Renovation and Replacement Study Draft.” NC State Facilities. September 26, 2003. https://facilities.ofa.ncsu.edu/files/2015/04/Harrelson-Hall-Study-2003.pdf
“Here’s to Harrelson.” NC State News. July 11, 2016.
https://news.ncsu.edu/2016/07/heres-to-harrelson/#:~:text=What%20emerged%20in%201962%20%2C%20at,building%20on%20a%20college%20campus.
Kosmerik, Todd. “Harrelson Hall at the Beginning.” NC State University Libraries.
August 15, 2016. https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/news/special-collections/harrelson-hall-at-the-beginning
Peeler, Tim. “Harrelson Hall Reclaimed.” NC State University News. August 15, 2015.
https://news.ncsu.edu/2015/08/harrelson-hall-reclaimed/
Reagan, Alice E. North Carolina State University, a Narrative History. Raleigh: North Carolina State University Foundation and North Carolina State University Alumni Association, 1987.
Schrecker, Ellen. No Ivory Tower: McCarthyism and the Universities. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
Harrelson Hall is named after John W. Harrelson, former Chancellor of the University and the first alumnus to serve in the position. Harrelson served from 1934-1953, and upon his death in 1955, Harrelson left the school an endowment of more than $100,000. When Harrelson was first appointed his title was “Dean of Administration.” It was changed to Chancellor in 1945. According to Alice Regan, in “North Carolina State University: A Narrative History,” Harrelson’s early leadership was seen by students as paternalistic and students compared school rules such as strict attendance policies to those of high schools or the military. This tension was mitigated after 1939 with the appointment of a faculty-student committee. Harrelson also proved he was willing to stick up for students’ freedom of expression in the months before the United States entered World War II. Despite anger aimed towards students proposing “America First” policies, Harrelson defended students' right to freedom of expression within the student newspaper, the Technician.
During Harrelson’s tenure the School of Forestry and the School of Design were established. Harrelson recruited Henry L. Kamphoefner to be the first dean of the school of design. Kamphoefner hired Professors James W. Fitzgibbon, Duncan Stuart, Edward Waugh, and George Matsumoto. Letters held in NC State’s Special Collections show that Chancellor Harrelson questioned their political loyalty, worrying that they might have political beliefs which aligned with communism. A letter from Bruce Goff, Chairman of the School of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma, assured Harrelson that none of the professors had ever belonged to a “subversive group.” These letters, written in 1948, are related to a growing fear of Communists in the United States. During this time, academics were especially susceptible to being accused of communism, due to an association many made between academics and left-wing politics.
Harrelson Hall’s unique circular design was created by architect Edward Waugh, faculty at NC State while the working drawings were made by the architectural firm Hollaway-Reeves. One of the several myths surrounding Harrelson Hall was that a disgruntled architecture student submitted a failed design to the University out of spite. Far from being a vindictive design, Harrelson Hall was meant to tackle all manner of modern problems on the growing campus. The cylindrical shape was meant to maximize the building’s efficiency, using the least amount of materials for the largest possible space. The rounded classrooms with slanted floors were meant to facilitate large classroom sizes. Offices were located in the outer-ring while classrooms were located in the inner-ring. This meant the classrooms had no windows. This too was seen as a beneficial design aspect, due to the fact that the rooms would not require blackout curtains in order to utilize classroom technologies such as slides, movies, or televisions.
While the building initially drew interest and accolades from various newspapers, as early as 1962, the Technician published an article announcing design students’ plans to boycott any classes they had in Harrelson Hall due to its design flaws, both structurally and aesthetically. It was known for being extremely difficult to navigate and students often found themselves getting lost in the circular hallways.
An undated University pamphlet simply titled, “Harrelson Hall,” highlighted the modern design of the building, explaining that the ramps which “gracefully wrapped” the core of the building alongside the scissor staircases, which led to outer corridors, would facilitate “fast-moving pedestrian traffic.” As time went on students would complain about the incline on both the ramps and the stairs as being punishingly steep, making treks to class both exhausting and annoying.
The core of Harrelson Hall contained all of the mechanical aspects of the building, including wiring, plumbing, and the hall’s heating and cooling systems. The heating and cooling systems were not nearly as functional as the designers hoped, and almost from the beginning were breaking down. One of the most cited complaints by students and faculty was the fact that Harrelson Hall was often either freezing cold, or sweltering hot.
Years away from school did not seem to make students’ memories of the building fonder.
A 1990 article published in the NC State Alumni Magazine called the building a “Carousel of Horrors.” Danny Peele, class of 1974, in an oral history interview conducted at the Wake County Alumni Society’s event, "Last Look at Harrelson Hall” held in 2015, remembered how the rounded shape of the classroom would cause an echo, meaning depending on where you sat in the longer classrooms, students would sometimes hear things two or three times. Laurie Mitchell, class of 2004, interviewed at the same event called Harrelson Hall a “dismal building,” and hoped NC State would never again build a circular classroom building.
The ramp connecting the floors in Harrelson Hall, while derided for being an inefficient method for getting to class, offered students an opportunity for pranks and joyrides. Students reportedly would ride skateboards, rollerblades, shopping carts, or wheeled chairs down the ramp. Other antics include 2,012 bouncy balls being dropped down the Harrelson Hall ramps or a 1967 prank described in the Technician: “During exams a few years ago, a group of students saved their empties and placed beer cans and bottles completely around the top of the building.”
In the early 2000s, the school looked into renovating Harrelson Hall, but soon found that it would have been too difficult and expensive to fix all of the building’s problems. In addition to constant problems with the building’s heating and cooling systems, it had low ceilings creating a bad line of sight for students, and due to its sloping floors was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The North Carolina General Assembly approved Harrelson’s demolition in 2011. The building was not immediately demolished however due to the school’s continued need for space as renovations went on around campus.
When demolition began in the summer of 2016, NC State’s Sustainability Program saw that more than 90% of the building was recycled or reused. Items such as chairs, whiteboards, fire alarms were sold by Habitat for Humanity.The fire department took items like doors and hinges to help train firefighters to break down heavy doors. Limestone, once part of Harrelson Hall’s facade, was incorporated into the landscaping which replaced it.
Original Source References
Alvin Marcus Fountain Papers, MC 00007, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
JessC. Comment on “Harrelson Hall.” Foursquare City Guide.
https://foursquare.com/v/harrelson-hall/4afc9b57f964a5205b2422e3
John William Harrelson Papers, MC 00001, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
Mitchell, Laurie. Wolf Tales recording with Laurie Mitchell: Wake County Alumni Society "Last Look at Harrelson Hall," 30 October 2015. Mc00581-wt-mitchell-20151030, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center. https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/mc00581-wt-mitchell-20151030
North Carolina State University, University Archives Reference Collection, University Buildings, Sites, Landmarks Files, UA 050.004, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, Office of Finance and Administration, Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Records, UA 003.005, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, College of Design, Office of the Dean Records, UA 110.001, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
North Carolina State University, Office of the Chancellor, John Tyler Caldwell Records, UA 002.001.004, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center
Peele, Danny. Wolf Tales recording with Danny Peele: Wake County Alumni Society "Last Look at Harrelson Hall," 30 October 2015. Mc00581-wt-peele-20151030, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center. https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/mc00581-wt-peele-20151030
Technician (Raleigh, N.C.) (LH1.N6 T4), Special Collections Research Center at NC State University Libraries.
thewilddeeper. “Tribute to Harrelson Hall: Bizarre Cylindrical Classroom Building at NCSU.” YouTube. Jan 9, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE3WRCN_oYE
Williams, Matthew. “Wolf Tales recording with Matthew Williams: Wake County Alumni Society ‘Last Look at Harrelson Hall,’" 30 October 2015. Mc00581-wt-williams-20151030, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center. https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/mc00581-wt-williams-20151030
Secondary Source References
Cioffi, Chris. “Harrelson Hall demolition begins on NC State University campus.” The News & Observer, (Raleigh, NC), May 16, 2016. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article77967567.html
Cioffi, Chris. “NC State’s Harrelson Hall is gone, but its pieces live on.” The News & Observer, (Raleigh, NC), March 3, 2017. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article136218298.html
Ferris, Virginia. “Remembering Harrelson Hall.” NC State University Libraries. July 25, 2016.
https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/news/special-collections/remembering-harrelson-hall
“Harrelson Hall.” Oak City Preservation Alliance. Accessed on March 14, 2021.
http://www.oakcitypa.org/harrelson-hall
“Harrelson Hall Renovation and Replacement Study Draft.” NC State Facilities. September 26, 2003. https://facilities.ofa.ncsu.edu/files/2015/04/Harrelson-Hall-Study-2003.pdf
“Here’s to Harrelson.” NC State News. July 11, 2016.
https://news.ncsu.edu/2016/07/heres-to-harrelson/#:~:text=What%20emerged%20in%201962%20%2C%20at,building%20on%20a%20college%20campus.
Kosmerik, Todd. “Harrelson Hall at the Beginning.” NC State University Libraries.
August 15, 2016. https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/news/special-collections/harrelson-hall-at-the-beginning
Peeler, Tim. “Harrelson Hall Reclaimed.” NC State University News. August 15, 2015.
https://news.ncsu.edu/2015/08/harrelson-hall-reclaimed/
Reagan, Alice E. North Carolina State University, a Narrative History. Raleigh: North Carolina State University Foundation and North Carolina State University Alumni Association, 1987.
Schrecker, Ellen. No Ivory Tower: McCarthyism and the Universities. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
Creator
Emma Stout
Date
2021/04/07
Citation
Emma Stout, “Harrelson Hall,” Brick Layers: An Atlas of New Perspectives on NC State’s Campus History, accessed November 21, 2024, https://bricklayers.history.ncsu.edu/items/show/39.