Memorial Hall was initially built in 1883 to be used for events like commencement ceremonies and the first ever basketball games at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. The architect, Samuel Sloan, designed the building to be larger than the previously used Gerrard Hall so that it could hold up to 4,000 people. Memorial Hall was created to honor the men at the university who fought in the Civil War and to commemorate some of the important antebellum figures at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

. Specifically David L. Swain was one of the men honored in the making of the building. Funding for Memorial Hall was initially provided by selling marble tablets that were dedicated to certain men who fell in battle during the Civil War. The tablets still exist and are kept on display at the current Memorial Hall. In 1929, the original building was determined to be unsafe, and it was therefore demolished while a new plan was set to construct a larger and sturdier auditorium. The second Memorial Hall was used for 70 years for purposes such as musical performances, lectures, cultural events, and more. At the turn of the millennium, however, a third plan was proposed by the university for a refurbishing of the auditorium to make room for the growing community in

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States census, making Chapel Hill the List of municipa ...

. The three-year plan began with the temporary closing of Memorial Hall in 2002. Construction started in May 2003 and the newly improved Memorial Hall was completed in August 2005. The present Memorial Hall includes updates such as air-conditioning, a stage twice the size of the 1930 building, and marble flooring that was mined from the same quarry that was used in the 1930 building. Funding for the third Memorial Hall totaled $17,981,080 coming from the Higher Education Bond Referendum, private donors, university funds, and the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

. Th
Carolina Performing Arts
website displays the annual calendar of events held at each of their three venues: Memorial Hall, Historic Playmakers Theatre, and Gerrard Hall . Every year, Memorial Hall hosts artists and performers from all over the world. The Carolina Performing Arts group puts on shows each year ranging from the

Nutcracker Ballet ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

to the

Pittsburgh Symphony The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra is resident at Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Since 2008, the orchestra's music director is Manfred Ho ...

References

{{Authority control Theatre in North Carolina

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...