Chapel Hill Historic District

Chapel Hill's historic district takes in the heart of the University of North Carolina campus, the nearby East Franklin Street and East Rosemary Street neighborhood, and Battle Park. The university was sited on this ridge in 1792. The oldest campus buildings include Old East, completed in 1795, Old West, South Building, Person Hall and Gerrard Hall. Later additions include Playmakers Theatre, designed by A. J. Davis and finished in 1851, and New East and New West by William Percival. Early twentieth-century halls by Frank Milburn and others reflect Beaux Arts, Jacobethan and Neo-Classical tastes. Landmarks such as the Davie Poplar, the Old Well and the Joseph Caldwell Monument add to the setting. Beyond the campus, narrow streets, brick walkways, stone walls and mature trees give parts of the town a leisurely character. The district was listed because the whole ensemble of campus, village and landscape is considered more significant than its individual structures.