The Playmakers Theatre, originally Smith Hall, is a historic academic building on the campus of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. Built in 1850, it was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

for its architecture, as an important example of

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

architecture by

Alexander Jackson Davis Alexander Jackson Davis, or A. J. Davis (July 24, 1803 – January 14, 1892), was an American architect, known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style. Education Davis was born in New York City and studied at ...

. and It is now a secondary venue of the performing company, which is principally located at the Paul Green Theatre.

Description and history

The Historic Playmakers Theatre building is located in the northern portion of the UNC campus, on the south side of East Cameron Avenue next to the College of Arts and Sciences, and across Cameron from Old East, also a

. The building has the form of a

Greek temple Greek temples ( grc, ναός, naós, dwelling, semantically distinct from Latin , "temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, s ...

, built out brick with a stuccoed exterior. At its eastern end is a gabled portico, supported by

fluted column Fluting in architecture consists of shallow grooves running along a surface. The term typically refers to the grooves (flutes) running vertically on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications ...

s that have

Corinthian capital The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

s modified to include ears of corn and leaves of tobacco, two important North Carolina crops. The gable is fully pedimented, with modillioned eave and rake edge. The walls of the building have pilastered bays, the pilasters supporting a simple entablature. Smith Hall was built in 1850, as part of a campus improvement plan begun in the 1830s.

Andrew Jackson Davis Andrew Jackson Davis (August 11, 1826January 13, 1910) was an American Spiritualist, born in Blooming Grove, New York. Early years Davis had little education. In 1843 he heard lectures in Poughkeepsie on animal magnetism, the precursor of hy ...

had been retained to oversee alterations to Old East and Old West, and develop an overall plan for the campus. Its original purposes was as a social venue. After also being used as a laboratory, bath house, and law school, it became a theater in 1923. The Theatre is the perpetual home of the Carolina Playmakers, although as their successor, the Playmakers Repertory Company uses Paul Green Theatre as their primary venue.

References

{{Authority control National Historic Landmarks in North Carolina Cultural infrastructure completed in 1850 Theatres in Chapel Hill, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill landmarks National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, North Carolina Historic district contributing properties in North Carolina Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill buildings

Description and history

See also

References