What's the most important building in North Carolina?

 

NC State's student newspaper, Technician, celebrated its 100th anniversary this past weekend. (Congrats!) One part of the festivities included a tour of William Neal Reynolds Coliseum on campus.  I was not able to make the tour (I've seen the renovated "Old Barn" a number of times in recent years), but some friends of mine did. One comment that was made during the tour was this: Reynolds Coliseum is the most "historic" building in the state of North Carolina based on all of the major events that have taken place there and the presidents and cultural events that have taken place within those walls.

This got me/us thinking: What IS the most historic, or maybe the most important building in this great state? Maybe it is Reynolds. Basketball-wise alone it hosted the old Dixie Classic, the first years of the ACC Tournament, NCAA tourney games and so many great State-Carolina/State-Duke games, etc. It has also hosted Presidents Reagan, Obama and Clinton; has welcomed the Rolling Stones, Louis Armstrong, Elton John and more; and numerous other musical events and student events.

What other buildings could be in contention? One could argue the Greensboro Coliseum. One could possibly make the case for Biltmore house, which is one of the most visited homes in the United States. Or perhaps the state Capitol, or the Legislative Building. You could also make a case for the Woolworth location in Greensboro, which is today the site of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.

What are your thoughts? What is the most "historic" building in the state? 

Reynolds photo courtesy of wikimapia.org; Woolworth's photo courtesy of americanhistory.si.edu

Lees-McRae and its North Carolina Building

Lees-McRae (at about 700 students) isn't the biggest college in North Carolina, but the school in Banner Elk may be in one of the prettiest settings.

We drove past LMC a few weeks ago, and it struck me how little I know about it. So I began reading up on it some. I discovered some interesting things, such as the existence of the Order of the Tower, some sort of society that meets in the campus landmark that was "originally built to distribute water to the campus. Once taken out of service, it was renovated to serve as a meeting place for the Order of the Tower. It currently houses the campus chimes."

Also, LMC, like my alma mater, has a gymnasium named for William Reynolds. LMC has an alum who has participated in a Tour de France. And -- presumably because of its location -- the school has buildings named for nearby states of Tennessee and Virginia.

But Lees-McRae also boasts North Carolina Building, described on the school's map as being in "the center of campus." The beautiful, stone building (pictured, via wikipedia) contains classrooms, a modern language laboratory, and faculty offices. "This structure, completed in 1922, is the first of the three permanent buildings planned by the Reverend Edgar Tufts founder of Lees-McRae."

This got me thinking: Do other schools have buildings/landmarks named for Our Great State? I know N.C. State has the Court of North Carolina ("Court of the Carolinas," as it is known) which was once home to a tree from all 100 counties in the state.

Any other schools that honor our state in a similar way?