Memorial Hall

A transformed Memorial Hall awaits you, heralding a new era for the arts at Carolina and in our region. Funded through a partnership between the State of North Carolina and hundreds of generous donors, the $18 million Transformation provides our community with an inviting and inspired gathering place, offering world class performances of music, dance, and theater, innovative forms of cultural and artistic expression, and lectures by some of today's most influential speakers.

Located in the heart of the University's historic campus, Memorial Hall has hosted world-renowned performers and elegant ceremonies throughout her long and storied history. In 1883, when lack of space in Gerrard Hall prevented adequate seating for commencement, plans were quickly drawn for a much larger building that would serve as a memorial to David Lowry Swain (former North Carolina governor and past president of the University of North Carolina), to other notable North Carolinians, and to the students, faculty and staff who lost their lives in the line of duty. Funds were raised by the sale of marble tablets commemorating those individuals and the Hall was dedicated in 1885. In 1929, it was discovered that the building was structurally unsound and the hall was condemned and razed.