Bridges over Walker Avenue

In a previous post, we discussed the decision to close Walker Avenue, which at one time, ran east-west through the middle of campus. This necessitated the demolition of the College Avenue bridge that carried traffic safely over busy Walker Avenue. This post will explore some of the images of those bridges through time.

Some of the earliest extant images of the bridge crossing Walker Avenue only show it from far away.

1905 view of campus 

In this first image, the iron bridge can just be seen in the center of the image.

Detail of bridge from 1905 view of campus

This close up image of the bridge from the 1914 Carolinian yearbook cryptically labels it "The Bridge of Sighs." The image also shows some of the details of the bridge, such as its walkway guardrails outside of the center lane, which may have been reserved for vehicular traffic, as well as the iron superstructure.

1914 Carolinian yearbook

An alternative perspective of the iron bridge is shown in this 1925 postcard taken from the Walker Avenue vantage point.

1925 Postcard 

The iron bridge would stand until 1928 when it was replaced with a much more comely concrete bridge.1

1928 Photograph of the new concrete bridge

1940 photograph of concrete bridge taken from Walker Avenue perspective

When the campus and city of Greensboro agreed to close Walker Avenue, The land had to be filled in where Walker Avenue cut through campus. In the following photograph, students observe the process in front of a new manhole located at the new grade.

1949 Photograph of Walker Avenue and bridge during regrading process

In this final photograph, student Oriana McArthur and Dr. Walter Clinton Jackson look at the new library under construction from the bridge. The bridge would be demolished soon in 1950. As can be seen from the photograph, the former Walker Avenue has been partially filled in to form the foundation of the library.

1949 photograph of Library under construction from the bridge

1-Elisabeth Ann Bowles, A Good Beginning: The First Four Decades of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro p.92

Campus Maps Part II

In an earlier blog post, we looked at maps drawn by students and alumnae of The Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now UNCG). In this blog post, we'll look at some more diverse campus maps found within our collections!

Changes on campus can be traced by maps that show the university's relationship to the community and transportation. The following two parking maps show the growth of the campus and the increase in parking areas on campus.

1975 Campus Parking Map

It is also interesting to note that many former roads that cut through campus are now restricted and used primarily as pedestrian walkways- an example of changing campus policy in action reflected on maps!

2006-2007 Campus Parking Map

 The need for parking maps at school with a large commuter population is obvious and it's important for those maps to be accurate. But we also have maps that are more fanciful and even metaphorical!

Map from 1948 Pine Needles Yearbook

The map featured on the 1948 Pine Needles Yearbook endpapers contains a reasonable facsimile of campus at the time, but notice the scale used. "Four Years Equals One Degree" The first clue that this map may be a little more tongue-in-cheek than others is that it is labeled "A Curry Smoke-Stack View of Campus." There is, in fact, a student standing on the smoke stack with a spyglass, surveying the school. Fanciful descriptions are also used alongside typical names you might find on any campus map. The cars in front of Foust are labelled "Faculty Jalopies." An area near the athetic fields is labelled "W.C.'s Coney Island" and the area behind Weil-Winfield is labelled "The Country Club."

WCUNC Home Economics Club Campus Map, circa 1935

This whimsical map dating from around 1935 was drawn by Emma Lee Aderholt and sponsored by the Home Economics Club. It not only shows the buildings and grounds of the campus at the time, but also includes many clues as to campus activities. You will find the Botany class in front of the Foust Building (marked "Admin" on this map), as well as a depiction of some of the May Day activities. In front of Old McIver Memorial Building, you can just make out a "Freshie" (freshman student) washing the statue of Charles D. McIver. There is a P.J. party taking place in Peabody Park. UNCG Auditorium (Aycock Auditorium at that time) is the site of "The Saddest Day of All"- Graduation Day.

1911 Map from Carolinian Yearbook

Not all maps represent actual physical places. "The Pscientist's Progress" is a map that appeared in the 1911 Carolinian yearbook. This student drawn map shows the perilous journey of those brave students who ventured onto the path of Bachelor of Science degrees at the school. Courses and subjects are presented as dangerous milestones that must be transcended to achieve the student's final destination-their degree.

Campus Maps Part I

Maps are artifacts that represent a physical space fixed at one point in time. Taken individually, they tell us how to get from one place to another. They provide a view of place unattainable from the ground and give us a unique perspective and orientation. Compared with one another, maps trace the changes in our physical world. Buildings come and go, or their uses vary with the changing times. The landscape also changes as new roads are built and fields are turned into golf courses or parking lots. In this post we'll look at some examples of campus maps from our University Archives drawn by members of the university community.

Several maps of campus used in official publications were drawn by female students and alumnae of the university. These maps were used primarily in publications such as the course catalog, handbook, and brochures. These official publications would represent the university not only to its students, but to the public. Because of this, the maps had to be of high quality. Three examples of these are presented below, along with photographs of the cartographers.

This 1940 map of the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina campus was drawn by Kathryn Bain (top) and Doris Shaffer (bottom), both Class of 1941 students

This 1957 map of the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina was drawn by Henriette Manget Neal, Class of 1945

This 3D 1965 map of the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina was drawn by Clara Reese, Class of 1965

We'll explore more campus maps from our collections in a future Spartan Stories blog!