Woollen Gymnasium

Charles T. Woollen Gymnasium

Woollen Gymnasium and Woollen
Location	300 South Road, Chapel Hill, N.C., United States[1]
Coordinates	35°54′33.65″N 79°2′45.13″W / 35.9093472°N 79.0458694°W / 35.9093472; -79.0458694
Owner	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill[1]
Operator	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill[1]
Capacity	4,500–6,000[N 1]
Field size	303 by 175 feet (92 by 53 m)
Construction
Broke ground	1937
Opened	1938
Renovated	2004, 2009–2012
Expanded	1942
Construction cost	$646,000 (including swimming pool)
Architect	Atwood and Weeks
Main contractors	J. A. Jones Construction Company (general construction) Reliance Engineering Company (heating) W. M. Wiggins (plumbing)
Tenants
North Carolina Tar Heels (NCAA) Men's basketball (1938–1965)

The Charles T. Woollen Gymnasium (commonly known as the Woollen Gymnasium or Woollen) is a building used for physical education classes, recreational activity for students, and office spaces. It was the home of North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team from January 2, 1939, through February 27, 1965, across twenty-six seasons. Due to increased demand for viewing the varsity basketball team and limited capacity at then home court the Tin Can, school president Frank Porter Graham and Charles T. Woollen requested public funds for a new gymnasium and women's dormitory. After being rejected at the federal level, the North Carolina Public Works would award a grant of $283,090 to build a new gymnasium and the school would have to fundraise to cover the cost's remainder. The plans for the building included multi–level building that included an attached swimming pool, along with a main lobby that would overlook the main gymnasium area. Construction stretched from 1937 to 1938 and, upon completion, was seen as "modern" and one of the highest–quality basketball facilities in the Southern Conference.

The gym was first used competitively for intramural

Bids for the construction contracts started in January 1937 with a 30-day deadline for submission,[27] but the deadline was extended through March 9.^[28] On March 23, Wright announced the contracts for the building of the gym: J.A. Jones Construction Company for general construction, Reliance Engineering Company for heating, and W. M. Wiggins for plumbing.^[29] The respective prices for the contracts were $415,957, $47,007, and $20,909.^[29] Details were released regarding the buildings functions and specifications including the main gymnasium structure would be 303 by 175 feet (92 by 53 m) (while the gym floor would be 250 by 150 feet (76 by 46 m)), the swimming pool would be in a 220 by 82 feet (67 by 25 m) attached structure with a swimming surface of 165 by 55 feet (50 by 17 m), a lobby that overlooks the gym from the second floor that houses the classrooms, offices, and fan rooms.^[29][30] The main gym floor gave room for two varsity basketball courts, along with courts for volleyball, intramural basketball, shuffleboard, handball, badminton, and one tennis court.^[31] The ground floor contained the locker rooms, squash and handball courts, showers, and treatment rooms.^[30] The maple hardwood would be installed over a concrete floor to cover the entire first, main floor.^[30][31] The backboards for the goals were glass.^[32] The building itself was built with colonial brick and trimmed with limestone.^[30]

Construction was to begin within two weeks of Wright's announcements of the contract,^[30] which began with the clearing of trees on site with the goal of finishing the project by January 11, 1938.^[33] Excavations were finished in May after weather delays in April.^[34] By January 1938, construction had been delayed due for three primary reasons: around 2,000 cubic yards of blue granite had to be removed, which was more than anticipated; a delay in the steel delivery; and heavy rains in the first three months of construction prevented trucks from operating on the ground that led to nearly 20 work days lost due to rain alone.^[35][36] Arrangements were made for the presentation of the pool and gymnasium prior to their completion in March, for March 24 and 25; however, on the night of the 22nd, four students snuck into the gym and swam in the pool, which led the school to place Federal agents outside the facilities to monitor it until it was officially opened.^[37][38] The two days featured several meetings, meals at the Carolina Inn, and presentation talks from President Graham and ex-Governor John C. B. Ehringhaus, among others, while the building would be formally inspected on the 25th with Woollen as the honorary guide.^[37][38][39] Then physical education professor Oliver Cromwell stated that the gymnasium "[enabled] the University for the first time to provide some form of healthful activity for every member of the student body."^[40] The swimming pool was donated by Nathalie Gray, wife of the late Bowman Gray Sr., and her two sons Bowman Jr. and Gordon in his memory.^[41][42] The Daily Tar Heel reported that the gym could accommodate 6,000 people with the portable grandstands placed,^[31][43] while Cromwell stated the maximum capacity could be 8,000.^[44] The reported capacity has varied on several accounts.^{[N 1]} The final cost for the facilities totaled to be $646,000.^[43]

In early April, rumors had been spreading that the facility would be named in honor of Woollen, leading officials to deny the rumors.^[45] Graham stated his intentions to name the gymnasium and it was thought he would do so near commencement.^[45] After Graham had proposed the naming during a meeting in commencement, the venue was officially named the "Charles T. Woollen Gymnasium" by the board of trustees in September 1938.^[46] Woollen Gymnasium was viewed the "modern" gym in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for several years after its construction.^[47][48] Across a four-month span in 1942, an $82,000 project was done to expand Woollen.^[49] The additions included increased shower space, more lockers, and a physical education area with a 60 by 80 feet (18 by 24 m) area.^[49]

History

In April 1938, the men's and women's intramural

As the Tar Heels increased in popularity, the university chose to have home games at off-campus venues as Woollen's seating was so limited,^[57] choosing to play in Charlotte or Greensboro instead.^[56] By playing at these locations, the school would turn more profit than normal home games at Woollen since student tickets were limited for these games and the venue was larger, allowing more tickets to be sold to the masses.^[56] In the team's final season at Woollen, the Tar Heels only played seven true home games.^[57] Carolina played their final home game at Woollen on February 27, 1965, against Duke and won 71–66.^[58] North Carolina played 265 games in Woollen and finished with a record of 210–55 (.792).^[59] As of the conclusion of the 2019–20 season, Woollen has the worst home winning percentage of the five home venues for the Tar Heels.^[59] The Tar Heels went undefeated at Woollen Gymnasium in four of their twenty-six seasons at the facility: 1958–59 (6–0), 1960–61 (7–0), 1956–57 (8–0), and 1955–56 (10–0).^[59] The most losses in a single season while playing in Woollen came in the 1943–44 campaign when the Tar Heels lost five games.^[59] The Tar Heels showed success in the Southern Conference while in Woollen as they won the regular season championship in 1941, 1944, and 1946, while winning their post–season conference tournament in 1940 and 1945.^[60] After the Tar Heels moved into the ACC before the season started in 1953, the Tar Heels continued to succeed.^[61] North Carolina won the ACC regular season title in 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, and 1961, while winning the post–season conference tournament in 1957.^[61]

In January 1947, it was announced that due to student demand, no public tickets would be offered for the rest of the

For a period of time after the Tar Heels moved to Carmichael, the building was used for class registration before the advent of online registering.[67] The venue contains eight full basketball courts,^[68] which led it to become a place where students frequent to play pick-up basketball despite newer courts opening up on campus.^[69][70] In addition, it has hosted intramural basketball leagues over the years.^[71] The Exercise and Sports Science department is based in Woollen.^[59][69] In May 2004, Woollen was closed to have the original gym floor replaced with a new 35,000 sq. foot floor, along with the infrastructure and classroom renovations, as part of a five-month renovation occurred because a bond of $516,500 was given to the university for the renovations.^[69][70][72] The floor was subsequently donated to a local Habitat for Humanity and all the proceeds from its sale benefited the organization.^[70] The gym was officially reopened on October 6, 2004, with a ceremony that featured several former Tar Heels who played in the venue.^[72] When the gym was closed again for more renovations starting in the summer of 2009, there was a notable increase in wait time at Rams Head gym's basketball courts.^[73] The renovations were completed in time for the start of the spring 2012 semester.^[74] The renovations, which costed around $5.2 million, included two new dance studios and piping replacement, among other additions.^[74][75] As of 2014, the courts still attracted over 150 people per day.^[69]

References

Footnotes

Citations