If you’ve ever been to NC State University’s campus, you may have noticed an odd building on the brickyard. It’s not brick, it’s not square and it sits as a weird testament to the weirdness that is the occasional deviation from the “brick” image of state. There are a few of these mismatched buildings on campus, but Harrelson Hall had more than just a weird, curving architecture that made it unique.
From the ninth floor of the library, it sort of looks like a spaceship; from the ground floor, it’s on stilt like columns and from the inside, it was an experience all on its own. I still remember my freshman year, staring up at this building while my friends all laughed and traded tales of rolling down its sloped hallways on rolling chairs and nearly getting caught by campus officers (I think they may send the officers down there quite frequently for that reason alone). On the inside, there was a hallway that went up all four floors on a slight gradient.
It really was something to walk along and wonder what the heck the builders were thinking.
If a building ever could have such a human quality as spunk, Harrelson Hall had it. Not only did the main hallway have character, but with the pie-slice style classrooms and an amazing lounge at the very top of the building, Harrelson had a magical draw that left you thinking. Not to mention the bathrooms seemed reminiscent of the Chamber of Secrets.
As this iconic building comes down, I’m sad to see it go. Somehow it's like taking down a legend. Harrelson Hall is one of those things that connects the alum who made it out of school alive to the students still struggling through it. I suppose as time passes, people will forget it existed, as incoming freshman never had the chance to make a memory of seeing how fast a chair can really go as potential energy transfers into kinetic and add a rolling chair to the growing collection at the end of the hall (seriously, why would they leave them there if not to be used?).
Having the building come down will erase the foundations, but perhaps it will build something new. A strong memory of a building that didn’t quite fit, but moved in your heart anyway like a small ding in your car or a scratch in your paint. Eventually it just becomes part of your car, and removing it feels like you’ve created a bigger dent you can’t exactly see.
Here’s to Harrelson Hall. Because as things move, buildings change, spaces rearrange and we all grow up, there are only some things that will last in memory.
For a reason I don’t quite understand, the weird, round building on the brickyard will always be a part of my recollections of NC State.
