Bynum Hall

''|alt=A building. On October 2, 1903, during an executive university committee meeting on hosted in Governor Daniel Lindsay Russell's office, school President Francis Preston Venable revealed former North Carolina Supreme Court justice William Preston Bynum donated $25,000 to the school to build a gymnasium. The donation was made in honor of Bynum's late grandson William Preston Bynum Jr., who died on vacation after becoming sick with typhoid fever before the close of his sophomore year after attending between 1889 and 1890. The building was officially announced by Dr. Eben Alexander to students in the chapel the same day to "vigorous and prolonged applause". At the time of the plans' announcement, the location of the future gym was reported to be on top of or near an "old athletic field" near the library. Venable commented: "The University is getting along finely in every way and we are greatly cheered by Judge Bynum's gift." In February 1904, President Venable announced that the building's plans had been approved by Bynum and the trustees and work would begin "at once", weather permitting. It was to be , with three stories and an above ground basement. a room for Swedish gymnastics, and rooms for fencing and boxing, among other amenities. The prospect of building the new gym caused some relief with regards to first Memorial Hall, which had been hosting physical activities and suffered many broken windows. The Morning Post reported on May 10, 1904, that material for the gymnasium had arrived to campus and work was expected to be starting that week. Mr. Waring of Columbia, South Carolina was announced to be the contractor responsible for building the structure, along with building the Campus Y building concurrently. Construction was delayed in May because the company's plant for making bricks was not set up. An update on construction in November was published by The Evening Tribune, where it stated that the building was coming along rapidly, but the new target finish date was in February 1905. Student newspaper The Tar Heel published a column in early February 1905, where it commented on the beauty of the building and pleaded to the student body to keep it in good condition. On February 20, it was announced that the gym had been completed. ==History==

Following the gym's opening, the swimming pool was filled in early April. It was reported that the first few days students used the pool, the water was freezing cold. Prior to the addition of two water boilers in 1905, roughly the first 75 to use the shower would be able to get hot water. Bynum was unable to attend the event in part due to his age. Instead, Venable read two letters from Bynum aloud to the crowd, one in which he expressed the desire to sponsor the gymnasium and a formal letter presenting the gymnasium to the university. Dr. Richard H. Lewis officially accepted the building for the university and commented: "Nothing appeals more to lusty youth than athletics in all its forms." Dr. Robert Lawson (who had coached the baseball team) was the first faculty in charge and his assistant was K. L. Wardlaw. Lawson was found to be a skilled gymnast and a favorite of the students. Playing basketball in Bynum was known to have many issues, including the floors being slick, the backboards being "a good deal liver" than most, and lighting being poor. The pool was closed in 1924 because of an inadequate filtration system and was subsequently used as space for Playmakers Theatre until the building was repurposed. The Tar Heels stopped playing in Bynum in 1924 as they moved into the Tin Can. In the gym, there was a parallel exercises ladder which often had the best view of games. Dr. Lawson rendered first aid and the students were collectively found to have on broken nose and one broken ankle. While playing in Bynum Gymnasium, the Tar Heels joined the Southern Conference prior to the 1921–22 season. The team won the regular season championship in 1923 and 1924, while winning their postseason conference tournament in 1922 and 1924. The Tar Heels played thirteen seasons in Bynum and ended with a record of 64–15 (.810) in 76 total games. The Tar Heels' worst home record in a season came in the 1911–12 season when they went 3–4, while the team went undefeated at home three times while at Bynum: 1917–18 (7–0), 1920–21 (7–0), and 1922–23 (7–0). ==After the basketball team's departure==

On January 15, 1924, it was announced that the remodeling of Bynum Gymnasium was completed and it was reopened to students. The renovation was performed by Atwood and Nash. By the 1920s and 1930s the student body had grown from the roughly 600 it had in 1904 and a new gym was needed. Upon completion of the renovation, the facility would host the university press that had been using the basement floor. Atwood and Weeks announced that the construction would start in December 1938, and it was completed in 1939. During World War II, the university radio station shut down its operations in Caldwell Hall in June 1942. In January 1945, the station resumed its operations in Bynum Hall temporarily. It coincided with the School of Journalism moving out of Bynum Hall into Howell Hall in order to give more room for the University News Bureau. In addition, the surplus space not used by the news bureau would be converted into a general classroom for various departments to use as needed. In 1974, the Housing Office moved out and the building's roof was repaired in 1974 for $59,000. By the 1980s it housed the University News Bureau still, the University Cashier, and various offices like the Research Administration office and the Affirmative Action office. In order to make Bynum handicap accessible, a ramp and automatic door were installed in 1992. The building now maintains an administrative purpose including offices for the Dean of Graduate Studies and the university counsel. ==References==