Old Well

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The Old Well in front of South Building. The Old Well, modeled on the Temple of Love in the Gardens of Versaille, is the most enduring symbol of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Old Well is a small, neoclassical rotunda located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It marks the site of the original well on campus and has become the most enduring symbol of the University, acting as essentially an unofficial logo of the university.

The well is as old as Old East Dormitory, the first building on campus and the oldest public university building in the United States. For many years, it served as the sole water supply for the fledgling university. It is located at the very south end of McCorkle Place, one of the two main grassy quads on campus, flanked by the oldest buildings on campus. In 1897, the original well was replaced and given its current decorative form by university president Edwin A. Alderman. The current form is based on the Temple of Love in Versailles. In 1954, the Old Well was given benches, brick walls, and various flower beds and trees planted around it, a gift from the class of 1954.

Today, instead of hauling up buckets of water, a marble water fountain supplying city water sits in the center of the Old Well. Campus tradition dictates that one can "drink from the old well" as a symbol of good luck. Tradition states that incoming freshmen can drink from the Old Well on the first day of classes and get four years of straight A's. Accordingly, the first day of class each year sees long lines forming for new students to take a swig.

The Old Well, here in a photo from 1897, served as the campus's sole water source for many years.

The Old Well in the Mid 20th century.

The Old Well is recognized as a National Landmark for Outstanding Landscape Architecture by the American Society of Landscape Architects.

[edit] External links

• UNC Tour -- The Old Well