Playmakers Theatre, Greek Revival theatre at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.
Playmakers Theatre is a neoclassical building on the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with brick walls, a stucco exterior, and a gabled portico. The Corinthian columns at the entrance are decorated with motifs of corn and tobacco, plants that shaped the economy of the surrounding region.
The building was put up in 1850 under the name Smith Hall, designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, an architect known for his work in the neoclassical style. It was converted into a theatre in 1923, and the federal government declared it a National Historic Landmark in 1973.
The Playmakers Repertory Company uses this building as its home stage, presenting productions where professional actors work alongside graduate students in training. Audiences tend to notice how the space feels both academic and genuinely theatrical at the same time.
The theatre sits on the northern part of the UNC campus along Cameron Avenue, close to several other older campus buildings. It is easy to reach on foot from most parts of the campus and clearly visible from the street.
Before it became a theatre, the building was used at different times as a laboratory, a bath house, and a law school. These very different roles show how the structure changed purpose several times before finding its current use.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
