Main Campus of North Carolina State University

The Main Campus is the primary campus of North Carolina State University, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, US, inside the Beltline. Notable features of Main Campus include the Bell Tower and D. H. Hill Library. The campus is known for its distinctive red brick buildings, sidewalks, plazas, and sculptures; some are dotted with decorative brick mosaics. University Plaza is nicknamed "The Brickyard" because it is mostly a flat, open, bricked area.
The Main Campus is divided into three sections: a North Campus, a Central Campus, and a South Campus. The North and Central campuses are separated by the railroad tracks that run through the area. Pedestrian access between these two campuses is by one of five locations: three pedestrian tunnels, an underpass at Dan Allen Drive, or a bridge at Pullen Road. Of the three pedestrian tunnels, the Free Expression Tunnel is the largest; the other two, nicknamed the Reynolds Tunnel and the Thompson Tunnel, are much more narrow and do not have handicap access ramps.

North Campus

The North Campus consists predominantly of classroom buildings and laboratories. It is the oldest section of the university and is often the busiest of the three campuses during class operational hours.

The Brickyard

Officially known as University Plaza, "The Brickyard" is the university's largest plaza, situated at the heart of North Campus. The Brickyard is located just south of Hillsborough Street in front of D.H. Hill library. It is a brick-paved courtyard reminiscent of St. Mark's Square in Venice. The brickyard is a popular gathering place for students who are on their way to and from class, eating a snack from the Atrium food court, or just taking a break. Other students decide to steal the bricks and use them as decor for their dorms. Many organizations, demonstrators, and vendors also gather in the brickyard to pass out information about their organizations, to raise funds, or to sponsor various activities.

D.H. Hill Library and The Atrium

D.H. Hill Library, the university's main library, and the adjoined Atrium food court are found between Hillsborough Street and the Brickyard. The NCSU Libraries are home to over 4.5 million volumes. NC State's library system is proclaimed to be one of the best research libraries in the nation.

Memorial Tower

Possibly the university's most notable symbol is the Memorial Tower, which is situated on the northeast corner of North Campus at the intersection of Hillsborough Street and Pullen Road. The bell tower was completed in 1937 and appears on NCSU's official seal. Its blending of Romanesque features and Gothic verticality are reminiscent of the towers of West Point. The monument, called "a legend in stone" contains 1,400 tons of stone set on a 700-ton concrete base, and exceeded $150,000 in cost. Although 33 alumni died in World War I, the memorial plaque contains 34 names. Before the armistice ended the war, the name G. L. Jeffers, Class of '13, was wrongly reported killed in action. Many years later, however, when the memorial plaque was made, a list was furnished to the manufacturer from which Jeffers' name had never been removed. When the error was noted on the finished plaque, a decision was made to alter the extra name beyond recognition. It was therefore changed to G. E. Jefferson, a symbol of unknown soldiers from State and elsewhere.
The door of the tower presents the words, "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares." This is a reference to a passage in the Book of Isaiah, in which the world is peaceful and weapons are converted to prosperous and useful tools.
The outside inscription on the cornerstone of the tower is marked with the Masonic symbol and uses both the standard notation and year; Anno Domini 1921 and Anno Lumini 5921, using the Masonic yearly count, where the history of the world begins in 4000 B.C.
The Belltower is lit up with red lights for a variety of special occasions, including athletic victories. The Belltower did not originally have a bell; the electronic carillon system was housed in nearby Holladay Hall. A 54 bell carillon system was part of the bell tower's original plan, but an electronic system was chosen due to financial difficulties during the Great Depression. The most recent electronic bell carillon was installed in 1986 and dedicated in honor of NC State Chancellor Bostian. In the fall of 2019, construction started to restore the tower and install 55 real bells. Five of them were donated by Finish the Belltower, a grassroots campaign led by Matthew Robbins and other then-students. Other bells were fundraised for and cast through the years, but it wasn't until a donation by the Henry family of Gastonia that the collection was completed. Construction was finished, and the first bells rung, in May 2021. On May 14, the university had a dedication ceremony which celebrated the completion of the interior stairs and carillon as well as the surrounding plaza space, now named Henry Square.
The belltower is tall.
The official name of the structure is the "Memorial Tower," however it is informally referred to as the Belltower.

Holladay Hall

Holladay Hall was the first building ever to be constructed at North Carolina State University, but was burned down in 1895 after a gas leak. It was rebuilt and is located just southwest of the Belltower on Pullen Road. Completed in 1889, it was the first building on campus and contained the entire college for the first few years. Prisoners of the state penitentiary built what was then called "Main Building" with bricks donated by the prison. Though it had no electricity or running water, the basement contained laboratories, a kitchen, a dining hall, and a gymnasium. Offices, classrooms, and a library of books donated by professors were located on the first floor. The second and third floor housed 72 students. In 1915, the building was named in honor of Alexander Holladay, NC State's first President. The City Council of Raleigh has designated the building as a historic site. Today, it houses the Chancellor's Office.

Burlington Engineering Laboratories

Court of North Carolina

The Court of North Carolina, located west of the Bell Tower and east of the Brickyard, is a large, mostly green quad on North Campus. It is surrounded by the 1911 Building Hall, Tompkins Hall, Caldwell Hall, Winston Hall, Poe Hall, Page Hall, and Leazar Hall. The west side of the Court is sloped upward along a hill that the 1911 Building is situated upon. It was once home to 100 trees, but damage caused by Hurricane Fran in 1996 reduced the number significantly, including the destruction of a particularly old and large tree which was some in diameter. Some replanting has occurred, but the Court's former appearance is far from being restored. After World War II, NCSU saw an influx of new post-war students as per the G.I. Bill of 1944. To accommodate the need for classrooms, many temporary classroom buildings were constructed on the Court of North Carolina.

Winston Hall, Caldwell Hall, and Tompkins Hall

Winston Hall, Caldwell Hall, and Tompkins Hall are conjoined buildings spanning the Hillsborough St side of the Court of North Carolina. The buildings host the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Central Campus

Central Campus primarily features residence halls, dining halls, and administration and student affairs buildings. It also contains many athletic venues. Central Campus itself is divided into three sections: East Campus, Central Campus, and West Campus. Dan Allen Drive splits Central and West campuses and Morril Drive and the Talley Student Center roughly split East and Central campuses. Far western Central Campus primarily houses administration, maintenance, and facility operations buildings, though apartments and laboratories are found there.

Talley Student Union

Talley Student Union, formerly known as Talley Student Center, is a building on NCSU's Central Campus on Cates Avenue for student and campus affairs. The union, which opened in June 1972 and underwent a complete renovation from 2011 to 2015, is named after former Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Banks C. Talley, Jr. Banks served in that position from 1969 to 1977. The building houses many organizations, including Student Government, the LGBTQ+ Pride Center, and Fraternity and Sorority Life. The main level of the building features numerous eateries operated by University Dining, including the first Jason's Deli to be located on a college campus. Stewart Theatre, a large arena-style theatre most notably used for orientation and comedy sketch programs, occupies the west end of the Talley Student Center. The building also contains numerous ballrooms, offices, lounges, and the university bookstore. This building also has printers for students, faculty, and staff.

Witherspoon Student Center

Home to the Campus Cinema, Student Media, and the African American Cultural Center, this building opened in 1991 under the name "Student Center Annex." The building was renamed in honor of Dr. Augustus Witherspoon, the second African American student to receive a Ph.D. from NC State, in 1995. This was the first building on NC State's campus named for an African American. Witherspoon held the following positions at NCSU: professor, associate dean of the Graduate School, and associate provost and coordinator of African-American affairs, among others.

Campus Cinema

North Carolina State has its own movie theater located in Witherspoon Student Center. The Campus Cinema shows a variety of movies, most often ones that have just left theatres. Admission is free, and popcorn is also available free of charge. The is updated twice a semester. The University Activities Board holds surveys in which students vote for which films they wish to be shown the following semester.

Dining halls

All three of the university's major all-you-can-eat dining halls are located on Central Campus: Fountain, Case, and Clark. Fountain Dining Hall is the largest of the three and predominantly serves western Central Campus. Due to its limited seating capacity, Case Dining Hall is restricted primarily to residents of nearby residence halls on Central Campus and athletes. NCSU introduced the "all you can eat" concept in 1971 with breakfast and dinner costing $0.75 and $1.65, respectively.