ATTRACTIONS

Historic Homes & Buildings

• Alexander Dickson House (circa 1790)
  150 East King Street • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  Hillsborough
  919-732-7741
  This unique Quaker-plan style house features an office used by Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston before his surrender to Union General William T. Sherman at Durham Station in April 1865, as well as an adjacent garden that contains traditional 18th and 19th century plants used for cooking, medicine, and dyeing cloth.  map

• Ayr Mount (circa 1815)
  376 Saint Mary's Road • Chapel Hill, NC 27278
  Hillsborough
  919-732-6886
  One of the finest Federal-era plantation style homes in North Carolina, this beautifully restored home is exquisitely furnished with period antiques and fine art. The home has many original family pieces of William Kirkland who built this house on 500 acres for his wife and their 14 children. more...  map

• Burwell School, The (circa 1821)
  319 Churton Street • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  Hillsborough
  919-732-7451
  The site of the Reverend and Mrs. Burwell's School for Young Ladies, this historic schoolhouse includes an 1821 two-story frame house, an 1840 brick music building, an 1840 brick necessary house, and beautiful formal gardens. Guided tours are available that focus on the family, their slaves, and the school's students.  map

• Eagle Lodge Masonic Hall #19 (circa 1823)
  142 West King Street • Chapel Hill, NC 27278
  Hillsborough
  919-732-9834
  Beautiful Greek Revival building made of solid brick that was designed by William Nichols, the state architect, and has served as an opera house, an unofficial town meeting hall, a Civil War hospital, and an observatory for the Burwell School students. The observation tower was removed in 1862 due to water damage but it still has the original pine floors, the original shutters, and the entrance doors. more...  map

• Forest Theater (circa 1916)
  1832 Country Club Road • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  919-962-2069
  Now used for special events and weddings, this historic theater was the chosen site of William C. Coker for an outdoor drama celebrating the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.  map

• Horace Williams House (circa 1840)
  610 East Rosemary Street • Chapel Hill, NC 27515
  919-942-7818
  The Octagon Room of this charming historic home serves as the major gallery for the Chapel Hill Preservation Society which features monthly changing art exhibits. This is the only historic house in Chapel Hill that is open to the public and many chamber music concerts are held here on a regular basis. more...  map

• Old Playmakers Theatre (circa 1851)
  391 Cameron Avenue • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  919-962-1630
  A National Historic Landmark, this Greek Revival structure was originally built as a library and ballroom that was converted in 1925 into a theatre. The Union Army stabled horses here during the Civil War and this historic building was the first state university building dedicated to American folk dramatic art.  map

Historic Sites & Monuments

• Old Chapel Hill Cemetery (circa 1776)
  Corner of Country Club & South Roads
  919-968-2833
  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this cemetery originally served as the burial place for University faculty, their slaves, and students and now features numerous celebrities that are buried here. The earliest gravestone in the cemetery is that of a University student who died in 1798. more...  map

• Old Slave Cemetery
  Margaret Lane & Hillsborough Avenue • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  Hillsborough
  919-732-7741
  This cemetery has been called the Colored Cemetery, the Black Cemetery, Old Margaret Lane Cemetery, and the Town Public Cemetery throughout the years and was filled up in 1930. The only known records of the people buried here are engraved on the memorial headstones in the cemetery.

Libraries & Research Centers

• Chapel Hill Public Library
  100 Library Drive • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  919-968-2777
  This large public library offers adult and children's books and materials, as well as Internet resources, children's programming and activities, and a bookmobile that services daycare centers and five public housing communities. more...  map

Museums & Galleries

• Ackland Art Museum
  Columbia Street near Franklin Street Intersection • Chapel Hill, NC 27599
  University of North Carolina
  919-966-5736
  This museum features a diverse collection of over 15,000 objects that include the history of European paintings and sculptures, Asian art and works on paper, and traditional North Carolina folk art and pottery. more...  map

• Blue Heaven
  1840 Airport Road • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  919-929-5877
  Unique 3,100 square foot museum that features artifacts and memorabilia of the University of North Carolina's men's basketball program with both static and technological items on display. more...  map

• Chapel Hill Museum
  523 East Franklin Street • Chapel Hill, NC 27515
  919-967-1400
  Numerous exhibits highlighting North Carolina's history, arts, and decorative arts with an emphasis on Chapel Hill and Orange County areas, as well as Southern culture, are on display at this museum that also features a 45-minute self-guided tour and an onsite gift shop. more...  map

• Kenan Football Center
  283 Stadium Drive • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  Frank H. Kenan Stadium
  919-966-2575
  Features of this center include a Hall of Honors and the Heavner Theater for football archives that displays cases of historical artifacts and memorabilia, as well as interactive kiosks and vintage photographs.  map

• Memorabilia Room, The
  301 Skipper Bowles Drive • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  Dean E. Smith Center
  919-962-6000
  Located on the second level of the Dean E. Smith Center, this 3,000 square foot room contains artifacts and highlight tapes of some of the greatest moments in the University's rich sports history. Exhibits designed by Jerry Goodman, the designer of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, are also on display.  map

• North Carolina Collection Gallery
  CB # 3930, Wilson Library • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  University of North Carolina
  919-962-1172
  An eclectic and diverse collection of artifacts and historic displays on the history of North Carolina, as well as the history of the University of North Carolina, is on display at this unique gallery. Historic and authentically decorated rooms that include Sir Walter Raleigh Rooms, the Early Carolina Rooms, and an early 19th century library from the Hayes Plantation are also featured at this gallery. Guided tours are available every Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. or by appointment. more...  map

• Orange County Historical Museum
  201 Churton Street • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  Hillsborough
  919-732-2201
  Exhibits in this museum illustrate the first 100 years of Orange County's history including the collection of silversmith William Huntingdon, as well as the only complete set of Colonial weights and measures in the United States and portraits of notable Colonial figures.  map

Parks, Gardens & Zoos

• Coker Aboretum
  East Cameron Avenue at Raleigh Street • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  University of North Carolina
  919-962-0522
  Created in 1903, this magnificent five acre garden contains over 500 species of plants, trees, and shrubs and features a 300 foot native vine arbor and a unique stone gathering circle.  map

• Montrose Gardens
  320 Saint Mary's Road • Chapel Hill, NC 27514
  Hillsborough
  919-732-7787
  Begun in the 19th century by Governor and Mrs. William Alexander Graham, this exquisite nationally known garden features specimen trees, a rock garden, woods garden, and sunny perennial borders with several 19th century buildings and architectural items remaining on the grounds.  map

• North Carolina Botanical Garden
  CB 3375, Totten Center • Chapel Hill, NC 27515
  University of North Carolina
  919-962-0522
  The largest natural botanical garden in the Southeast, this garden lies on 600 acres of preserved land that includes a wide variety of flowers and plants, herb gardens, carnivorous plant collections, and nature trails. An art facility is also on site that features revolving paint exhibits and sculptures with a botanical essence. more...  map

Science & Technology

• Morehead Planetarium and Science Center
  250 East Franklin Street • Chapel Hill, NC 27599
  919-962-1236
  The first facility of its kind in the South, this planetarium and science center features public shows in a 68-foot domed theater, as well as educational exhibits and a sundial rose garden on the grounds. A gift shop is also on site. more...  map