Franklin Street (Chapel Hill)

UNC-Chapel Hill landmarks
name = Franklin Street

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image_size = 250
caption = Franklin Street at the Varsity Theater
location = Chapel Hill, North Carolina
erected = c. 1790
website = [http://www.townofchapelhill.org Town of Chapel Hill]

Franklin Street is a prominent thoroughfare in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Boasted as the "Main Street of North Carolina", it loosely serves as the northern border of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus and could be considered the center of social life for the school and the town, as it is home to numerous coffee shops, restaurants, music stores and bars. The street in downtown Chapel Hill is notable for its festivities, nightlife, and culture.cite web|url=http://www.downtownchapelhill.com/onecol.php?s=visit&ss=Downtown+History&det=6|title=Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership - History of Downtown Chapel Hill and Franklin Street] The stretch of college-oriented businesses continues west into neighboring Carrboro. Both streets are home to small music venues, like the Cat's Cradle and the Arts Center, which were influential in the birth of Chapel Hill rock.

Geography

The three-mile length is divided into West and East Franklin Streets. West Franklin begins at the intersection of South Merrit Mill Road where Carrboro's East Main Street ends. West Franklin moves east-northeast through the town's historic business district to Columbia Street, where it becomes East Franklin. East Franklin continues the straight path through the business district, passing campus and then curving north "down the hill" through some of Chapel Hill's historic neighborhoods. East Franklin Street ends just beyond Ephesus Church Road, where it morphs into U.S. Highway 15-501 towards Durham.

Heritage

Named after Benjamin Franklin by the commissioners of the University (Franklin was a proponent of practical education for youth), the street has been in use under its current name since the 1790s, when construction of the University began [http://www.ibiblio.org/chhistsoc/] . The stretch of Franklin from Columbia to Raleigh streets borders the campus, allowing views of wooded McCorkle Place [http://gradschool.unc.edu/Weiss/interesting_place/landmarks/mccorkle.html] (the North Quadrangle, named after Reverend Samuel E. McCorkle, who authored the original bill requesting a charter from the NC General Assembly for the University in 1784). McCorkle Place is home to some of the school's oldest structures: Old East and Old West Dormitories, Person Hall (originally the University chapel), the South Building (main administration building), and the Old Well (site of the original well for the University).

Just east of campus along Franklin Street are several of Chapel Hill's historic homes [http://www.chapelhillpreservation.com/homedescriptions.html] , including the President's House, the Samuel Phillip's House, Spencer House, Widow Puckett House, Hooper-Kyser House, the Presbyterian Manse, Kennette House, Archibald-Henderson House, and the town's first law office (known as "Mr. Sam's Law Office" - now a private residence).

Franklin Street has long been a favorite destination for entertainment and nightlife for Carolina students, Chapel Hill locals and visitors from Carrboro, Hillsborough, Durham and Raleigh. Going out for a night of revelry on Franklin Street has been known to be referred to as "going uptown". Fact|date=April 2007

Historical businesses

*Colonial Drugstore: Originally located on West Franklin Street (closed 1996; now the site of the Mediterranean Deli), was the site of sit-ins in the Spring of 1960 when students from Lincoln High School made a stand at the establishment's soda fountain. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Martin Luther King visited and spoke on the UNC campus, thrusting Chapel Hill into the national debate on civil rights.cite web|url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0031-8906(198631)47%3A1%3C29%3ACROATI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9|title=JSTOR-The Scholarly Journal Archive - Civil Rights Organization and the Indigenous Movement in Chapel Hill, N. C., 1960-1965] Colonial Drug was also the longtime home of the "Big O", a beverage made from fresh-squeezed oranges similar to orangeadecite web|url=http://www.cindysmithauction.com/gallerymore.asp?id=204056&page=94&galleryid=44210|title=Old Colonial Drugstore Shelf from Chapel Hill, Home of the "Big O"!]
*Ramshead Rathskeller: This establishment served famous UNC alumni its signature lasagna from 1948 until 2008. Customers included Michael Jordan, Jerry Stackhouse and Roy Williams.cite web|url=http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2002/09/27/UndefinedSection/Older.Stores.Eateries.Give.Town.Character-1350061.shtml|title=The Daily Tar Heel-Older Stores, Eateries Give Town Character]
*Sutton's Drugstore: Largely unchanged since it opened in 1923, operates one of the last-remaining traditional soda fountains in North Carolina. Photos on the walls showcase past patrons for more than 30 years.cite web|url=http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2002/09/27/UndefinedSection/Older.Stores.Eateries.Give.Town.Character-1350061.shtml|title=The Daily Tar Heel-Older Stores, Eateries Give Town Character]

Celebrations

Franklin Street is home to several yearly festivals/gatherings, some of which are nationally famous:
*Victory celebrations: Students and sports fans have been known to spill out of bars and dormitories upon the victory of one of Carolina's sports teams. In most cases, a Franklin Street "bonfire" celebration is due to a victory by the men's basketball team,cite web|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/264/story/549933.html|title=News and Observer: Bonfires mark Tar Heels' win (March 5, 2007)] cite web|url=http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/441142.html|title=News and Observer: Radical changes for Chapel Hill celebrations] although other Franklin Street celebrations have stemmed from wins by the women's basketball team and women's soccer team. Upon the event the men's basketball team team reaches the national championship game, local stores are known to halt sales of Carolina-blue paint to avoid a repeat of the 1993 jamboree which resulted in Franklin Street being painted blue by celebrating fans.cite web|url=http://www.sportsfanmagazine.com/sfm/articles.html?id=1415|title=Sports Fan Magazine - Students paint Franklin Street Carolina blue]
*Halloween: Franklin Street is most notable for its Halloween celebration which occurs annually on October 31. Tens of thousands of all age groups attend the event each year; nearly 80,000 attended in 2004.cite web|url=http://www.ci.chapel-hill.nc.us/index.asp?NID=127|title=Town of Chapel Hill: Halloween] The event is not town sponsored and the town actually discourages out-of-towners from attending; yet, an influx of non-residents descend on the town each year despite the town's suggestion.cite web|url=http://gradschool.unc.edu/Weiss/interesting_place/lifestyles/halloween.html|title=UNC GradSchool - Lifestyles: Halloween on Franklin Street] In an attempt to promote order during the event the Town of Chapel Hill now closes the street to traffic after 8:00 p.m. on Halloween and directs visitors to satellite parking decks around the town, from where buses can shuttle tourists to the main event area.cite web|url=http://townofchapelhill.org/index.asp?NID=878|title=Town of Chapel Hill: Halloween 2005 Parking] Attendees of the event typically dress in costume and stroll Franklin Street enjoying the wide array of festive atire and snapping photos.

Issues

Franklin Street has had problems in 2007 with an increased amount of loitering and panhandling, which has been attributed to an increasing homeless population in Chapel Hill and the nearby location of a homeless shelter.cite web|url=http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/media/storage/paper885/news/2007/07/12/City/Littering.Raises.Concerns.In.Town-2922777.shtml|title=Loitering raises concerns in town] The town has vowed to move the homeless shelter to another location, but has not yet done so. At least two property owners have said that they will move the locations of their businesses.cite web|url=http://blogs.newsobserver.com/orangechat/index.php?title=is_there_any_good_place_for_a_men_s_home&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1|title=Is there any good place for a men's homeless shelter?] cite web|url=http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-872327.cfm?|title=Another business planning to move]

ee also

*Hillsborough Street
*U.S. Route 15-501 in North Carolina

External links

* [http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/staticpages/index.php/triangle.htm The World Music Central guide to Chapel Hill] . For cultural travelers shopsinterested in local roots music, venues, CD , instrument makers, etc.
* [http://htyp.org/index.php/US/NC/Chapel_Hill HTYP: Chapel Hill, NC] (wiki-based directory)
* [http://orangepolitics.org OrangePolitics] Multi-author blog about progressive politics in the Chapel Hill area, founded by local activist Ruby Sinreich.
* [http://www.UNCCH.info Uniting Neighbors of Carrboro and Chapel Hill] .

References