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New Legislative Building was a shock to some

Submitted by tleonard on 01/31/2013 - 11:54

As the Legislative Building prepared to host its first General Assembly fifty years ago, visitors and state officials marveled at the modernity of the new building's design.

Some people are going to be shocked by its appearance, but the $6 million State House will eventually be the show place of North Carolina, Secretary of State Thad Eure said.

"I think the building is very fine," Eure told a news conference. "But everybody won't feel that way."

Eure recalled that when the State build the ultra-modern arena at the State Fairgrounds, "it shocked some people. Now I don't know that anyone would want it to go."

[...]

"We're going to have more visitors than ever before to the Legislature," Eure said. Since 1840, the General Assembly has met in the capitol.

Some people who have gotten a sneak look at the building "are highly pleased. Some are shocked." Eure declared.

The five copper domes atop the structure tend to give it a Far East or Oriental appearance.

"I'm satisfied that legislative committees from the other states will be coming here to study our legislative facilities," Eure said. "It's the only one of its kind." -- The News & Observer 1/18/1963

Eure went on to remark on the office space available to the legislators, saying "It's almost unheard of that every member of the General Assembly has a separate office."

Private offices might be nice, but N&O writer Roy Parker Jr. light-heartedly suggested the lawmakers might make use of the building's tropical decor to avoid some of the stresses of the job.

If lobbyists come at them too strong, North Carolina legislators can hide in the Schefflera.

Irate constituents might be avoided by climbing the Florida Palms.

A good hiding place if a controversial roll call is coming might be in the Cibotium Fern.

Or, if the heat is really on, the magnificent Hawaiian Tree Fern offers a deep foliage that can be reached, however, only by swimming the shallow waters of the central rotunda pool. -- The News & Observer 1/16/1963

1359647897 New Legislative Building was a shock to some The News and Observer Copyright 2011 The News and Observer . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Legislative Building was brand new 50 years ago

Submitted by tleonard on 01/30/2013 - 10:17

Tags: Past Times | anniversary | General Assembly | Legislative Building | State House

When the 1963 General Assembly convened, it was in the brand new Legislative Building. Construction of the building had taken two years and cost $6.2 million. The building's architects considered the structure a "bargain" at a cost of $1.20 per Tar Heel citizen.

Features of the new structure included red carpets and a 28-foot diameter terrazzo mosaic of the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina. All this finery caused some to speculate whether lawmakers would be tempted to linger in session, but citizens could rest assured that the historic State Capitol building would not be abandoned.

Will the Old Gray Lady of Capitol Square be overshadowed by her gleaming younger sister down Halifax Street?

Most Tar Heels would say emphatically "no."

The gray granite Capitol building will continue to be a pride of the State, and will continue to serve as useful and important function in State government even though the General Assembly will no longer meet in her 19th century halls but will gather instead in the State House.

Simply because the Governor's offices will continue in the Capitol, it will be an important government structure.

The lawmakers are in town only four months every two years. The chief executive runs Tar Heel government in the meantime. And even working out of the 19th century decor, he will maintain a powerful hold over the gentlemen of the Assembly in their spacious, pyramidal quarters.

As the Assembly leaves it forever, the Capitol hums with gubernatorial activity, and still houses the offices of the Secretary of State and the state Treasurer.

Remaining, too, will be the immense historic tug of the Old Gray Lady, which has been the seat of Tar Heel government for 122 years.

Reflecting its historical value, the House and Senate chambers in the Capitol will be maintained in their present decor by the State Department of Archives and History.

General Services Director George Cherry, whose agency is in charge of Capitol housekeeping, promises she will get loving attention.

Cherry's schedule calls for a complete re-painting of the Capitol interior every three or four years. Her next refurbishing will probably come in 1964.

Her stolid granite superstructure, which periodically greens over with a patina of age, is ageless and needs little attention.

The departure of the Assembly was a blessing for Capitol furnishings, some of which date from Civil War days. They were beginning to show the wear of use. Now, that wear will be prized for its antique value.

The former chambers of the Assembly will probably continue to be used periodically, especially for swearing-in ceremonies, for meetings of the University of North Carolina trustees, and for historic occasions called by the executive branch of government.

The Assembly will leave its historic records in the Capitol. In small third floor offices, row on row of files contain the original acts of the General Assembly, irreplaceable records which are in the charge of the Secretary of State.-- The News & Observer 2/3/1963

One item considered a symbol of legislative government was missing from the modern state house. There would be no spittoons on the terrazzo floors. By 1963, pipe and cigarette smoking had replaced most snuff-sniffing and tobacco chewing habits. Not to mention that spittoons were getting harder to come by. They were mostly considered "antique" items by this time and would not "blend with the building's modernistic style."

1359555840 Legislative Building was brand new 50 years ago The News and Observer Copyright 2011 The News and Observer . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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At UNC: An enrollment cap?

Submitted by eferreri on 06/01/2010 - 09:43

For generations, the notion of an enrollment cap for public universities has long been the third rail of higher education politics - something nobody has wanted to touch.

But a special provision in State House's spending proposal, released last weeks, dares to go there. It suggest a 1 percent cap on enrollment at the state's public universities, an unprecedented notion that has university leaders vexed.

Though plenty of other fiscally-challenged states are turning to enrollment caps or are even lowering student headcount, the idea is a tough one here in North Carolina, which has long held two core education principles dear: access and affordability.

But the House budget writers who broached the cap say it is a necessary step in order to provide some better enrollment planning.

House budget would kill funding for troubled NCCU program

Submitted by eferreri on 05/28/2010 - 09:06

The proposed budget for higher education released this week by the state House would end state financing for a project run by N.C. Central University that is currently under investigation by state auditors.

About $527,000 for the Historically Minority Colleges and Universities Consortium, administered by NCCU, would be shifted to a dropout prevention initiative within the state's Department of Public Instruction.

That shift would remove all state funding for the NCCU project, which is the subject of a current state audit after officials on the NCCU campus found evidence that a former employee may have embezzled funds from it.

The program also receives state and federal funds. An NCCU official said Thursday the loss of state funding wouldn't necessarily be the program's death knell because it does receive other funding as well.

1275052137 House budget would kill funding for troubled NCCU program The News and Observer Copyright 2011 The News and Observer . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.