UNT Campus Tour

The University of North Texas began in 1890 as a private teacher-training school above a Denton hardware store, and it moved to this hill a year later. The state took it over in 1901, and over the following century it grew into one of the largest universities in Texas, famous for its music program and its Mean Green athletes. This walk starts at the site of the first campus building, visits the oldest one still standing, and follows the pedestrian malls past the administration tower, the eagle sculpture, and the library at the heart of student life.

The University of North Texas grew from remarkably humble roots. In 1890 Joshua C. Chilton started a private teacher-training college in rented rooms in downtown Denton; a year later the city put up a building for it on a ten-acre site, and in 1901 the state took the school over. Over the next century that normal school grew into one of the largest universities in Texas, famous for its music program and its Mean Green athletics.

The campus is full of reminders of that long climb. Curry Hall, completed in 1913 as a fireproof library and gymnasium, is the oldest building still standing on campus, and for decades it housed an eclectic history museum whose holdings ranged from dinosaur bones to a Japanese suit of armor. The Hurley Administration Building and its McConnell Tower went up in the mid-1950s on ground that had once been the college football field.

Students have their own landmarks, too. In High Places, Gerald Balciar's bronze eagle with an 18-foot wingspan, was made for UNT's 1990 centennial and gets dressed up by students for big occasions, while Willis Library, jokingly called "Club Willis" during finals, holds one of the country's most respected music libraries.

It's a lively, story-filled stroll through the heart of Denton's big university.