Walter M. Williams High School - Facilities

Facilities

One of the most historically architecturally unique high school buildings still in use in North Carolina, it is three stories tall, centered around an interior courtyard area now used for parking. Unique in architectural style, it is reminiscent of the classic industrial-like high school architecture representative of the 1950s. The main academic building consists of three wings: the Main Wing, the East Wing, and the West Wing. From above, the building looks like a dogbone.

The main wing includes the cafeteria, the historic academic hall, and classrooms. The east wing includes office facilities, the media center, classrooms, and the Academy of Finance. The west wing includes science and home economics classrooms.

The cafeteria (lunchroom) is furnished like a 1950s diner. When the school was originally constructed, the cafeteria's service area contained separate restrooms for "white and colored help", thus accounting for two sets of men's and women's restrooms being located virtually side by side. After a renovation in the summer of 2009, the cafeteria was outfitted with four HDTV televisions that display menus.

Just off the south hall of the second floor of the West Wing is what was initially designed as the Home Economics Suite, designed to provide a "homelike" area for home economics (family and consumer sciences) instruction, and includes a replicated living room area (now used as a faculty workroom/conference room), complete with fireplace, along with a replicated bedroom (which now serves as an assistant principal's office) and dining room, which now serves as a faculty office. This area adjoins the room in which food service classes are taught. The door leading into the area resembles that of a front door to a home.

The auditorium is one of the largest auditoriums in North Carolina, with more seats than auditoriums at many major universities (UNCG's Aycock Auditorium was originally built to seat only a hundred or so than the Williams auditorium seats). The "auditorium seats over 2100 and includes a balcony that makes it reminiscent of a traditional downtown theatre. Because it is the largest facility of its kind in Alamance County, the auditorium is used for many outside performances and graduations, as well as Williams' school functions" ("Williams High Auditorium" greeting card, back side). At the time of construction, it was said to be second only to Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium in terms of seating capacity. includes a pipe organ donated by the Williams', a rarity among even older high schools, which is generally used only during commencement exercises. Its dedicatory concert was performed by world-renowned concert organist Virgil Fox on October 19, 1951. The Burlington newspaper billed the organ as one of "the largest organ installations in the South." French organist Pierre Cochereau has performed there as well. The auditorium was the first part of the facility to be completed, and was used for the Burlington High School Class of 1951's commencement ceremony before the completion of the rest of the building. Thrice in the 1950s, the Miss North Carolina Pageant was held here.

During the early years of the school, there was a designated student "smoking room" where students, with parental permission, were allowed to go smoke after lunch. Students were required to show a red card to the faculty members (later student government officers) that supervised the room.

A street known as "Bulldog Alley" intersects the campus, with the main school building on the east side of the street, with major athletic facilities on the west side of the street.

The third part of the main building to be constructed is the Spikes Gymnasium. The gymnasium was named in honor of Dr. Lewis Everett Spikes on June 13, 1993. Dr. Spikes served as Superintendent of the Burlington City Schools from 1936 to 1963.

Athletic facilities include the Tommy Spoon Memorial Field House (named in memory of a star member of the football team and former athletic director who died in the late 1990s), the Kernodle football field, and the 10,000 seat Burlington City Schools stadium.

The campus is also known for its vast front lawn that faces South Church Street. The area, which is protected from development by city ordinance, hosts youth soccer events and is a seating area for community fireworks displays.

Renovations begun during the summer of 2008 on the Second Floor have vastly improved the library facilities, as well as lighting. Renovations are expected to continue on the remainder of the main building over the next several summers.