Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
15 <br />NPS Forth 10-900-~ OMB No. 1024-0018 <br />(8-86) <br />United States Department of the Interior , <br />National Park Service <br />NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES <br />CONTINUATION SHEET <br />Section 7 Page 4 Murphey School <br />name of property <br />Orange County, NC <br />county and state ' <br />building and a band of original metal tiles at the building's ridge fine. Three paneled double- <br />doors topped with neoclassical transoms (containing muntins in a star motif) and heavily <br />corniced sun•ounds pierce the facade. Two wooden pilasters that match the square columns <br />flank the three entrances. Also visible are exposed porch ceiling beams in the portico. A brick <br />soldier course separates the building from its continuous foundation. Concrete steps and low <br />brick knee-wall extend north from the portico. <br />The east and west elevations of the auditorium contain a row of tall, arched, slight{y recessed <br />multi-light sash windows surrounded by a border of brick with a cast keystone and springers. The <br />east elevation has a total of four bays; the west elevation has a to#al of six bays. Eacli window has <br />a cast stone sill above a square recessed panet of patterned brickwork with four cast stones <br />accents. <br />The west elevation fenestrat'son is similar to the east elevation with its row of large arched . <br />windows. On the south end of the west elevation is an exit with four-light-over-panel double-doors <br />with around-arched transom at the same height as the windows. Concrete steps with metal <br />railings lead to the double-doors. On the extreme south end of the west elevation is a small .six- <br />over six sash window topped with a gauged arch with cast stone sash. <br />The south elevation is characterized by its classical-style gable roof and boxed cornice with <br />re#urns. An elliptical window with four cast keystones pierces the gable. Two high six-over-six <br />sash windows under gauged brick arches.with cast-stone sills on the outside edges of the <br />elevation illuminate the rear stage rooms. <br />Interior: <br />The auditorium's interior is a vast opeh space of plaster wails dominated by a rounded apron-front <br />paneled wood stage at the south end as well as the Large arched windows on the east and west <br />walls. Plain plastered pilasters extending to paneled ceiling beams stand between each window. <br />Six evenly-spaced original pendant light fixtures hang from the ceiling, (hough same have broken <br />or missing globes. The stage opening is surrounded by a wooden paneling treatment and still <br />retains its original red and gold velvet curtains. Two small backstage rooms, each with vertical <br />beadboard on the walls, are at the east and west sides of the stage. Each room contains a small <br />windovv on the south elevation and has circular stairs leading down to doors to the auditorium's <br />main floor. Two square openings in the south wall near the ceiling flank the stage, and possibly <br />were used for speakers or stage equipment. A wooden baseboard extends around the perimeter <br />of the main room at the intersection of the walls and the maple floors. Three double-door <br />entrances on the north elevation open to the porch. Directly across from each other on the east <br />and west walls near the south end of the auditorium are double-door exits. The ex'rE on the west <br />