The More We Get Together: Knobloch Campus Center Turns 20

November 22, 2021

College union—the name says it all. It’s more than a building; it’s a buzzing hive of activity for students looking to study, meet up with friends, grab a bite to eat, reflect on local and global events, or organize around a cause.

The vision for Davidson College’s Knobloch Campus Center expanded upon the college’s dedicated union space to create vibrant spaces where students and members of the community could enjoy the best entertainment and make the most of serendipitous encounters. The center’s 122,000-square-feet include the Alvarez College Union and the Duke Family Performance Hall.

The college community celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Knobloch Campus Center this week with food, live music and fun, capturing the spirit of togetherness and community the center has embodied for two decades.

Take a stroll down memory lane in photos, through campus gathering spaces past and present.


The 1980s

In the early 1980s, the program of the Union Board broadened. The Board also continued to sponsor major concerts, including the Police, REM, The Thompson Twins and The Fixx.

C. Shaw Smith ’39 left his longtime position as the College Union’s first director in 1983. It was his imagination and creative spark that brought an incredibly wide-ranging program, from major concerts with big name artists to off-the-wall activities, such as watching the tomato rot.

College Union Entertainment Charles King 1982 Archive Collection
College Union Entertainment Charles King Speaking 1982 Archive Collection

Johnston Gymnasium

Built in 1948, the building was originally a gymnasium named for Charles Worth Johnston, class of 1884. The last Davidson varsity basketball game was played in the gymnasium on February 25, 1989.

 

1989 Poster to Celebrate Johnston Gym Final Basketball Game from the archive
Johnston Gymnasium Postcard Front From the Archive

Alvarez College Union

In a speech at the dedication of the Alvarez College Union, then-Union Board President Will Parker shared the superlatives students used to describe the new Alvarez College Union: among them, “nerve center,” “full of color,” “wonderfully spacious,” “unifying,” and “a destination.”


Sept. 11 in the College Union

Students packed into the Alvarez College Union on the night of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Members of the college community passed a microphone and took turns at a podium in the center of the first floor where they expressed their disbelief and grief, and shared messages of unity.

Then-President Bobby Vagt '69 cancelled the dedication of the brand-new college union, which had been slated for Sept. 13.

September 11, 2001 Students Gather in the College Union Archive Collection

20th Anniversary Celebration

Celebrating the Knobloch Campus Center's 20th anniversary with food, live music and fun, capturing the spirit of togetherness and community the center has embodied for two decades.

20th Anniversary Celebration of the Alvarez College Union November 2021