Every university campus has them – revered and remarkable points of pride. A campus the size of the University of Georgia (a sturdy 380 buildings on 615 sprawling acres) boasts a bevy of such spots, but among those are a few that stand out, pushed to the forefront by history and prominence. They are the symbols and landmarks that make UGA familiar from afar.

The Arch

If you walk under The Arch as a freshman, legend has it you’ll never graduate.

Sitting at the front of North Campus, across from the bustle of downtown Athens on the corner of Broad Street and College Avenue, the wrought-iron Arch was commissioned in 1858 and patterned after the one located on Georgia’s Great Seal. A representation of the state constitution, The Arch’s columns represent wisdom, justice and moderation. It’s incorporated into the official university logo and its image is seen on just about anything the university produces. Originally it held heavy gates that were closed to secure the campus, but they disappeared sometime around 1885. In 1946, two electric lights were added to the top, and it was moved about six feet away from the street.

According to legend, university alumnus Daniel Huntley Redfearn (Class of 1910) arrived in Athens in the early 1900s with only a trunk, a suitcase and less than $200. As he approached The Arch for the first time, he vowed he would not walk under it until he had a diploma in hand. He kept his word, even as a freshman hazing ritual called for him to run with classmates under The Arch in his underwear before the Georgia Tech football game (He ran with his classmates, but ran around The Arch).

One of his professors learned of the promise and announced it to his classes, starting the tradition – which became limited to freshmen – that holds to this day. Redfearn never forgot the inspiration he found in The Arch and provided in his will that $1,000, the original cost of The Arch, be used for its maintenance and care.

North Campus Quad

Debaters and athletes roamed these parts, marked by sundials for speeches that never were, and bells for winners only.

Walk through The Arch and the green space opens up, dotted by oak and elm trees, surrounded by buildings marking UGA’s beginnings. Past the Holmes/Hunter Academic Building stands Demosthenian Hall (1824), a meeting spot for members of the Demosthenian Literary Society, a society founded in 1803 for the promotion of extemporaneous speaking. In 1820, some members broke with the society and formed the Phi Kappa Literary Society, simply known by Demosthenians as the “Society across the way.” Phi Kappa Hall’s (1836) first floor once served as the university’s first real gymnasium in 1888. During the Civil War, the building was converted by federal troops into the headquarters for the provost-marshal government. Today the two societies hold periodic debates from their second-floor meeting halls.

Built in 1832, the Chapel was once the main center of campus activities. A daily religious service, which students were required to attend, was held there, as were assemblies and commencements. A Bell Tower originally crowned the roof, but in 1913 was found to be rotten and was removed. The bell, which rang for chapel, for the beginning and end of class, and in emergencies, was placed at the top of a wooden tower at the back of the Chapel. Now the bell is rung only to mark athletic victories or other special occasions. A sundial in front of the Chapel marks the site of Toombs Oak. A senator and Confederate general, Robert Toombs began his career by being expelled from the university in 1825. As the story goes, he reappeared at commencement and spoke so eloquently under the oak tree that the audience left the Chapel to hear him. The incident, first recounted in a by Henry W. Grady (class of 1868), sounds just like the mercurial, impetuous Toombs — but it never happened.

Old College was modeled after Connecticut Hall at Yale University and completed in 1806. For many years it was the only major university building, serving students as a dormitory, dining hall and classroom and providing office space for faculty. By the end of the building’s first century the mortar holding the exterior brick was so eroded the structure was declared unsafe. Proposals to demolish the building were rejected and in 1908 the state legislature allotted $10,000 for a renovation. Originally called Franklin College in honor of Benjamin Franklin, the building was named Old College to distinguish it from subsequent newer buildings.

New College, built in 1823 but burnt to the ground in 1830, was rebuilt in 1832 and has served as a dormitory, library, classroom building, snack bar, bookstore and pharmacy building. Since the 1960s, the building has housed the office of the Dean of Franklin College. It underwent a $3 million makeover in the summer of 2009.

Sanford Stadium

Surrounded by hedges, it hosts Georgia victories, Olympic gold medal games and the remains of six mascots.

Sitting in the heart of campus, Sanford Stadium (D3) has welcomed a steady stream of visitors since Oct. 12, 1929, when an overflow crowd of 30,000 watched Vernon ‘Catfish’ Smith lead the Bulldogs to a 15-0 blanking of Yale. Through the years Sanford has added lights and seats, tripling in capacity and becoming a beacon for 92,746 spectators on Fall Saturdays.

But one aspect has remained constant since that Yale game – the sweeping hedges that outline the playing field. The idea to put hedges around the field came from Charlie Morton, a business manager in the Athletic Department. He said he received inspiration for the idea during a visit to the Rose Bowl, where he saw the hedge of roses in that stadium. Roses were not a suitable choice for Athens’ climate, so privet hedges were used. “Between the Hedges” was born.

Named for the late S.V. Sanford, former university president and Chancellor of the university system, Sanford was initially open-ended on the East and West sides. Lights were added in 1940, and in 1981 the East end was enclosed and lights were attached to the upper level. A decade later the West end was closed, and expansions in 2003 and 2004 added a second upper deck on the north side and 27 SkySuites.

In 1996, Sanford hosted the medal round of the Olympic men’s and women’s soccer competition. Because the required dimensions of a soccer field are larger than for an American football field, the hedges were removed. In preparation, cuttings were taken from the original hedges and cultivated at a secret off-site location for years prior to the Olympics. Nigeria and the United States won the men’s and women’s gold medals, respectively, at the hedge-less stadium. But once the Games were over, the newly-grown hedges were transplanted from their off-site location to the stadium.

Also planted in Sanford, one of the few college stadiums in which the football field is oriented to face East-West as opposed to North-South, are Ugas I-IX, the university’s mascot. The descendants of the original white Bulldog are buried or entombed in the stadium’s southwest corner.

The Main Library

If you can’t find the information here, it can’t be found.

Through its eight floors of shelf after shelf of books, magazines, microfilms and documents, the Main Library (B3) is a targeted place of study on the edge of North Campus. The Main Library collects material in arts and humanities, social sciences and business, but also contains a large government documents collection, media department, and a microform collection.

A music research collection is on the 7th floor, while the Digital Library of Georgia is based in the building as well.

For years the library housed several special collections, but in later 2011 these collections will move to the Richard B. Russell Special Collections Library, located off Baxter Street near the Miller Learning Center. The 115,000 square foot building will hold The Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, which consists of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library (120,000 rare books on a variety of subjects as well as six million items of family papers, diaries and letters), the Georgiana Collection (documents on the ongoing history of Georgia) and the University of Georgia Archives.

Tate Student Center, Miller Learning Center and UGA Bookstore

Eat, study, watch movies, study, drink coffee, study, play video games, study…

Located across from Sanford Stadium, the Tate Student Center provides facilities, services, and programs for the university community. Named for former Dean of Men William Tate, the center debuted in 1983 and is open seven days a week when classes are in session. It contains student organization and staff offices, an information desk, movie theater, National Student Exchange office, food service areas, a print and copy service, post office, business office, UGACard office, study lounge, TV lounges, and meeting, conference, and multipurpose rooms. It also houses office space for student organizations and WUOG, the university’s radio station.

The Tate Center addition was completed in the summer of 2009. The $60 million expansion includes a parking deck, three floors featuring seating, meeting rooms and a large event venue, print and copy services, a food court and an amphitheater.

Outside Tate is the University of Georgia Bookstore and contains Georgia souvenirs, books, UGA apparel and supplies.

Just beyond the bookstore is the Miller Learning Center, a 200,000-square foot electronic library and classroom facility. Built in 2003, the MLC combines an electronic library with research and study space. Study rooms are available for group project work, and a non-circulating collection of books are available for use in the MLC’s Reading Room.

A digital media lab is available to edit digital audio and video for multimedia projects and librarians and a computer consultants staff service desks to help with all aspects of research needs. In addition to research and computer assistance, the MLC hosts a Writing Center and tutoring in several core subjects as well as a Jittery Joe’s, for those looking for a caffeine pick-me-up.