The university's campus expansion eastward culminated with the 18-story Capstone residence hall and conference center, originally built to house USC's upper-level and graduate students. Construction of the high-rise building angered nearby residents at the time who objected to the noise, traffic and parking problems they believed the building would bring. Then-USC President Thomas Jones was intrigued with revolving restaurants, and a platform and mechanism originally built for the 1964-65 New York World's Fair were acquired and placed atop Capstone, 175 feet above the ground. Thus, Carolina became the only university in the country to own a revolving restaurant. Capstone was so named because President Jones believed its high-achieving student residents were the "crowning stone of the university." Today, the residence hall is home to the university's Capstone Scholars, a cohort of freshmen and sophomores with stellar high school academic achievement.
Capstone Residence Hall »Building Abbreviation: CAPSTN