The Lyceum Building (NC25.2) stands to the west at the head of the circle. South of it, the Old Chemistry Building (1923), now Brevard Hall, was designed by Theodore C. Link of Link and Trueblood (Wilbur T. Trueblood) and is a work of Beaux-Arts classicism. Around the circle, moving north and clockwise from the Lyceum, the George Peabody Building (1913), also Beaux-Arts classical, is by Bem Price, a Birmingham practitioner and graduate of the university. Northeast of Peabody stands Fulton Chapel (1927), a pristine example of twentieth-century Palladianism with a Tower of the Winds portico designed by Price and C. H. Lindsley. On the circle east of Pea-body, Bryant Hall (1911; Harry N. Austin; pictured below) has an impressive giant-order portico with imaginative Ionic capitals. These five buildings say much about the character of the remainder of the campus, where classical architecture in general and classical columns in particular are dominant. Southeast of Bryant, the YMCA Building (and former chapel, 1853) now houses the Croft Institute for International Studies. Evidence suggests that William Nichols designed this building, loosely modeling it on an Italian Renaissance palazzo. Farther southeast stands Ventress Hall (NC25.3).
In 2008, the Circle was designated a National Historic Landmark because of the tumultuous events that occurred here when James Meredith became the first person of color to enroll in the university. In the fall of 1962, Meredith’s impending arrival attracted every manner of onlooker, curiosity seeker, and troublemaker, many of them armed. On September 29, rioting broke out on the Circle, and two people died. After negotiating with Governor Ross Barnett, U.S. marshals escorted Meredith onto the campus, where he first attended classes on October 2. He graduated in 1963. Southwest of the Lyceum Building stands a bronze statue (2006) of Meredith approaching a stone doorway.