Some pics of Wake Downtown

Yesterday on the Wake Parents and Families Facebook page, I shared a couple of pictures of Wake Downtown, our city campus.  Though Wake Downtown opened this spring, I had not gotten down there to explore the inside of the building until yesterday, though I had heard a lot of great things from students and faculty alike.

So getting there – is totally easy!  There is a shuttle that runs regularly from the front steps of the Benson University Center, and it is not a long trip, maybe 10-15 minutes depending on traffic.  Once you get to Wake Downtown, you will see a lot of wonderfully inviting outdoor tables with umbrellas (and some funky artistic cement that looks like waves – I admit to being a bit dizzy walking on them).  When students go in the building, they need to display their Wake ID at all times.

The building is split half for the School of Medicine and half for undergraduate purposes.  One the undergrad side, there are classrooms and labs, faculty offices, study rooms, and even a couple of big auditorium style rooms.  I heard many students during finals in May who said they would go to Wake Downtown to study, and this would be an ideal spot for that.

Even better, you get to be within a very short walk of a ton of good restaurants and other places downtown. My group and I had lunch at Krankies afterwards (famous for their coffees, but lunch was good), and there will eventually be a downtown version of The Porch, a much-beloved Tex-Mex place a mile or two from campus (and who I swear has the best queso on the planet, completely addictive).

Point is, Wake Downtown is great space for students to spend time, even if they don’t have any classes there. And to be able to walk to any number of great coffeeshops or restaurants downtown (some of my personal favorites are Camino Bakery for great breads and coffees, Atelier on Trade if you want proper French pastries to die for), or to study for the morning and grab an arty movie at a/perture cinema, is a huge bonus. And they can catch the shuttle to/from downtown at very convenient hours.

Here are some pictures from various spots in Wake Downtown. Hope your Deacs take advantage of this amazing addition to our University.

One closing note: the solar eclipse is this coming Monday afternoon. Please urge your Deacs to heed the Student Health Service recommendations about viewing the eclipse. Be safe.