Reminiscences of a Raleigh Boy, Part 3: Fayetteville Street
Part 3: Raleigh’s Main Street
Briggs Hardware (1874) on Fayetteville Street in 1965
Briggs Hardware 2008, now home of the City History Museum. Next door is the former Boylan Pearce department store with its recently restored Beaux Arts facade.
200 block of Fayetteville St showing the Tucker Building and the Post Office on the left
200 block in 2008
View toward the Capitol from the 100 block, 1966. With the exception of the two state government buildings at the end, all the structures in this view are gone.
In 2008; Looks beautiful at night, doesn’t it?
Close up of east side of the street in the 1966 view.
Last night.
View toward the 200 block from the alley between the (old) Wachovia building on the right and “Lenin’s Tomb” on the left.
The view today. The alley was closed during the mall period.
The lower floors of ” Raleigh’s Little Seagram Building” and the 1960s facade of Hudson Belk.
Same view today.
The east side of the 200 and 300 blocks in 1966 showing the (old) Wachovia building, “Lenin’s Tomb” and the block of 19th century storefronts where the RBC building is now going up.
If Capitol Square was the hub of Raleigh, then Fayetteville Street was its strongest spoke. For most of its existence and well into the 20th century this broad thoroughfare was the commercial and governmental axis of the city. Along its course were Raleigh’s principal businesses, hotels, banks, office buildings and government centers.
My fondest recollections of Raleigh’s “Main Street†span a period from the late 1950s through the mid 1960s. In those days I would often accompany Mom downtown when she went shopping, or I would catch a movie at the Ambassador Theater with my brothers. In the mid 60s I began exploring Fayetteville St on my own. During my downtown forays with my two Hugh Morson pals, I always carried my trusty Kodak Instamatic camera with me, of course.
I have always had an interest in architecture, and Fayetteville St was a veritable gold mine of architectural styles, at least it was to my young eyes. It seemed every style of American architecture was on display, from the dignified Greek Revival Capitol building at the head of the street to the flamboyant 19th century Italianate storefronts in the 200 block, to the massive stone Second Empire style post office building anchoring the corner at Martin St. Buildings in the Beaux Arts, Art Deco and 1940s Moderne styles were all represented. And of course at the foot of the street sat the imposing, yet graceful Neoclassical Revival Memorial Auditorium.
In the mid 60s Fayetteville St showcased various representations of mid 20th century modern architecture as well. These included the cast-stone-paneled Wachovia building in the 200 block, and the modernist polished black granite NCNB bank adjacent to it (which I called “Lenin’s Tomb.â€). Down the street in the 300 block next to Hudson Belk is the International style BB&T Bank building, which I affectionately referred to as “Raleigh’s Little Seagram Building.â€
I think I must have taken photos of every building along Fayetteville St. in those days. And good thing too, as many of them have since disappeared, including the terra cotta encrusted Tucker Building at the corner of Martin St across from the post office, and the grandiose columned 1915 Wake County Court House. Dozens of 19th century storefronts are gone, too. (Construction of the current Wachovia Building wiped out virtually the entire 100 block of Fayetteville St, with its office tower on one side and the parking deck on the other.)
But all that was a long time ago. After 30 comatose years as a pedestrian mall, Fayetteville Street has been opened up and its signature vista from the Capitol to Memorial Auditorium restored. Now the street is lined again with new landmark buildings, and is regaining its place as an architectural showcase.
Raleigh’s Main Street is becoming once again our City’s strongest spoke.
07/15/2008
Wow! That’s pretty cool. I happened to notice the street lights in the older pics. I didn’t know that made that style back in the 60’s. They must have recently been installed. Interstingly enough, the ones that are used now look more retro.
07/17/2008
Awesome stuff.
09/06/2008
Great photos! I only barely remember the 1960s, but the “look” is a wonderful reminder of my childhood, and certainly jibes with my downtown memories of the early ’70s.
Where did the “Lenin’s Tomb” nickname come from? That building doesn’t seem to me to resemble the actual tomb?
09/08/2008
Thanks for the comment Bootes. I used to nickname everything back then (still do to some extent!) You gotta remember this was the ’60s and I was a teenager living during the cold war era. Lenin’s Tomb (the original in Moscow, that is) was a strong image in this Raleigh Boy’s young mind. Surely you’ve seen the photos of all the Communist party bosses lined up along the roof saluting nuclear missles during the annual Red Square May Day parade! So when the NCNB building was built in 1964 I remember thinking: big, monolithic, polished black granite>> It looks just like Lenin’s Tomb! And that name has stuck with me ever since!
05/29/2009
My memories are from the late 30’s and early 40’s . There were two old muzzle loading cannons at the entrance to the Capitol. After going to the Ambassidor I would cut through the bookstore to a bakery on the next street to buy a cream filled pastry. I think these were called Napoleons.
09/20/2009
where exactly was the ambassador theater and what is in its place now?
09/20/2009
Jim — The Ambassador Theater stood in the 100 block, east side, of Fayetteville St. You can just make it out in the 3rd and 4th ‘then and now’ photo sets above. It was demolished in the mid 1990s, along with all the buildings in that block down to the Enterprise Properties Building, and replaced with the Wachovia Building parking deck. A stone monument dedicated to President Andrew Johnson, a Raleigh native, used to stand on the sidewalk in front of the Ambassador.
http://goodnightraleigh.com/2009/01/another-memorial-marker-returns-sort-of/
10/18/2009
I remember a bronze clock with multiple faces outside the Wachovia bank. Is the smokestack of one of the ironclads still at the Hall Of History? The Merrimac maybe?
Leon
10/18/2009
yes, Leon — I remember the bronze clock too, but only vaguely. It hung in front of the Security National Bank, located across Fayetteville from the Sulivanesque styled Wachovia Bank. By 1962 NCNB occupied the Security Bldg. NCNB demolished the Security bldg in 1963 and built ‘Lenin’s Tomb’ on the site in 1964.
The smokestack you are thinking of was that of the CSA ram iron clad ‘Albemarle.’ Built in 1863 near Scotland Neck on the Roanoke River, it sank during combat the next year. The smokestack was salvaged, and for decades it was on display at the ‘Hall of History’ in Raleigh. It is now at the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
12/18/2009
I’m an architectural historian in Tucson (moving to Burlington next year). In the past 5 years that I’ve lived here I’ve seen several of our neat older buildings come down, even though there’s a growing preservation movement here. I have made friends with a couple of the demolion co’s in town that let me know when a building is coming down so that I can photograph it and make up a history. There used to be a requirement in the building code that if a building was over 50 years old, historically significant or not, a survey had to be done. It was taken out and not put back in another part of the code, as they promised. We’ve lost several buildings in the past year that have been missed getting recorded. Thanks for the great before/after photos. Beautiful shots.
12/26/2009
Raleigh Boy….thanks for yet another trip down Memory Lane. Seeing the photo of the old Belk’s store reminds me of the spectacular (by Raleigh standards) window displays they always had during the Christmas season—reason enough to make a special trip downtown at night just to see them.
04/29/2013
Raleigh Boy
My name is David Paul. I build molds for the cast stone and precast industry. I have been assigned the task of recreating the medalions on the BOYLAN-PEARCE bldg. As always they want to do an exact replica but nobody has any drawings or clear pictures of the facade. If there is anything that you might help with it would be deeply appreciated.
04/30/2013
David:
I’m a friend of Raleigh Boy’s and have been working with him on photos from the archives on another project. He turned me on to the archives photo collections on Flickr. There is a set of photos of the Boylan-Pearce building there:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/north-carolina-state-archives/8619390123/in/set-72157633167853684
I am very interested in your project! I am of Pearce ancestry and recently discovered, because of the news on the building, that my 2nd cousin was J.B. Pearce, who co-founded the store.
Good luck! I think you’ll find a few useful pics there. RaleighBoy may have even more…
04/30/2013
Wow, Phil and David, so interesting! I worked at Lerner Shops off and on during high school, had no idea what was under the exterior facade and interior drywall upstairs. The only clue I had that something interesting was going on was the ancient Coke machine in the breakroom downstairs.
I’m watching Mr. Selfidge on PBS on Sundays. Those interior photos of the store are totally reminiscent of that era in retail history.
Efird’s on Fayetteville St. had that same interior retail look.
Thanks for the fascinating link.
05/03/2013
I also worked at Lerner Shops, for a Christmas when I was 18. I remember we had a “layaway” room in the basement that reportedly led to a tunnel that went completely under Fayetteville St. I don’t remember whether or not that was fact, but presumably could have been so.
05/03/2013
There’s actually a network of (rather nasty) tunnels under Fayetteville St. When I interned at the Raleigh Times they sent me down there for a story. Homeless people were living down there. Really creepy. Spiders, roaches, I’m sure, rats. Smelled like mold. Had to use a big flashlight. I wonder if there are any photos or literature concerning these tunnels. As I recall, I accessed a tunnel under a store on Wilmington St. that led to Belk’s. The tunnels were dug to access ancient utility lines, gas lines, etc. I also remember train tracks, maybe to transport merchandise.
I was a little kid in Cleveland, which had an extensive system of tunnels, which they called arcades. They opened up part of the system for shops. My mother knew someone who had a shop down there. I still have nightmares about it.
In general, the Lerner Shops setup was a mystery. I tried to explore the upstairs, but they stopped me. Mainly I saw storage. In dark, dank rooms. Who knew those beautiful windows were encased behind drywall.
05/03/2013
Hollywoodgirl, you might be a tad bit older than me, but did you work for a Ms. Baker?
05/03/2013
Yes, I’m very, very old.
Name sounds familiar, but I don’t remember for sure. I worked for many people in the past century, most of whom I have purged from my memory. I mainly worked at night when nobody else wanted to work.
05/03/2013
Well I happened to remember her, she was Lerner’s manager. Now this was over 40 years ago. She once told me to watch those “colored girls” because they shoplift. I asked her “What color are they?”, LOL and she snapped back, “You KNOW what I meant”. My career at Lerner’s was very short.
05/04/2013
When I worked at night, three drag queens would come in to buy panty hose. Maybe there was a club nearby. They would stand at the door-they didn’t want to come all the way into the store-I would go to help them . They would ask for panty hose, I would ask, “What size?” “The biggest you got!” Then they’d hand me their money-still at the Fayetteville St. entrance- I’d go pay their bill at the desk, take their bag and change back to them, they would tell me to keep the change. It took about three visits for me to figure out the panty hose was for them, not some really tall lady.
05/08/2013
They came during my stint also, but they came inside. Everybody was on to it by that time, I guess, and just whispered about it. ;-)
It was welcome entertainment when compared to the usual State employee customers.
05/07/2015
Just seen this post. Mrs Ruby Baker was indeed the manager at Learner. My mother Betty King worked for her in the 1960s. She was also my mothers sister mother inlaw. Do any of you remember my mom.
06/11/2015
Do you have a picture of the Mother and Daughter Department Store? It was on Fayetteville St. near the Wake Co. Courthouse and backed up to Sallisbury Street. My dad took me there once to buy a sun-back dress that I have written a story about? Just curious–can’t find much about Morther and Daughter Dept. store on Google.
Willa
09/07/2015
I am so happy to see these pics! I was a little younger than you, but I do remember most of this stuff. I have such fond memories of going downtown to Belk’s, Ivey’s, Brittain’s, Johnson’s Jewelers, and of course eating lunch at Eckerd’s and the cCapital Room! I am a Raleigh native. Do you remember Yates Auto Service on Person Street? My granddaddy’s sister and her husband owned it, and he worked there. Granddaddy was born born on Salisbury St. and lived on Blount St., etc…He was born in 1893,and didn’t marry til 1934. I have some pics that my grandparents left me. I have a 1926 pic of Wilmont Apts!
09/07/2015
Willa
I remember my grandmother talking about shopping at Efird’s, Mother and Daughter. I think she called Ivey’ the 208 shop.(address) She loved the “dime stores” too!
09/25/2018
Connie,
Efirds was the shop at 208 Fayetteville… it later became Hudson Belk, where most people called it the “208 Shop” to avoid confusion with the main downtown store a few blocks down
04/30/2019
Do you remember Jimmy Simpson’s? We used to go there after school from Hugh Morison to have a soda before we caught our bus home to Woodcrest.
Such fond memories and I felt so grown up back then .
Thanks