Leaping Tall Buildings in a Single Bound: Raleigh’s Superman Building
The “Adventures of Superman†television program was a favorite of mine when it was released in syndication in the early 1960s. Who could forget that stirring opening narration: “Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound! …Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!†Well, it left an indelible impression on me, anyway.
For the show’s first season or two, the landmark Art Deco E.M. Wilson Building (1930) in Los Angeles was used to represent the Daily Planet Building.
The E.M. Wilson Building in Los Angeles — aka The Daily Planet
Young as I was, the image of The Daily Planet on our black and white TV reminded me of the Durham Life Insurance Building in downtown Raleigh. As a kid, I nicknamed a number of downtown landmarks which I imagined a certain kinship with. Thus, the (now gone) Meredith/Mansion Park building on Blount St. became “The Castle,†the former BB&T Bank on the corner of Fayetteville and Davie Streets became “The Little Seagram Building,†and across the street the Art Deco Durham Life Building became the “Superman Building.â€
Art Deco as an architectural style was popular in the late 1920s and 1930s for all types of public buildings. It is characterized by bold geometric ornament, vertical composition, setback facades and smooth finishes. The Durham Life Building neatly fits that stylistic model. Designed by Northrup & O’Brien in the late 1930s, construction began in 1940. The towering, steel frame, 15-story, limestone-clad structure is topped by Art Deco-stylized parapets crowning the setbacks of the upper floors. From street level one enters through a soaring 3-story entryway framed with polished granite and into a sumptuous Art Deco lobby, ornamented with polished pink marble, patterned terrazzo flooring, and glistening brass fixtures and mirrors. From my perspective back then, it looked like the Grand Hall of the Wizard of Oz.
When finished in 1942 (a wing was added on the Salisbury St. side in 1947), not only did the Durham Life Building represent a significant break from the typical “classicist†Raleigh office buildings of the 1920s, but featured a brand new technology—central air conditioning. At the time it was built, it was Raleigh’s tallest building, dominating the skyline until 1965 when the International style BB&T Bank was erected across Fayetteville St.
Very few Art Deco style buildings were ever built in Raleigh.* Among the noteworthy survivors, other than the Durham Life Insurance Building, are the E.B. Bain water plant (1940) and the Caswell state office building (1939). But, for me, Raleigh’s majestic Superman Building is by far the superlative.
In this early view of the Durham Life Building the steel framework of the 1947 rear addition can be seen going up. To the right is Wake County’s 1915 beaux arts Court House. Below is the same view today.(Thanks to a reader for supplying me with this archival photo.)
*Only a handful of Art Deco-influenced buildings remain in downtown Raleigh. These include the former Firestone and Rubber Co. garage (1928) at 201 W. Martin and the former CP&L truck maintenance garage at 116 N. West. The Capital Club Building (1930) at the corner of Salisbury and Davie, while not technically Art Deco, does exhibit some elements of that style, such as its verticality and stylized ornamentation. The Raleigh Building on Fayetteville St. was remodeled in 1935 with an Art Deco influence in its lower three floors. As far as I know, that’s about it! Anybody out there know of additional Art Deco buildinings downtown?
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11/13/2008
Love that building! Art deco style is definitely one of my favorites.
Fortunately, there are others in NC. Most notably, Durham’s CCB (now SunTrust) tower and Winston-Salem’s RJ Reynolds tower. Both of those, legend goes, were designed by the same firm as the Empire State Building.
Wouldn’t it be great if Art deco came back? :-)
11/13/2008
^Oh and course Asheville City Hall…how could I forget that one.
11/13/2008
RaleighRob– Thanks for your comment, and you are right: The architectural firm for Durham’s SunTrust (CCB) and Winston-Salem’s RJ Reynolds Buildings was the one and the same as for the Empire State Building — Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates of New York. A listing of some of their major projects is here:
http://www.emporis.com/en/cd/cm/&id=100910
11/22/2008
My childhood best friend’s dad was a stockbroker whose office was on ~ the 8th floor of the Durham life bldg, facing Fayetteville St. Before I was allowed to attend the Christmas Parade on my own, we used to watch at least part of the parade from his dad’s office, windows wide open for a fantastic view. At that time the parade was on the first Monday night after Thanksgiving. You could also go up to the roof (if you knew someone) and look around – then it was the tallest building in the city. There was a ~ a 4ft wall wrapping around the outside, or maybe it was more like a channel. Can’t rightly remember, as the last time I was there was nearly 40 years ago.
– Michael Coxe, who left Raleigh for Silicon Valley in 1978
08/22/2009
My late father, Phil Ellis, used to work in the old Durham Life Building. What fond memories my twin sister, Diane, and I had of running down the basement’s sloping floor, yelling our heads off to hear our echos. then we’d go with Mom to see Daddy, and peer in the window of the studio, and try to make him laugh as he did the news (never worked!) We’d “type” on his typewriter, using yellow copy paper, and when we were bored waiting for Daddy, Diane and would run around and around the post that was in WPTF’s lobby, (Dunno why we didn’t drive the receptionist crazy!) We also loved to go into the old teletype machine room next to the news room, watching it spit out the news at astounding speed. We’d finish our visit by going going down to Honaker’s Restaurant on the first floor and eat some of the best hot dogs ever! At Christmas time, we’d watch from the newsroom window to see the Christmas Parade. Daddy was in the car behind Santa Claus, giving play-by-play of the parade and crowd. All our friends thought we actually knew Santa Claus, and would tell us to tell Daddy what they wanted. I guess they figured who needed to write Santa a letter.