A Ghost of Christmas Past
Photographing Raleigh’s Fayetteville St. Christmas Decorations
Holiday decorations on Fayetteville Street, Christmas 1965
A few nights ago John Morris and I visited Fayetteville St. and were bedazzled by the glittering Christmas lights lining the street.
I reminisced with John about the annual Raleigh Christmas parade which was held at night back in the 1960s (rather than on Saturday morning as it is now). My family would all head downtown for that event, and while Mom went shopping, Dad took my brothers and me to watch the parade.
We always staked out the corner at the Olivia Raney Library and Capitol Square. From that vantage point we could enjoy the parade as it made its way up Hillsboro St., passed in front of the library before heading around the Square and then down Fayetteville St.
Afterwards, we would walk down Fayetteville St. to meet up with Mom. I remember being awestruck by the shimmering spectacle of the thousands of colored Christmas lights.
I related to John how I attempted back in 1965 to photograph the view down Fayetteville St. of the Christmas decorations at night. I found, however, that to my dismay, trying to capture all the colored lights on film was beyond the scope of my Kodak Instamatic camera.
Ultimately, the photograph ended up among the shuffle of the hundreds of photos I cranked out with my Instamatic back then. I only just recently ran across it again after all these years.
Holiday decorations on Fayetteville Street, Christmas 2008.
When I joined the Goodnight Raleigh team as a contributor about six months ago, I knew very little about digital photography, and even less about shooting photos at night.
In order to bring me up to speed as far as taking photos for this blog, John has been instructing me in the craft of nighttime photography. So, the other night when we were on Fayetteville St., I set up my tripod and took this present-day shot, trying to replicate the viewpoint of my earlier attempt of more than 40 years ago. Not bad for a novice, but I think I have a few more lessons ahead of me, don’t you?
In the coming new year be sure to look for future posts by Raleigh Boy on Goodnight Raleigh. I will be featuring, among other topics, the old Meredith College Building site, the demolition of Hugh Morson High School, moving the old State Bank building and my early years at Christ Church. All these posts will showcase my old black and white (and a few in color) Kodak photos of these sites, and will be accompanied by my 21st century nighttime recreations.
Happy Holidays, bloggers and fellow Raleighites!
The State Capitol at Christmas, 2008
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12/19/2008
Thanks for the post. It’s a real treat, as always, to get to see these vintage photos contrasted with present-day photos of the city. Merry Christmas!
12/19/2008
Thanks for the kind words, Pineview! Be sure to check out my posts next year for more Raleigh “then and now.” And Merry Christmas to you too, and Happy New Year!
12/19/2008
Raleigh Boy – I have to agree with Pineview. My favorite posts are always the ‘then and now’ ones, and having a night shot from the 60s contrasted with a current one is a real treat!
Glad you’re on board and I’m very grateful for what you’ve been able to share with readers of the blog. Merry Christmas to you, and looking forward to what you have in store for 2009!
12/19/2008
Hey thanks man! And thanks to you for bringing me on board! Looking forward to developing my skill with the camera and bringing more of Raleigh “then and now” to Goodnight Raleigh! Merry Christmas, and all the best for the New Year!
12/19/2008
Great pictures!
Along with the Christmas lights, I like seeing the lit up signs along Fayetteville St. Bring back the night time parade!
12/21/2008
Hey thanks Leo! And I’m with you on lighted store signs…Gotta love that neon! Ditto on a night time Christmas parade too! The memory of that has stuck with me way longer than any of the daytime versions.
12/23/2008
Wonder what movie was playing at the Ambassador that night?
I echo all the “thanks” here for sharing your photos with us. You’re a bit older than I am, but I too was born and raised here in Raleigh, so I remember a lot of long-gone entities your old photos so wonderfully document. Did you happen to get any photos of the wonderful windows at Hudson-Belk? I remember standing on the sidewalk for hours staring at them.
Remember the Hudson-Belk secret shop for kids and the magical Christmas Tree that would decorate itself while you watched? I must have bought gallons of horrible-smelling perfumes and colognes there for my mom and dad who accepted them all with a hug and an “Oooh, that smells so good!” I bet my dad still has some of those bottles in his bathroom.
Remember the big silver singing Christmas tree at Cameron Village? Santa Claus’ little house just outside of J.C. Penny and getting the plastic Santa rings after you talked to him? Remember the lone white star on top of Dix Hill? The huge nativity mural on the side of the Occidental Life building on Wade Avenue? Mr. Cross’ yard on New Bern Avenue?
I suppose we’re lucky we still have the WRAL tower.
Merry Christmas to all . . . and to all a GOOD-NIGHT, Raleigh!
12/26/2008
Hey thanks for the comments and for sharing your memories, NCSU, and Merry Christmas to you too! I do remember the Hudson Belk display windows, but unfortunately, no pics! I don’t remember the self-decorating Christmas tree, though, nor the singing silver tree at Cam Vill…they both sound awesome! I think I do recall the little Santa’s House and the Nativity Scene at the Occidental Building. Anything with a building in it seems to stick out in my mind! And Mr Cross’ yard>> was that at the corner of Dickens and New Bern? There always was a fabulous display there. Anyway, thanks for the comments and be sure to keep an eye out for more of my photos in 2009!
12/27/2008
I remember the Occidental Life decorations. I worked there in the 1970s. That was a beautiful buildiing, worthy of a post, RB.
12/17/2010
Thanks for these photos and the trip down Memory Lane. Ah yes…those Hudson-Belk window displays were really something, especially to little kids. Just going to see those displays at night was reason enough to make a trip downtown. They seemed to be more elaborate with each passing year. And the Christmas parades at night…seems like they were always on a Monday night and it would be sooo cold. When the bare-legged majorettes and bare-shouldered beauty queens on floats would pass by, my mom would always say “Tsk tsk, those poor girls must be freezing. You can see the goosebumps on their arms and legs.” My grandfather had an office in the (long-gone) Security Bank Building on Fayetteville St. and when we were pre-schoolers, we’d go up to his office and view the parade from there where it was warm. I don’t recall Santa’s house at Cameron-Village JC Penney’s (I may have outgrown Santa visits by then); the Santa I visited was located in the basement of Sears which stood in the current Harris-Teeter location on Oberlin Road. I have a photo of myself at age 5 sitting on Santa’s lap.
Happy Holidays to all!
12/26/2013
AFTER I GOT OUT OF THE US AIR FORCE IN 1952, I WORKED AT WILLIAMS DANIELS CAMERA SHOP (THE HOME OF SIR WALTER PHOTO SERVICE)ON WEST HARGETT STREET.. DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THE GREAT BIG KODAK SIGN THAT HE HAD OUT FRONT ??? OR A PHOTO OF IT ??? I ALSO WORKED AT CAROLINA RIM AND WHEEL ON SOUTH BLOUNT STREET FOR SEVERAL YEARS… I HAVE LOTS OF FOND MEMORIES OF RALEIGH… UNTIL I WAS 18 YEARS OLD, I LIVED ALL OVER CENTRAN NORTH CAROLINA.. FROM ZEBULON WEST TO NEWTON(WHERE I WAS BORN)AND FROM REIDSVILLE SOUTH TO ABERDEEN…. THE LONGEST I WAS ANYWHERE WAS FROM 1937 TO 1942, IN ABERDEEN AND PINE BLUFF.. FROM 10 TO 15 YEARS, STILL THE HAPPIEST TIMES OF MY 86 YEARS !!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!!! RIGHT NOW IT IA ABOUT 1/2 HOUR AWAY FROM DECEMBER 26 !!
12/26/2013
Claude,
William Daniels is where my Dad got all his film developed and printed. I have lots of old photo envelopes from there!
Your Kodak sign is on this web page, about halfway down. You might see some other downtown signs there that you’ll remember!
http://www.harrellsign.com/Galleries/signs-old-historical-pictures.php
07/25/2014
enjoyed the photos and info. about the raleigh christmas parade as it was held at nighttime in the 60;s.
my friend brian and i got to see the parade from
the top of a bldg. called tire sales and service,
where my friends father worked. very nice memory.
12/21/2015
Great reflection and pictures. I marched in the night time Christmas parade as a member of the safety patrol from elementary school one year. Remember it like it happened yesterday.
Merry Christmas!