Raleigh’s ‘Second Round Building’ — the Holiday Inn (Downtown) [Updated]
A few weeks ago we published a postcard depicting Raleigh’s Woman’s Club on Hillsboro St. in the 1940s. This Holiday Inn, the “area’s first round inn,” was built on the site in 1969.
Thursday 11.30 pm
Aloha: –
Got here OK for 1st lap. Tomorrow will try for Jacksonville. Weather mostly cloudy — rain.
Grandpa
No stamp — looks like grandpa forgot to mail the card.
Holiday Inn Downtown
Near State Capitol and Legislative Bldg., area’s first round inn. 204 rooms, all color TV. VIP suites, rooftop restaurant, club, outdoor heated pool. Meeting and banquet rooms for 400 persons.
The description omitted what may be considered the “rooftop” restaurant’s finest amenity — the spectacular view of downtown Raleigh.
In case you’re wondering, Harrelson Hall on the NC State campus was Raleigh’s first ’round building.’
Today’s postcard is an example of a ‘photo chrome.’ It was published by Curt Teich under the name ‘Curteichcolor.’
Curt Teich Co. 1893-1974
Chicago, IL
A major publisher and printer. Their U.S. factories turned out more cards in quantity than any other printer. They published a wide range of national view-cards of America and Canada. Many consider them one of the finest producers of White Border Cards. The Linen Type postcard came about through their innovations as they pioneered the use of offset lithography. They were purchased by Regensteiner Publishers in 1974 which continued to print cards at the Chicago plant until 1978.
[UPDATE]
Addendum — A major architectural feature of the Holiday Inn was severely altered in the 1990s (I think.) Anybody care to guess what it was? (Clue: It’s not the sign.)
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08/26/2011
Cool! I also remember those old school Holiday Inn signs (as seen in the corner) that used to flash at night….
08/26/2011
I like the TR-6, Mustang Mach I (?), and MGB parked on the street!!!
08/26/2011
Always love the postcards! As a collector, I started with my grandmothers 1970s postcards from her trip to Denmark and find that its a fun hobby that doesn’t take up a lot of space, or cost a huge amount. I have several postcards of NC since I’ll be moving to the Rocky Mount area soon (if its not washed away :( Thanks for the great history lesson of my soon-to-be adopted home, and as a side note, hope everyone is safe and well and hunkering down. Wishing you all well!
08/26/2011
That was one building that did not have a 13th floor. Went from 12 to 14.
08/27/2011
Catherine: There is a fabulous antiques store on Main Street in Rocky Mount that has a large postcard collection, one of the biggest I’ve ever seen. The downtown historic district there is beautiful. I especially love the set of railroad tracks that run through the middle of Main Street.
08/29/2011
I mostly remember this as where The Association were busted for drugs in the early 70s. I think it was a police setup and charges were dropped, but of course Raleigh became an anathema for touring groups for a while after that.
And per the cool autos, Raleigh always had loads of nifty cars, expecially tons of cheap, used British sports cars. I tell folks here in Silicon Valley where I’ve lived since 78 that Mini Coopers actually existed before BMW (lol), and that in Raleigh they were quite common. I remember Kidd Brewer Jr’s Cobra. When later stolen he hired a private detective who found it in California in perfect condition.
Cheers from the Bay Area…
08/29/2011
Guilty as charged. Back in those days, I also drove a used ’69 Triumph GT 6+. It was cool looking, like a baby Jag XKE, but it was a bear to start, especially on cold mornings.
08/29/2011
I think the hotel originally had balconies but it doesn’t now. (So is that a building code thing or a liability insurance thing?) That’s my guess for a major renovation.
Also, I don’t remember an outdoor pool there — where was it, and was it removed?
09/03/2011
Thanks to all y’all who ID’d the cars parked out front. I recognized the Mustang but not the others.
Dev Mead — you are correct sir! The open balconies can be seen in the postcard, but today they are enclosed. I don’t remember an ‘outdoor heated pool’ either! Just the outdoor Bat Signal lights!