Our Flashback Friday postcard feature this week was mailed nearly 100 years ago. The building depicted still stands on the NC State campus, but can any of our readers spot what is ‘wrong’ with this picture?

Mother appreciated your card. She went to Durham & while there was quite sick. I was glad for her to get home. She seems to be getting on very well now. Still loves fancy work. Wish Uncle R. could come to see her. Matrena [?] spent last week with us. She was not very well. Will be in Durham this wk. Selina came home Sat. Annie Lex [?] in better condition than any time since she has been in hospital. Had another [illegible] last Monday.
[signature illegible]

Jess & Wife are to come middle of this week.
12/9/12

The sender of this ‘newsy’ postcard seems to have hosted a parade of sickly houseguests recently. I hope for her sake that ‘Jess & Wife’ were in good health!

When built in 1909, the ‘New Dormitory,’  later named ‘1911 Building,’ was the largest college dorm in the South. But what about the name? Why is a dormitory named for a year?

The Class of 1911, which effectively banned the practice of hazing new freshman, impressed faculty members to such a degree that the new dormitory was named in its honor. (NCSU Facilities)

The 1911 Building was designed by North Carolina architect  H.P.S. Keller. Among his many Raleigh commissions, Keller was also the architect of Leazer Hall (1912) and Park Shops (1914) on the State campus.

As a kind of war trophy, a World War I German light field howitzer once stood guard on the grounds of the 1911 Building. The big gun was later salvaged for scrap metal during WW II. (As was the Spanish American War naval gun in front of Holladay Hall.)

The 1911 Building has undergone many remodelings over the decades, the most recent being a major renovation in 2008. It currently houses the departments of Social Work, and Sociology and Anthropology.

Photo by Edward Funkhouser

This week’s postcard was published by F.M. Kirby, of Wilkes-Barre, PA. The company also published a postcard of Winston Hall in 1910 which we recently featured on Flashback Friday.

Fred Morgan Kirby   1887-1997
Wilkes-Barre, PA

A publisher and large retailer of postcard views of the American South and mid-Atlantic region. These cards were sold from their Five & Dimes stores which numbered 96 in 1912.

“Flashback Friday” is a weekly feature of Goodnight, Raleigh! in which we showcase vintage postcards depicting our historic capital city. We hope you enjoy this week-end treat!