Raymond had to do some maintenance work on the upstairs floor of the former cotton mercantile buiding. With the elevator in disrepair, he took the ladder.

The demolition of the Garland Jones Office Building could likely be the most discussed urban planning event in the history of Raleigh. Just about every local blog has weighed in since the decision was made by Wake County to replace the office building with a new justice center. The discussion remained mostly online, in print, and in personal circles. Opposition and protest against demolition was largely absent from within the halls of county government. In the end, however, it probably wouldn’t have mattered. The decision likely would have been made regardless of any public outcry, large or small.

Well over a year over since the initial decision was made, and after several months of careful preparation and planning, the building began to slowly come crumbling down late Wednesday evening. The dust and debris created dense clouds over the area, and the sound of the heavy equipment reverberated off of the surrounding structures. The sights and sounds were quite dramatic. Raleigh was losing a landmark.

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In terms of a manufacturing past, Raleigh pales in comparison to the gritty, once bustling tobacco town of Durham to the west. Nonetheless, an entire area abutting the railroad tracks on the western fringe of downtown Raleigh remains as a towering testament to our own city’s industrial past. The landmarks are everywhere throughout this area known as Raleigh’s Warehouse District — from a former Cotton Oil Mill, an abandoned coal yard, a defunct concrete plant, the old Southern Railway freight depot, to the most ubiquitous example: The Dillon Supply Co. buildings.”

There are a number of nightclubs and bars interspersed through the area: Buckhead Saloon, White Collar Crime, Club Mosquito, Five Star, among others. If you’ve traveled to any of these, then you have navigated through the nondescript giant brick structures that for the most part sit vacant. There’s one in particular that has always puzzled me though, and it’s also the least visible.

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