Downtown Raleigh’s Montague Building offers a commanding presence over E. Hargett St. at Moore Square. Faced in buff-yellow pressed brick, the palazzo-like building is the most prominent in the 100 block, and in recent years has become a symbol of the renaissance of Hargett St. This substantial three-story masonry structure was built in 1912 by Raleigh attorney B.F. Montague.

Soon after its construction Montague rented the building to the US government as temporary space for Raleigh’s post office while the Fayetteville St. building was being enlarged and renovated. After the post office moved out three years later, only a few storefronts were subsequently rented out. Although Montague’s own law firm, Montague and Bonner, continued to occupy offices on the 2^nd floor, the building remained largely vacant thereafter.

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above Holga image credit: Ben Spiker

Although my ‘bar hopping’ days are long gone, I do enjoy going out on occasion for drinks with friends to any of downtown Raleigh’s ‘public houses.’ One of my favorites is the Landmark Tavern on E. Hargett Street.

This quintessential neighborhood bar has been open for little more than a year now, yet it has already achieved, well, landmark status. The low-lit interior is cozy and well appointed with wood paneling, stained glass panels, antique-style light fixtures and comfy booths. It is a very inviting space. There’s even a private outdoor beer garden.

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It appears Raleigh soon will be losing yet another of its historic commercial buildings. I am speaking of the former Bing Lee Chinese Hand Laundry, located at the corner of West and Jones Streets, across from the 42nd Street Oyster Bar. The 2-story brick structure has stood on that corner at least since the early 1930s.

The structure is a typical small-scale industrial building of its era. Oversized, industrial glazed windows originally allowed natural light to stream into the interior space. At some point, though, these were bricked up, and replaced with the present-day scaled-down versions. Its solid red brick walls have been painted over many times through the years. A rampart of red terra cotta tile delineates the second floor roofline, in what looks to be a nod to modest Mission style ornamentation.

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