Goodnight Raleigh - a look at the art, architecture, history, and people of the city at night

Martin Luther King, Jr. Ceremonial March

On January 18, 2010, hundreds of citizens, young and old, black and white, assembled for the Martin Luther King Ceremonial March.
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Hillsboro Street’s ManMur Bowling Center: the Geographic Center of North Carolina (?)

I am sure that by now everyone in Raleigh is aware of the Hillsboro St. reconstruction project currently underway along NC State University’s primary business thoroughfare, all the way from Oberlin Rd. out to Brooks Ave.  For the past year, cars and pedestrians alike have navigated broken pavement and a clutter of orange and white traffic cones, barrels and barricades, all the while dodging giant earthmoving equipment.  However, most people probably are not aware that until the late 1920s that stretch of street was primarily a residential district. In 1939 Hillsboro’s first major commercial building — the ManMur Bowling Center — was erected in the 2500 block.

The ManMur Bowling Center in 1940, when it was new. Notice how sparsely built up the block was then. (Photo courtesy the NC Office of  Archives and History, State Archives.)

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An Unlikely Holiday Decoration

There are many examples of things in our lives that we don’t notice until they are gone. One such example is a large beautiful oak tree (or what remains of it) in the median of Clark Avenue across from the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. What makes it a bit more peculiar is the makeshift cross and wreath as seen above. At first glance, it looks to be a small decoration put up for the holidays.

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Discuss Raleigh

  • Recent Comments:

    • https://www.princegeorgecleaning.com/: Cobblestone roads often look historic and charming, but they can be genuinely...
    • Eric: Fascinating bit of local history — cobblestone always looks charming but the practical headaches are real....
    • Eric: The way modern patching replaces original cobblestone with mismatched stone really does erase a layer of a...
    • Matt: Cobblestone restoration is one of those topics that quietly reveals a city’s priorities. The point about...
    • Sam: Cobblestone aesthetic is hard to argue with, but the maintenance and accessibility issues are exactly the kind...
    • Matt: Cobblestones look gorgeous in photos but my bike rims still remember the last block. Surprised to learn how...
    • Eric: Cobblestones photograph beautifully but my bike rims still remember the last block I rode over. Sad to learn...
    • Jerry: Cobblestones look beautiful in photos but my bike rims would disagree. Surprised to learn how much of...


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