Over the past several months I have been exploring and photographing old streetcar tracks and pavements that have been exposed in the course of the many repaving projects now underway in downtown Raleigh. One of those forays took me deep beneath the city streets — and this is what I discovered.

Cautiously, I descended into an unknown netherworld.

Ultimately I found myself in a dank, dark and cold subterranean chamber. As my eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light filtering down from above, I spotted what appeared to be a small devotional shrine someone had erected on the opposite side of the room. Wiccans! — I thought.

A box of matches lay atop the makeshift altar, so I lit the pair of candles which had been placed there; they emitted an eerie glow in the darkness.

Suddenly, I heard a distinct ‘kerplunk’ behind me, and I spun around to investigate.

Relieved that no one else had entered the chamber, I looked closer, and realized some small object must have fallen from a cloaca maxima above me into the shallow brackish water at my feet.

I continued my exploration and could see through the culvert beneath the altar that another room appeared in the distance about 50 feet away. However, as the water was considerably deeper in there, I decided to save that particular venture for another day.

As I turned to leave, I snapped a photo of myself reflected in the shiny, hieroglyph-enscribed black tiles of the shrine.

Hmm, I thought, as I extinguished the candles and made my ascent out of this mysterious and hidden, subterranean chamber — Wiccans? I dunno. But with all that concrete and brickwork down there — maybe this secret shrine has some kind of association with the Masons?

J&C Garden World is one of those places you may have passed several times and wondered what lies inside. Curiosity got the better of me this past weekend, so I stopped by to see the menagerie of exotic animals, pop culture icons, religious figures, and that of ancient history.

More effective than any sign would be, a trio of animals beckons you to pull over at the intersection of Lake Wheeler Road and Centennial Parkway.

Before you get inside the fence to see the selection, you are greeted by some of the most grand of statues.

Contrary to what most people think, the poured-concrete sculptures aren’t produced on site. They are created in locations all over North Carolina. The benefit of the nearby sources is a quick turnaround time from cast to delivery.

J.L. and Connie Pittman opened J&C Garden World 11 years ago in the same location, offering plants as well as garden statues. Once the Farmer’s Market relocated to its current location about a block away, the owners shifted away from plants to statues exclusively.

There isn’t a a web site and they don’t offer shipping. All business is done on site. That hasn’t stopped out of state demand, though. One customer in New York arranged for someone locally to pick up a cast Yoda (above) via Craigslist.

Most of the inventory is poured conrete statues, but you can find reflective garden globes as well.

Even if you’re not in the market for a statue, it’s well worth your time to stop by on a weekend. Not only will some of the creatures and icons bring a smile to your face, but it’s also fun to contemplate the odd juxtaposition of some of the sculptures.

Although related items are grouped together, there are plenty of odd couples.

Then you have the somewhat unexplainable. These unlikeliest of home and garden decorations have come to be some of the most lucrative for the owners. One particular item that the owners have a hard time keeping stocked is the garden zombie – consisting of three separate pieces that resemble a zombie emerging from the ground.

There is a certain tongue-in-cheek reaction to some of the statues, and there’s no doubt the artists are aware of that. You can find hidden easter eggs in some, such as the hieroglyphics above. Notice any that don’t quite belong?

Selecting which pieces to carry is certainly more art than science. Some of the most unexpected of pieces will sell several in a week or two, while others have sat for years. If there is a specific character or animal you’re looking for, they will work with you to try and locate one.

Prices range from twenty dollars for the smaller items up to several hundred for the larger and more detailed pieces. They are open during normal business hours seven days a week.

These make great gifts too. In case you’re curious, the garden zombies are at the top of my list.

J&C Garden World
1711 Lake Wheeler Road
(919) 833-0544

A bit off the beaten path at Edna Metz Wells Park lies a hidden urban oasis of sorts. More of a swamp than a life-giving patch of water, one of its walls has a rather striking mural, emblazoned with the letters “DE”.

The pool in the first image is fed by this drain running under the spot where Clark Avenue becomes Peace Street. It’s known as the Pigeon House Branch Creek, and according to John Dancy-Jones of Raleigh Nature, it’s “the most prominent waterway in central Raleigh, but also its most abused.”

It gathers its headwaters in Edna Metz Park  just off Cameron Village, and this upper part of the creek was shifted and ditched in order to build Cameron Village.  From Edna Metz, concrete culverts carry it through Cameron Park and east down Johnson Street, where it crosses under Peace Street to be culverted again through the former Devereux Meadows, which is now a city facility for trash trucks and a salt barn.

– John Dancy-Jones

Recently the area around the park has been cordoned off on the Peace Street side. From what I understand, it’s part of a waterway improvement project, to increase water flow and reduce the levels of coliform. The latter is caused by people not cleaning up after their pets.

Several nearby residents are concerned that this hidden area will lose the beloved mural as part of the improvement project. While I despise the senseless tags left on storefronts and private property, I share their concern. It’s a completely secluded area and not visible from any thoroughfare, pedestrian or otherwise. Someone took the liberty of beautifying something that very few people see, and I commend that person for it.

Edna Metz Wells Park is still open, and its lovely trails still available for the nature-appreciating public.

Further Reading:

• Pigeon House Branch Creek
• Edna Metz Wells Park

Although the Oakwood neighborhood has the largest collection of Victorian-era houses in Raleigh, Hillsborough Street was once a bastion of homes built in the same period. Sadly, only a few remain today. There are others on the periphery however, such as the house pictured above on Boylan Avenue, one block away.

What Qualifies as Victorian?

The simplest definition is any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria: 1837-1901. I took the liberty of extending this period to also include houses constructed until around 1910. For the purposes of this article, I included houses that displayed some or all of the following characteristics: asymmetrical layout, bay windows, steeply pitched roofs, and ornate decoration.

The Oldest Structure Associated with N.C. State

One of the most notable of all of the remaining Victorians is the N.C. Agricultural Experiment Station on Vanderbilt Avenue, dating to 1886.

While many may know that Holladay Hall is the oldest classroom on campus, the oldest structure associated with the University is the house above. It’s one of the oldest remaining Victorian-era houses in the Hillsborough Street area and is a private residence.

Maiden Lane and Enterprise Street

The Maiden Lane and Enterprise Street areas have a handful of homes dating to the very early part of the 20th century. Many serve as rental units or apartments.

4 Maiden Lane. Built in 1900 by Samuel Brewer.

I had thought this was a fraternity house, but the Greek letters are gone from the front of the house.

The Roland House, Enterprise St. Now home to the Latter-Day Saints Church.

The Weatherman House, Enterprise St.

10 Enterprise Street

Business up Front, Party Victorian in the Back

Two houses are hidden because they were converted to commercial properties by appending storefronts to the street-facing side several decades after construction.

Image credit: Ian F.G. Dunn

The house in the greatest state of disrepair is the Fabius Briggs House on the corner of Ashe Avenue and Hillsborough Street. At some point in the 1950s the storefronts were attached to the front of the house, sealing its fate as a neglected beauty. Today its future lies in limbo as it has been condemned by the city and lies within the path of a major mixed-use redevelopment plan.

I don’t know anything about this particular house across from Char-Grill. It blends in with the attached storefronts, yet you can still notice the differences: the cast iron window frames on the right are typical of 40s and 50s era construction, while the prominent cross gable and roof of the house section visible on the left suggest the early part of the 20th century.

The Cameron Park Fringe

Some of the houses on the edge of the Cameron Park area are a great study in the transition period from angled lines and asymmetry to the more popular American four square style which replaced it. The houses closest to Hillsborough Street were the first lots to be snapped up when first subdivided, so it makes sense that these had more of the flair and other characteristics of the early 1900s.

Hawthorne Road and Hillsborough Street

Corner of Hawthorne Road and Benehan Street

The Area Around Ashe Avenue

In addition to the Fabius Briggs House, there are two other early-century grand houses in the area between Park Avenue and the Morgan Street split. These both featured centered dormers, one of the first aspects of the more restrained style. 1910 seems to be the year which featured the largest shift away from decorated and asymetrical construction.

Williams-Park House, 1909

John W. Thompson House, 1910.

The Not-So-Hidden Victorian Houses

The grandeur and scale of these houses are relatively proportional to how close they are to the Capitol Building. The area in the few blocks around it were once lined with grand mansions. Today, the three most striking examples that remain are the ones closest to it.

The Joel Whitaker house hides in plain sight. It wasn’t very extravagant or bold when it was built in 1882, but its brick exterior and blend of styles are unique nonetheless.

The most dramatic and detailed of all Hillsborough Street area Victorians is the Second Empire-styled Dodd-Hinsdale House. It was built in 1879 by Thomas Briggs for then Raleigh Mayor William H. Dodd.

The house was sold shortly thereafter, and remained in the same family (Hinsdale) for around 90 years.

The house fell into disrepair and by the early 90s and was in danger of demolition. It was at that time the Reynolds family purchased it with the intent of restoring it and turning it into a fine dining establishment, which it remains today.

Not in the Victorian Style, but Worth a Mention

This Greek revival house was built in 1904 by Dr. Andrew Watson Goodwin. He was the Chair of Anatomy at Leonard Medical School, and then later became chief physician for the now-abandoned St. Agnes Hospital.

It has been home to the North Carolina Democratic party since 1979.

Further Reading on Residential Victorian Architecture in Raleigh:

• The Fabius Briggs House: A Crumbling Raleigh Relic
• Raleigh’s Merrimon-Wynne House: A Win-Wynne Situation
• Early History of the Dodd-Hinsdale House
• Enterprise Street: A Motley Crew of Unlikely Neighbors
• Col. Heck’s Oakwood ‘Spec’ Houses
• A Nail That Could Not Be Removed: Raleigh’s Richard B. Haywood House
• Reminiscences of a Raleigh Boy, Part 1: The Blount Street Saga

Just barely outside of Downtown Raleigh lies the Walnut Creek Wetlands area. For decades the area was neglected and served as a place to dump refuse, despite being home to more than 50 federally protected animal species. After several years of cleanup efforts, this past September saw the opening of the Walnut Creek Wetlands Center (above), designed by local architect Frank Harmon.

The center serves as an educational facility, with maps, guides, and other information on the wildlife and nature preserve.

The back of the newly constructed center has been described as “the longest porch in the south”. It gives a glimpse into the edge of the wetlands, and provides a nice spot to hear the various insects and animals that grow louder as the sun sets. Outfitted with several classrooms, it allows you to be a part of the area while learning.

The center serves as an entry point to the Walnut Creek Trail section of the Capital Area Greenway that winds around the wetlands. It’s a great place to spend the day, either walking or biking.

Walnut Creek was once the source of Raleigh’s drinking water supply.

Flowers line many parts of the Greenway trail.

This pair of daffodils sit alone in a big forest, also visible from the trail.

As you may expect from a wetlands area, there are plenty of beavers. You can see several examples of their handiwork.

The setting sun, the smell, and the sounds transported me to area that wasn’t Downtown Raleigh. Minutes after I was packing up my camera gear, a flock of about 10 geese flew directly overhead, then landed in the water. After landing, they proceeded to converse with one another via honking. Combined with the randomly placed sounds above the katydids, it was a wonderful experience.

The sounds in the air really pick up as the sun goes down.

The Wetlands Center is open until sunset every day except Monday.

View Dowtown To the Wetlands Center (by bike) in a larger map

It’s a quick drive from Downtown by car, and also a short one if traveling by bicycle. The newly constructed Little Rock Greenway Trail extension makes it an easy trip.

Stop by some time (I recommend near sunset) and visit a natural treasure in your own back yard.

Walnut Creek Wetland Center
950 Peterson Street
Raleigh , NC 27610
919-831-1961

Further Reading:

• Raleigh Nature: Walnut Creek Wetland Center opening
• Raleigh Eco News: Walnut Creek Wetland Center grand opening
• Get to Know a Park: Walnut Creek Wetland Center

Straddling a line between purely physical gaming components (such as foosball) and electronic gaming (traditional microprocessor controlled video games), pinball occupies a special place in the hearts of those who grew up in the era prior to computer and home console video games. Although I grew up with computer and console games, my first job was at a video arcade where I spent many nights cleaning and repairing coin-operated pinball machines.

Shortly after being reminded of this sentimental favorite, I embarked on a cross-town quest to play every pinball machine I could find.

The Pinball Mecca: Fat Daddy’s

Fat Daddy’s was suggested by a few friends as the quintessential location for pinball playing in Raleigh. It was mentioned for good reason: it’s the only place I could find that has more than one machine. The three machines available are Cueball Wizard, Cirqus Voltaire, and The Simpsons.

Of all the pinball machines I played, Cirqus Voltaire was my favorite. It wasn’t that the game play was especially interesting – after all, who really understands all the goals and objectives of pinball anyway? You just try to keep from losing the oversized ball bearing and hope to hit enough flashy things to get an extra play. I like it because it generates interest on its own merits rather than trying to strike a chord with a pop culture favorite. It loosely involved being involved with the circus, complete with a “ringmaster” that made me think of ‘Zoltar’ from the movie Big.

Fat Daddy’s
6201 Glenwood Ave

Playing to Live Music: Slim’s

Another stop on the journey was Slim’s Downtown Distillery. The upper floor of this live music venue has one pinball machine (South Park), a bowling video game, and a pool table. Although the plunger was sticky and needed some maintenance, it was a pretty good machine. The live music from downstairs and floor vibrations certainly added some unique points to gameplay. Trying to hear any of the sound effects was a lost cause.

Slim’s Downtown Distillery
227 S. Wilmington Street

Best for Nostalgia: The Alley

Although the pinball machine at The Alley (formerly known as Western Lanes) was my least favorite (Goldeneye 007), I played a few games here. Midnight bowling was in session, so with dim lights and pumping dance music and a large crowd visible from the game room, the environment stirred my memories from 1996 when video arcades were a cool place to hang out at.

The crew running The Alley are still in the midst of rennovations of the mid-century icon of Raleigh, so hopefully they’ll continue investing in coin-operated entertainment as well as of the 10-pin variety.

The Alley
2512 Hillsborough Street

The Gritty Favorite: Jackpot!

Jackpot! has the same pinball machine as Slim’s, but the environment is a bit off the beaten path. Jackpot has been a favorite bar of mine for some time now, but since I quit smoking a while ago, I’ve found myself here less and less. The music, the care-free attitude, and people are exactly what I’d want in finding a place to play pinball. Hell, there is even a pint glass holder next to the machine. The bartenders are of the highest caliber in Raleigh.

As is somewhat evident from the graffiti scrawled bathroom door above, playing at the Jackpot involves throwing some standards out of the window. For many, it’s completely worth it.
Jackpot!

1303 Hillsborough Street

Gone but Not Forgotten: King’s Barcade

Above image credit: Abbyladybug

Very likely the first place in Raleigh I played pinball. Since shutting down, it has yet to be rivaled in the beautiful matrimony of live music and video games.

A Sad Find that isn’t in Raleigh: Destroyed Pinball Machine

Having no relation whatsoever to Raleigh, but tangentially related to this article is the photo above. For the past couple of years I’ve found myself taking a vacation in the New River gorge area of West Virginia, and on one such excursion I found the vandalized and destroyed pinball machine above. In a former mining equipment and supply factory, it lay in mud and debris, completely destroyed.

What are your memories of playing pinball in Raleigh? Several folks commented on the Cameron Village Subway post to mention Battlestations, the small underground arcade with just a few games. Where else was a good place to play in pinball’s heyday?

I’ve named four locations in the Raleigh area to play pinball, surely there are more. Where else can one find a working pinball machine?

Special thanks go out to Jay Winfrey, David Millsaps, Kitch, Stefanie Toftey, and Dugald Wilson for the suggestions on finding a local pinball machine.

Earlier this year, uliveandyouburn beautifully documented the underbelly of the Boylan Avenue Bridge. Hidden from street-level view, the area serves as a transit point and temporary shelter for freight riders, hobos, and taggers. A few hundred feet away at the intersection of Mountford Avenue and Cutler Street is a smaller bridge, which tells many of the same stories.

Graffiti under the bridge in early 2004

I’ve found myself near or under this bridge on several occasions  (mostly when train spotting) since first discovering it early in 2004 . Each visit provides something new to look at — mostly graffiti, but artifacts of hobo life too.

Graffiti under the bridge in early mid 2009

The scenery changes, but the story remains the same –  discarded food containers, piles of clothes, blankets, car parts, remnants of campfires, and shoes — there are always piles and piles of shoes.

One likely reason it remains so popular for those seeking shelter (despite being almost within eyesight of a guard tower at the State Prison) is because of its proximity to the Wye, where passing freight trains provide an exit to far off places. It is central yet almost completely hidden and away from any sort of pedestrian traffic, except for the occasional curious explorer.

Each of the items tells a story, and often the gaps must be filled in with your own imagination. Some defy all, however, such as the 2009 Pug Calendar pictured above.

I refer to it as a “bridge to nowhere,” as it no longer serves as a path to anywhere. The bridge once led to the old prison’s main  entrance and the prison youth facility, both now demolished. The youth compound had been abandoned for many years prior to the compilation of this video I made from still images I took in 2006. About a year ago, to the annoyance of many area residents, the state began work on a $160 million hospital project on the site.

Now the bridge sits blocked with a simple “Road Closed” sign.

Construction on the hospital continues today, and two large tower cranes sit not far from the disused bridge.

The Bloomsbury Estates condos are within sight, passing motorists over the Boylan Bridge can be heard, and prison construction audible in the distance. Meanwhile, the quiet hobo camp continues on in the same way it has for decades–providing shelter and protection from the elements for those without any other place to sleep or rest.

Above is a marker on the Hargett Street side of the Edmisten Building denoting the spot where Judge William Gaston penned the official North Carolina state song “The Old North State Forever”. Visible in the reflection is the Odd Fellows Building.

In late 1830s, he composed the song to counter the charge that North Carolina was the “Rip Van Winkle State”—backward and unchanging.  This motivation is evidenced in the following line: “Tho’ the scorner may sneer at and witlings defame her, Still our hearts swell with gladness whenever we name her.”   In 1927, the state officially adopted Gaston’s song.

– The North Carolina History Project

A forgotten N.C. State University landmark, a 7-foot tall granite drinking fountain, stands hidden behind Primrose Hall on campus. The monument was a gift of the class of 1914 and originally stood in the quad between Holladay and Leazar Halls. Leazar was the dining hall back then, so it made sense to place the 4-sided fountain in a space that was essentially a student hangout. Photos in old year books show the fountain in the center of a well-worn network of paths running through the barren dirt yard. I’m not sure how or when it was moved to its current location, but it has been there for as long as I can remember.

When I first arrived at N.C. State many years ago I spent a lot of time exploring the older part of campus, and the 1914 fountain was one of my first discoveries. At that time it appeared neglected and long forgotten. Moss was growing on it and its four stone bowls were filled with dirt and debris.

At that time the ground floor of Primrose Hall housed the campus police department. One day, as I was cutting through that part of campus, probably on my way to pay a parking ticket, I spotted some unusual vegetation sprouting from one of the fountain’s stone bowls. Ever curious, I approached to investigate. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw an 8” plant of the cannabis sativa variety growing in the bowl. The irony of that little plant growing at the doorstep of the campus police department was not lost on me! When I got home that afternoon I told my roommate of the discovery, and of course he had to see for himself. So the next day we returned, but by then the sprout had disappeared! Now, I have no idea if the plant was spotted by another student who perhaps liberated it, or if somebody in the campus police department eradicated it. But to this day whenever I walk by the 1914 fountain I always think of that pot plant. Oh, and the stone bowls are now fastidiously kept clear of any sort of growing material.

This is where that special plant took root so long ago.

Beneath the busy streets of Hillsborough, Morgan, and Boylan lie dark, dirty corners of Raleigh. Large pillars of concrete rise out of packed mud ground to lift these thoroughfares and allow for rail traffic to pass beneath. The spaces created by these elevated roads are a home for the homeless, a canvas for graffiti writers, and a departure point for freight riders. Covered in graffiti of varying qualities and strewn with artifacts of all types, the underpasses hold a thousand different stories. A hobo moniker left by some traveler years ago, an empty purse with a torn strap, remnants of campfires, old trashy romance novels; each of these gives one an idea of somebody who was there before them, clues to stories never told.  Once I stumbled onto a message spelled out in rocks set on the dirt telling a friend goodbye and to be careful “on the road.”

(Monikers left by trainriders Bender, Nliff, Toy Boy, and Spicer. Most monikers also contain dates written, and destination cities.)

Dirty? Yes. A bit scary? Yes. But these places have an intrinsic beauty.