Side Street Cafe in Oakwood

The painted advertisement on the side of a building is a rapidly fading artifact of urban life, much in the same way that entryway mosaic is a disappearing commercial art form. There seem to be fewer remaining examples in Raleigh than in other similarly-sized cities, probably due to the historical propensity to demolish rather than renovate and recycle the buildings in the city’s core.

[skip to the 6/14 update]

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For more than a decade Empire Properties has been a leader in the revitalization of Downtown Raleigh. The company’s redevelopment  and historic preservation efforts have brought back to life many of downtown’s long neglected historic commercial structures.

Most notable among these are the Masonic Temple Building (1907), the Raleigh Times Building (1906), the Raleigh Furniture Building (1914), the East Hargett Street Odd Fellows Building (ca 1881), the Carolina Trust Building (1902) and the former Heilig-Levine Furniture Building (aka Central Hotel, ca 1870).

The Heilig-Levine Building as seen from the G&S Department Store through 19th century window glass.

Empire’s latest venture in historic preservation/adaptive use is the current rehab of the former G&S Department Store on S. Wilmington Street. Read more »

Lobby of the Lawyers Building

In a few days, Wake County will hold a ground breaking ceremony for the new Justice Center on Salisbury Street. One year ago, two buildings and a parking deck were demolished to make way for this new court house. While most (including myself) focused on the loss of the iconic Garland Jones Building, there were few voices lamenting the loss of the older Lawyers Building.

What made this building significant is that it was the last remaining part of the once grand State Theater, which opened in 1924 and closed around 1975. The Lawyers Building served as the entrance and lobby.

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