Nestled between a stretch of convenience stores and empty lots on South Street lies an architectural gem built a half century ago that served as one of the first in the area to offer drive-through banking. Originally home of First National Bank, the structure now serves as a house of worship for The Prayer of Deliverance COGIC (Church of God in Christ).

Much of the fenestration and landscaping elements have long since been removed or altered, but the building still stands proudly today in a long neglected corridor just slightly removed from the downtown revival taking place to the East. As the now absent sign in the first photograph shows, it was a “Drive-In” bank – a concept that was just beginning to emerge in the mid 1950s and early 1960s.

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There are few streets in Raleigh that have such a diverse array of inhabits as Enterprise Street has. Sadlack’s Heroes (above) and the North Hall Dormitory anchored on the Hillsborough Street end work with the North Carolina Nurses Association and Bank of America on the Clark Avenue side to sandwich together an unlikely group of structures and inhabitants.

I must admit I’m incredibly partial to this street, as I’ve lived in a neighborhood adjacent to it for the past 3+ years. Many nights I’ve taken my dogs for a walk to the patio at Sadlack’s for a few beers and enjoyed the view or traveled to the Bell Tower Mart to pick up a few beers for back yard drinking.

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Somewhat hidden on North Street near the intersection with Blount Street lies a historical marker denoting the location of what was until two decades ago likely the oldest White Oak in the City of Oaks. It was at this spot in which presidential candidate Henry Clay in the name of peace famously declared: “I’d rather be right than be president”.

The stone marker and bronze plaque which lie in the area of the Andrews Duncan House and across from the Heck-Andrews House (as well as the Bath Building) was erected in 1939 by the Wake County chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

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