Like a Phoenix from the Ashes: Raleigh’s Downtown Warehouse District

From left to right: Julia Demarre, Allyn Stewart, Avi Wenger (author of the performance), Katherine Myers, Ronnie Ruedrich, and David Sedaris

The cast of  “Openings Windows and Passages” peering up from the floor of Lot 13 in this promo shot by Mark Herdter in 1979.

Just as Raleigh’s Fayetteville Street is currently undergoing a Renaissance, likewise is the city’s old industrial warehouse district located between downtown and the railroad tracks. New housing units intermingle with nightclubs; lofts are filling long empty warehouse spaces; and it is emerging as a focus of downtown nightlife. The warehouse district is awaking from the long slumber it had fallen into after the hustle and bustle of its industrial glory days had faded.

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At one point in time, St. Agnes Hospital was the only place in Raleigh for African-Americans to get healthcare. The former hospital holds a wealth of Raleigh history, but is also as the location of several sad events related to segregation and other artifacts of the Jim Crow era.

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There was a time when Raleigh was known for its prolific music scene. With events such as the closure of King’s and the disappearance of the once thriving punk scene, it has moved from a trickle to a smattering of indie shows and some artists/groups at The Lincoln Theatre or the Performing Arts Center.

Nowadays Raleigh is not completely devoid of all music, but there was a time when some of the biggest names in jazz and rock played here, in the most unlikely of locations: Cameron Village.

In the same way Cameron Village itself was modeled after a shopping plaza in Kansas City, The Village Subway was modeled after the Atlanta Underground. It was a series of restaurants, clubs, boutiques, fashion stores, and a few other shops. Some of the night clubs were The Frog & Nightgown, Cafe Deja Vu, Elliot’s Nest, The Pier, Skyline, The Bear’s Den, and the Midnight Express.
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