The author and wife’s circa 1940 home

There are those who see what could be, the ones we call visionaries; those who see what is, we call realists.  Then, there are those, like me, who see the traces of history all around us. 

Despite five years spent within a mile of Pullen Park Terrace, earning an Engineering degree from NCSU, my first visit to the neighborhood was to pick up a date.  Turning off Western Boulevard, I still remember my first thought — “Bilyeu Street?  Who or what is a Bilyeu?“  Then, I began noticing the houses.   Each was unique, no two remotely the same. Read more »

Photo credit: Jesse Dotson, GNR special correspondent

Within days of the destruction of the exquisitely designed modernist Paschal house last month, the Diocese of Raleigh announced that the former residence of the Bishop of Raleigh on Bilyeu St., known familiarly as “Little Maryknoll,” would soon meet the same fate. Sadly, demolition began Wednesday.

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Photo credit: Jesse Dotson, GNR Special Correspondent

In an ironic reversal of its construction, NC State University’s old Riddick Stadium has disappeared bit by bit over the decades since Carter-Finley Stadium was erected as its replacement in 1966. First, the East Stands were demolished in 1968 and replaced by a campus parking lot. Then in 2005 the West Stands met the same fate, and were replaced by the new SAS Hall.

And now, barring the success of a last-ditch ‘Hail Mary pass,’ the venerable Riddick Field House itself will fall to the wrecker’s ball early in March over spring break.

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