A few weeks ago we published on Flashback Friday an early 20th century postcard view of Hillsboro St. as seen from the Capitol building. This week, we’re in the same time period, but the view is now looking up the street toward the Capitol itself.

This card dates from the ‘undivided back’ era, so the message was written on the front.

How are you these days?
Suppose this scene looks familiar to you.
Love from Blanche

A nice sentiment. But what strikes me most about this postcard view is that it reveals that Hillsboro was primarily a residential street in the early 20th century.

On the left can be seen the community grocery store, which in 1907 was operated by E.H. King. The two-story frame building itself had been on the site at least since 1872. In the mid-1920s it was replaced by a modern brick store front, which continued to serve the community as a grocery for many years. That building was demolished in the 1970s.

Any Goodnight Raleigh readers care to guess what occupies the site today?

Our postcard this week was published by the Rotograph Co. of New York.

The Rotograph Co. 1904-1911
684 Broadway, New York, NY

A major printer and publisher of postcards. They took over the National Art View Company in 1904 and republished many of their images under their own name. A wide variety of card types were issued in 19 letter series plus many other miscellaneous cards and printed items, but they are best known for their view-cards in color rotogravure. Many postcards were printed in the Rotograph style without their logo on them. These early cards may have been private contracts made with the Rotograph Company or from orders placed directly with their printers in Germany. Rotograph produced about 60,000 postcards that were printed in Hamburg, Germany, by Stengel of Dresden, by Knackstedt & Nather of Nancy, France, and possibly by Reinike & Rubin of Magdeburg. While Rotograph produced large amounts cards in clearly defined lettered designated sets, they also produced unique small card sets. Rather than assign small sets a new designation, they were often given a taken letter prefix that corresponded to their subject.

“Flashback Friday” is a weekly feature of Goodnight, Raleigh! in which we showcase vintage postcards depicting our historic capital city. We hope you enjoy this week-end treat!

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This week’s Flashback Friday shows the Brickyard at NC State in the late 1960s. Construction began in 1967 and was completed in 1969.

The project began in 1965 and was the idea of landscape artchitect Dick Bell. The area around the Erdahl-Cloyd Student Union and Harrelson Hall was frequently covered in mud, and a brick plaza was to serve as a congregating place and a pedestrian thoroughfare.

“Looking from the second floor windows of the union toward Harrelson [at night], the view is unreal. It looks like something out of a James Bond thriller or a movie about an American airbase complete with floodlights and machine guns maybe. But in the day it changes. People take to lying on the grass or sitting on the benches or eating. . . . all in all, it’s not much but it’s ours.”

—Technician, May 13, 1968

For more Brickyard history and trivia, read The facts, figures and fables behind NC State’s favorite gathering place from NC State Magazine.

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In my neighborhood is this quadruplex which has been vacant for years.

Somewhat intriguingly it has a dim light bulb that’s always on, and has been for a long time.  Every time I walk past it, I have that one song in my head.

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This week’s Flashback Friday entry depicts Fayetteville Street during a time in which Raleigh’s main street underwent drastic changes.

The existence of the Tucker Building (just behind the Century Postal Station) and a few other buildings in the photo can date the photograph to within 2 years in the 1960s.  Another clue is a barely visible sign for gas in the lower left: 31 cents a gallon. Can you guess the approximate year this photograph was taken?

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For Flashback Friday this week we feature a vintage postcard which captures a glimpse of Hillsboro St. which has long since been lost to memory. I love the image of the streetcar rumbling past the elegant mansions on its route up the dusty street.

Hello Lucy,
Sue and I have had a big time at the Raleigh fair. [The rest of the message is illegible.]
– Nellie [?]

Apparently this treasured card was pasted into a scrapbook at some point, and as a result the message has been obscured.

The large neo-classical mansion seen on the right was the home of Richard B. Raney, proprietor of  Raleigh’s famed Yarborough House, and benefactor of Raleigh’s first public library in 1899 — the Olivia Raney Library. Sadly, the mansion was destroyed by the state in the 1950s. The library itself was torn down in 1966.

All the buildings seen in this postcard view are long gone. But there is a single relic seen here that exists to this day — any GNRal readers care to take a stab?

Our postcard this week was published by F.M. Kirby.

Fred Morgan Kirby   1887-1997
Wilkes-Barre, PA

A publisher and large retailer of postcard views of the American South and mid-Atlantic region. These cards were sold from their Five & Dimes stores which numbered 96 in 1912.

“Flashback Friday” is a weekly feature of Goodnight, Raleigh! in which we showcase vintage postcards depicting our historic capital city. We hope you enjoy this week-end treat!

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If you’ve passed by the intersection of Peace and Wilmington Streets in Downtown Raleigh, chances are you’ve noticed a rather distinct building take shape. This striking new building is the new AIA NC Center for Architecture & Design.

AIA NC’s Previous Home: The Water Tower

The NC chapter of the American Institute of Architects was previously at home in the Water Tower facing Capitol Square. This structure was rescued from demolition by noted architect William Henley Deitrick, who renovated the structure and used it as his offices from 1938 until his retirement in 1959. In 1963 he deeded the structure in perpetuity to the AIA NC, while retaining the right to maintain personal offices within it until his death in 1974.

For nearly 50 years the building has been adequate for the AIA NC, but as needs changed the organization began to explore options for a larger facility. About four years ago they were able to secure an oddly-shaped parcel of land downtown left over from the diversion of Wilmington Street. The next task was determining what to build.

Selecting an Architect for a Building Representing Architects

Deciding which of the AIA NC’s 2400 architects to design the new structure presented a unique problem. The simple response to this problem was a design competition.

A panel of judges from out of state examined entries from over 60 architects based in North Carolina. The design of Raleigh-based Frank Harmon Architect PA was selected as the winning submission.

Despite the project getting under way during the height of the recession, it moved forward in large part due to donations of materials and resources. The National Recovery and Reinvestment Act also played a crucial role in providing resources in the form of Recovery Zone Bonds so the project could be realized.

AIA NC Building with the Archdale Building in the background

Standing Tall in the Face of “Brutal” Neighbors

Our challenge was to make 12,000 square feet of building that could stand up to these very large buildings and make a presence for the AIA in this downtown setting.

– Frank Harmon

The large buildings around the new headquarters that Harmon is referring to are state government buildings constructed between the 1960s and the 1980s. Most of the building’s nearby neighbors are local examples of the Brutalist style, and are quite imposing.

The building's face looks southward

Harmon didn’t shy away from these buildings however, and placed the building’s “face” toward these symbols of state government.

A bit beyond the imposing concrete or granite buildings on Halifax Mall are the elegant Legislative Building and treasured Capitol Building. The new Center for Architecture and Design serves as a beautiful bookend to the mall and provides a needed balance for those two magnificent structures which represent North Carolina.

A New Peace Street Gateway

The new building has a lit sidewalk and is a nice visual rest stop along a somewhat jagged entrance toward the city’s core. The intersection the Center for Architecture and Design sits on (Peace and Wilmington) is passed by a large number of state government employees making their way to work.

Peace Street with historic building from Peace College in the background

The tall and slender design provides a better fit for this parcel of land along a busy thoroughfare, but it also has benefits in terms of creature comforts and smart use of energy and resources.

Responsible Design is Better For the Environment and Society

It’s obvious that smart energy management is better for the environment, but it also makes economic sense. Buildings are responsible for 70% of the electricity load in the U.S. (source [PDF]) and this energy cost affects every company’s bottom line. The financial burden across society can be greatly reduced through smart energy use in the structures in which we live, work, and play.

Plan, courtesy of Frank Harmon Architect PA

The slender design allows for an abundance of natural light; so much so that there is little need for artificial light during daylight hours. In the instances in which artificial light is necessary, a supplemental control system is available via iOS devices (iPhone, iPad) or a web interface. It may also be controlled via regular old light switches.

Pavers in the "Parkings Garden"

Transforming the Burden of Parking in to an Asset

Although there are over 600 parking spaces within short walking distance, Raleigh zoning regulations mandated 36 parking spaces, which was yet another challenge. The response was to create a “parking garden,” which resembles a landscaped paver stone surface.

This innovative approach to parking has many benefits, including the prevention of rain water runoff, erosion, and heat retention during summer months. The wide open space will provide for the hosting of several types of events. A few ideas include: a place for screening movies, a Farmers’ Market, or a prototyping station for Habitat for Humanity.

Although the changes are subtle, it is enough to provide an experience significantly more pleasant than a sterile black top surface lot would.

The "green screen" which will provide a colorful means of shading for the ground level

A Symphony of Light and Plant Life

Although it is barely visible now, the building’s side facing south has a large “green screen” at ground level. This lattice structure will provide a home for three types of vine: Virginia Creeper, Smilax and Carolina Jasmine. The use of these three flowering vines will yield beautiful and natural exterior color all year long.

It will take three years for the green screen to fully fill in.

A Room With a View

The upper floor is privately leased space, and the tenants here will have envious working conditions. Each workstation throughout the building provides at least two views of the outside.

The windows actually open and the slender building footprint will allow for effective cross-ventilation during the warmer months.

Welcoming the New “Ambassador”

It is my hope that this new structure will provide inspiration and motivation for North Carolinians to design and demand better looking and better functioning buildings.

The new Center for Architecture and Design is a most welcome change to Raleigh’s visual landscape.

Further Reading:

• Architects + Artisans: David vs. Goliath in Downtown Raleigh
• AIA NC
• Frank Harmon Architect PA

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