Goodnight Raleigh - a look at the art, architecture, history, and people of the city at night

Revisiting The Old Esso Station

I wanted to follow up on my previous post about this building.

The green doors are gone, and the building is gutted.

As you can see, the old Gibbons Service building has been cleaned out and gutted in anticipation of a future lease. As a reader pointed out, the most recent occupant of this building was TAO Automotive, now located on Capital Boulevard. It’s unclear who owns the property or what they have in mind with it.

What’s Wrong With This Picture?


I passed by this thing on at least two occasions before I grasped the absurdity of the situation. This trendy Trek Mystic girls bicycle is currently attached via a bike lock to the bar near Bruegger’s Bagels on Hillsborough Street. It’s been there for weeks now. My first thought is that it’s the work of a humorous prankster, but you have to sit back and wonder who is going to pay top dollar ($140) for a bike to use as a joke? If you follow the link above, you’ll notice this bike comes from the factory with steamers and a white plastic basket. Other than these two missing items, this bike is in brand new condition.
Do you have any guesses as to who put it there or why?

City Cemetery (1798)




This was another chance encounter, as I was previously under the impression that Oakwood and the Raleigh National Cemetery were the oldest ones in town.

City Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Raleigh. It was established by an Act of the North Carolina General Assembly in 1798. It began as a four acre tract: two acres for burial of local residents, one acre for visitors, and one acre for blacks. Land was added in the 1840’s establishing its current boundary which encompasses more than 7 acres. Actual records of the cemetery were destroyed by fire in the 1890’s and again in the early 1930’s. The only existing records are those made by past Superintendents. The City Cemetery is surrounded by an iron fence that once was located at the State Capitol.

City Of Raleigh, Cemetery Study

Perhaps the most famous person buried here is Joel Lane, best known for his direct part in the decision to locate the state capital in Wake County and for donating 1,000 acres of his property which would later become the city as we know it today. Lane Street was named in his honor.

Raleigh, Capitol of N.C.
by Raleigh Boy

Capitol_elevated view_web

This week Flashback Friday soars high above Raleigh’s beloved State Capitol. The sophisticated 19th century Greek Revival building has stood on this spot for 175 years. We’ll also take a peek at the history of this building and its predecessors. So climb aboard and enjoy the flight!

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