I went here for breakfast today, so I thought it would be appropriate to post a photo of it I’ve had lying around for a little while. They just recently began to open on Saturdays, so I was able to make it in. It was delicious.

I had a conversation with our server about the bustling nature of downtown recently because of the Earth Day celebrations near the Capitol. I mentioned how when I moved here four years ago, downtown was not a very happening place to be. It was a virtual ghost town on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and night life isolated to a few small corners. She said she has lived here over thirty years and had never seen activity in the area like there is today. She mentioned the familiar story of closing down Fayetteville Street to auto traffic as the nail in the coffin to retail and social activity downtown. It comes as no surprise that a good part of the upswing has been shortly after the resurgence of Fayetteville Street after being reopened to auto traffic. It is very much likened to opening a main artery that was once blocked. Life returns to normal.

Hillsborough Street must have the highest number of automotive service shops (both current and abandoned) of any street I’ve ever been on. Most of them are clustered around the campus area, but there are a few that are closer to the Capitol Building end of Hillsborough Street.
Even more peculiar is the brand new asphalt surrounding this otherwise decrepit building. What gives? This end of the road isn’t exactly the hottest piece of real estate downtown, but I still don’t understand how this property has been able to sit in this condition for this long–unless there are environmental issues requiring cleanup before redevelopment.
This building gives us a peek into Raleigh’s past. With the development about to take place just around the corner, I can’t imagine this will continue to be an abandoned relic.

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Over the years I’ve heard of really old hobbit-like doors in old cities that were short, rounded, and had the knob in the middle of the door. This is the first one that I’ve noticed (although not round nor short) in Raleigh.
It makes you wonder, what is really the advantage of placing the knob in the middle?