Raleigh’s Forgotten Painted Ads [Updated]

Side Street Cafe in Oakwood

The painted advertisement on the side of a building is a rapidly fading artifact of urban life, much in the same way that entryway mosaic is a disappearing commercial art form. There seem to be fewer remaining examples in Raleigh than in other similarly-sized cities, probably due to the historical propensity to demolish rather than renovate and recycle the buildings in the city’s core.

[skip to the 6/14 update]

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Construction Begins on the Contemporary Art Museum

Construction crews recently began working at the future home of the Contemporary Art Museum on 409 West Martin Street. Within the past few days, the banner in the photo above was put up on the front of the building.

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Café Helios: From Plebian to Posh

The workers inside the North Carolina Association for Plumbing Heating and Cooling Control building at 413 Glenwood Ave. most likely prepared coffee that was barely strong enough to defend itself.  Workers quaffed cup after cup of mediocre coffee and were just fine with it.  Years later, that very same building would house Café Helios, a coffee house on Glenwood South.

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