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Raleigh's Fayetteville Street

ericurbanite

By ericurbanite
in The NC Triangle

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Justin6882 Hamlet

Justin6882

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Nice photos!  Interesting building, the one that says "Hardware" at the top and is red in color.

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That's the Briggs Hardware building, and I believe when it was built it was one of, if not the, tallest building in Raleigh. Of course that was in the late 1800s, early 1900s. They have now left the downtown location, and the Raleigh City Museum occupies the lower level of the building.

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Justin6882 Hamlet

Justin6882

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It no doubt stands out, are there any other buildings DT that look like this or is this the only one?

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Off the top of my head, this is the only one that is that distiguishable from the rest. I think the vibrant red really does it...I wish more developers wouldn't be afraid to use a little color in their buidlings...

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orulz City

orulz

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That building is at the northernmost point on the mall of state buildings north of the capitol and legislative buildings. I don't know what state agency it houses, though.

The mall between the state buildings is perhaps one floor above ground level, and I think there's a giant parking structure beneath it. The mall there is only designed to serve pedestrian traffic between the buildings rather than any sort of foot traffic coming in from "the outside world". That entire complex of buildings is honestly a bit scary to the average pedestrian walking on the street - you get the feeling that if you climbed the steps up there you'd get stopped by a policeman and asked to state your business and show identification. For all I know, it's intimidating by design and members of the general public aren't supposed to be up there.

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blueize74 Whistle-Stop

blueize74

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Thanks everyone!

The building in the first shot is the Archdale building (17 stories).

All of the buildings in that complex (Dobbs, Archdale, Education, IRS I'm forgetting one) are all connected to a parking structure beneath the mall.

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The Archdale is 14 floors, ground floor, basement and a Mezzanine at the top for maintenance (all in all - yes 17 stories). The one to it's east is Revenue and the one left out is the Legislative Office Building. I work for the state so I have nothing better to do than to count the buildings around here :rofl:

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capitalapts Whistle-Stop

capitalapts

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I live around the corner, and yesterday took a stroll up and down Fayetteville St., which is in the early stages of construction. I was surprised by how impressive the skyline seems from the perspective afforded by the clearing of the ornamental trees in the old mall areas. Particularly impressive, for sure, is the clear view of the Capitol dome all the way down past Davie St. The dome is going to look great at night.

You folks should check it out. If anyone photography-inclined (hint, hint, Flash!) was interested, there seem to be a lot of good photo ops.

The bottom line is that I think this is going to be public money well spent, because once they're done, Fayetteville St. is going to give Raleigh a very palpable urban feel, one it's been missing since they created the mall. I would anticipate higher-end service industry companies being interested in relocating there. It surely feels like Main St.

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orulz City

orulz

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I was also struck by how impressive Fayetteville street is now that the trees are gone. Trees are nice, don't get me wrong, but the town's main street ain't supposed to be a forest. They grew too big and made the mall feel too cramped, and also blocked the streetlights at night making it dark and imposing.

I hope that whatever trees they plant this time around don't grow any taller than 10 or 12 feet.

Regarding the next high rise: I think we all know the lot you're talking about very well :) The most expensive parking spaces in town, surrounded on three sides by Fayetteville, Martin, and Wilmington.

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capitalapts Whistle-Stop

capitalapts

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I was also struck by how impressive Fayetteville street is now that the trees are gone. Trees are nice, don't get me wrong, but the town's main street ain't supposed to be a forest. They grew too big and made the mall feel too cramped, and also blocked the streetlights at night making it dark and imposing.

I hope that whatever trees they plant this time around don't grow any taller than 10 or 12 feet.

Regarding the next high rise: I think we all know the lot you're talking about very well :) The most expensive parking spaces in town, surrounded on three sides by Fayetteville, Martin, and Wilmington.

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No doubt, that is the lot. I wonder if it would be feasible to construct a new tallest there. It would be the perfect spot for it-about halfway between the two existing tallests. Something lean and streamlined (PLEASE think at least somewhat outside the box on the next tallest in Raleighwood, architects...) would be nice.

I must say, if I could afford one, the Hudson is now prime, prime property, without a doubt.

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Tayfromcarolina Hamlet

Tayfromcarolina

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yep, but how plain can a building be? The Hudson is as plain as it gets. Thank goodness WTVD 11 is there. The Dawson is much nicer exterior wise anyway. As is the Palladium which will be connected to progress energy. As for me any highrise we can get will go a long way to enhance the appearance of downtown. I don't care if it's on fayetteville st. Dawson, Davie, Mcdowell, or Glennwood. Keep 'em coming.

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mikeinnc Crossroads

mikeinnc

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Oldtimers in Raleigh may remember that in that lot about 10-15 years ago there was the First Citizens building. It was about 10 stories high and had gorgeous Gothic detailing. I was there when they imploded that building. They told us that they were going to build a 21 story building in its place, but obviously that didn't happen. I don't know, maybe the developer got cold feet, but it was a shame to tear down that beautiful building for a parking lot! Hopefully some developer will do it right this time.

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capitalapts Whistle-Stop

capitalapts

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yep, but how plain can a building be? The Hudson is as plain as it gets.

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I must disagree withya, Tay. :whistling: We have to look at the Hudson in the context of what it is-renovation of an existing structure downtown. The building was arguably large enough not to merit demolition and starting over in its footprint with a new structure.

It retains its basic box-like shape, but that's really all that's left from the old building. I assume that structurally, the foundation couldn't handle any more weight to increase its height (stepping out of my realm of knowledge here a bit), so the developer was likely handcuffed in the altitude regard.

I LOVE the glasswork they did with the glass bricks and windows. I also am a big fan of the brick they used to reconstruct the exterior walls. On top of that, you have the courtyard on the second/third story which, when landscaped, will be a sight to see.

Also going in its favor is a friendly street-level floor. The studio's marquee gives Raleigh a bigger city feel (even though the news around here is Mickey Mouse to be sure). I believe they'll have other tenants on the first floor (law firm, anyone? the courthouse is directly across Fayetteville) and hopefully, HOPEFULLY a decent coffee/donut shop downtown. I have been waiting for a while for a place to get coffee around here outside of work hours (bearing in mind that joing on Martin and Fayetteville, which will hopefully extend its hours sometime).

I think it's great.

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avery Hamlet

avery

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I saw on WRAL's 5:00 news last night a brief story on the city's plans to create a new public plaza where the current Live After 5 is held. The plaza is being destroyed along with the current convention center and parking is going beneath the ground there. The news clip showed multiple artist renderings that I beleive are going to be submitted this coming week with a decision to be made this fall. Hopefully, they will be posted on the Liveable Streets website.

Thoughts include a stage for performances to "attractive" open areas for downtown workers to congregate to. They said they want activites there constantly and not just weekly concerts. The person they interviewed said they need to find a way for people in the suburbs to make the trip to downtown. Sounds like the right approach. Can't wait to see it. Any thoughts on what you would like to see incorporated into it?

Personally, I would like to see a bandshell or something along those lines that do not impede the view of the Perfroming Arts building. I would like to see the NC Symphony perform out there instead of in Cary all of the time.

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