The 200 Block of Fayetteville Street
History in the Remaking
As many have noticed, the 200 blk of Fayetteville Street is currently under some heavy renovation. On the east side of the street is the much awaited opening of the new bar in town, the Foundation. On the west side, we have Greg Paul Builders and Empire Properties renovating two spots side-by-side, which will be (among other things) a private art gallery, apartments, and condos. I know that both groups did a lot of research into the tennants of the past, leading me to believe that each will have a new approach to the space, with an appreciation of the past. Also on that strip is the historic spot where the Boylan Pearce department store once stood. The A.J. Fletcher foundation is set to begin rennovating the building at the beginning of the new year, which will serve as office space.
The west side’s historic spaces, one of the most notable being North Carolina’s first skyscraper, The Briggs Hardware Building (a whopping 4 stories), hold their own against the giants of east side of the street (ahem, RBC). There is such a stark difference from left to right when walking down the Fayetteville, it will be interesting to see what these new spaces add to the look and feel of the street. Here’s looking forward to the new 200 blk. neighbors.
Some of my favorite images of the 200 block past:
The great blizzard of 1899
The trollies on Fayetteville, 1912
West side, 1940s
West side at night, 1960
The opening of the mall celebration, 1977
All images courtesy of the Raleigh City Museum
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James
12/15 04:42 PM
Nice post.
The 200 block of Fayetteville Street is definately my favorite. The buildings on the west side are some of the most beautiful on the street—especially since they’ve been restored.
There are some bad attempts at historic renovation on the 200 block, though. For example that government diner—what was it called?? The ... um ... money press?? Something like that. Of course the name would work if we could find some evidence of counterfeiting on that spot. Hmmm….
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gb
12/15 07:13 PM
Am I the only one disappointed that there were more people walking around on Fayetteville Street in 1960 then there are in 2008!!? More storefronts and biz, too!
A Woolworth’s and an Eckerds next to one another?! That means there was even retail competition on the street!
Crazy.
Great post and photos!
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Micah
12/15 08:58 PM
So pretty. Most of those signs are now illegal under current Raleigh sign ordinances.
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Joshua
12/15 10:22 PM
exactly Micah! dimensional signage is essential to the vitality of a downtown. these pictures made me smile. especially the blizzard.
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Matthew
12/16 12:58 AM
I cannot wait for the temporary enclosure on 230 Fayetteville Street to come down in a few weeks. I hope that Fayetteville Street will become as vibrant as in these photos again.
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Matthew Brown
12/16 12:06 PM
Thank you, Ladye Jane, for sharing these wonderful photos. What an amazing place this was; those cornices are fabulous! And now people go to the Wal-Mart instead.
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smitty
12/16 06:36 PM
Eckerds. When did they drop the ‘S’?
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mwyatt
12/18 05:51 PM
The ever-evolving Fayetteville Street. In the mid-19th century the street was mud, with pigs running wild.
The atomic reference in the top photo is interesting, “Prices Torn To Atoms.” Atomic theory had been around for a long time, but it didn’t really catch the public imagination until the early 20th century.
When I was a kid, the only competition for downtown retailers was Cameron Village. Downtown sidewalks were bustling, especially on Saturday, when country folk would come into town to shop.
I don’t know when Eckerds dropped the “s,” but they used to have a motto that I liked: Everybody has to be somewhere. Why not Eckerds?
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