Oct
4
Photo Series: Riddick Stadium
Filed Under Photo Series, Sports | 1 Comment
N.C. State has spent a lot of money on its football facilities with the addition of the Murphy Center and the Vaughn Towers. That said, we thought it would be fun to look back at the Pack’s old stomping grounds, Riddick Stadium.
In the first picture you can see a football game being played on Riddick Field. I’m not sure what date the picture was taken, but my guess is the 1920s. The second picture was taken in 1946 during a football game between NCSU and Duke. Notice the upgrades to Riddick Stadium that were added between the first and second photos. I think they came in the 1930s in the form of permanent bleachers and a field house. Read more
Oct
2
Photo Series: Going Up?
Filed Under Photo Series | 4 Comments
With all the new construction going up in downtown Raleigh, we thought it would be fun to look at a construction photo from Raleigh’s past. Taken between 1912-1913, this photo shows the Commercial Bank building going up on Martin Street in downtown Raleigh. The new RBC Bank building is currently under construction on the same site (although the RBC building’s footprint is quite a bit larger).
If you look at the photo closely there are some interesting observations to be made about Raleigh in the early 1900s. Share your impressions with others in the comments section, and send us your new construction photos by emailing jchavis@raleighfreepress.com.
(Photo courtesy of the Raleigh City Museum)
Sep
26
Photo: Catching the Express to the Fair
Filed Under Photo Series, Event | 3 Comments
Deep fried candy bars, thrill rides assembled by questionable characters, pig races, concerts and “The Smallest Woman in the World.” Sound like fun? Good news – the State Fair will be here in just over 2 weeks!
In case you’re wondering the Wolfpack and the ‘Canes will be playing out-of-town for two weeks to avoid State Fair / football / hockey mega-traffic. My hat goes off to the rocket scientist who managed to organize that. I seem to recall that it took me over two hours to get home (5 miles away) last year. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I was able to get in and out of the fair without having to deal with a ridiculous amount of traffic, a problem these 3 probably could not have imagined as they donned their best threads and hopped on the “express to Raleigh” in 1914 to enjoy the festivities.
Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing photo series of Raleigh. To participate, send your pictures from the State Fair to photos@raleighfreepress.com. Be sure to include your name if you would like us to give you credit. The best photos will be published on the site.
(Photo Courtesy of Raleigh City Museum)
Sep
6
Photo: A Desire For More Streetcars
Filed Under Photo Series | 3 Comments
In what is likely to become a regular weekly series, we’ll be highlighting photos of Raleigh and providing a little background information to back them up. Hopefully they’ll serve as an opportunity to learn a little bit more about Raleigh, and you’ll get in on the action by sending your own photo submissions to: jchavis@raleighfreepress.com. Please be sure to include your name if you’d like to be credited for the photo.
No it’s not San Francisco – it’s Raleigh. The city ran electric streetcars through much of downtown until 1932. These days all that’s left of that legacy is a “showtime” gas powered trolley that travels limited Downtown routes on Thursdays-Saturday. There is also a historical trolley tour given on Saturdays out of Mordecai Historic Park .
There have been talks about bringing back the full service in an effort to connect vibrant areas of downtown, but so far the city has nothing formal on the books. What do you think - if a proposal for more streetcars in downtown Raleigh came by, would you get on board?
Photo courtesy of The Raleigh City Museum.
Get more information on the historical trolley tours from the City of Raleigh website.