Published by Robert E Leebowitz November 30th, 2007
in Architecture, Raleigh and RDU.
From TriangleModernistHomes.com: The new Raleigh Urban Exploration (UE) meetup.com group has gotten permission to explore and photograph Dick Bell’s Water Garden property on Glenwood on Sunday December 2 at 2:30. Here are some links to articles about the property:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/760876.html
http://rduwtf.com/blog1/2007/10/08/water-garden-rip/
http://asla.org/lamag/lam06/february/changingplaces.html
The owner of the property, Matt Sumner of Black Mountain Development, will be there to let us in. There should be plenty of parking on the property itself, which is located at 8404 Glenwood Avenue, across from Sir Walter Chevrolet. Matt has asked us to sign liability waivers so that we won’t sue BMD if we fall in a ditch, break a leg on a loose board, etc. Sunset on Sunday will be at 5:00, so it will start to get dark around 4:30, which should be a pretty time to take exterior photos. Please feel free to invite anybody you think might be interested. This may be the last time anybody will be able to see this property before the new owners start building.
Here is a link to a map:
http://dickbellenvironments.com/map.html
Plans to demolish three historic houses at Five Points, floated years ago, now seem closer to happening. The fine folks over at newraleigh.com have posted on this and hinted at a question that we’d like to make considerably more explicit here. See below.
The Cinderella House, once a beauty shop, now occupied by a used/vintage clothing store, is a perfect example of the Old Weird Raleigh that we love, and that we will miss. Sprawl-versus-infill is an argument that won’t be solved by a blog post, or by a hundred blog posts. But is knocking down three venerable houses in one of Raleigh’s early 20th
century neighborhoods going to have a significant impact on sprawl?
Answer: no.
And even if it did, there’s a question we’d like to hear more often: Why does it have to be so fucking ugly? Why do we, good little urbanists, have to say “yes” to every bland half-assed po-mo four story building that comes down the pike, with slightly different colors of beige or brick exterior?
Why does it have to be so fucking ugly?
Truly, this is a wonder that brands, measures and celebrates the City of Greenways. The Reedy Creek Bridge is a 660-foot span across I-440 that is the longest pedestrian bridge in North Carolina. Inspired by the Sydney Harbor Bridge, it is the highlight of the House Creek Greenway, a mile of highly varied landscapes winding around the Museum of Art Campus that was designated a National Recreation Trail ) in 2006. It is also a highly visible symbol of amazing cross-currents of energy, all whipping up enthusiasm for Raleigh’s increasingly impressive greenway system. DOT, ) the City, Meredith, NCSU, ) the Art Museum, ) and a local greenway activist group, all provided impetus and input for the project. Moreover, the bridge physically links an impressive list of neighbors: two college campuses, the Museum, the Green Environmental Education Center, a University research forest, ) the Army National Guard Armory, some prime open space, and Umstead Park, which will eventually connect to the American Tobacco Trail.
The structure is imposing, an arresting sight from a car on the Beltline, and yet classic and well integrated in appearance. The twelve foot wide triple arch span provides an intimate (and for some, dizzying) experience of Beltline traffic,
and the simulated stone towers look very much in place and in proportion to the site.
It makes a satisfying goal whether you are coming from the beginning of the Reedy Creek trail at Hillsborough and Gorman, or making your way through the wooded hillside from the nature park at the Art Museum. Continue reading ‘Bridge Around Raleigh: Seven Wonders #4′
Published by Robert E Leebowitz November 19th, 2007
in Art, Lookit, Raleigh and Good Stuff.
John Morris posted a complimentary comment about Furry Geezer’s Rural Raleigh post and we’d like to return the favor. Mr. Morris is the creator of the blog: GoodnightRaleigh.com. Goodnight Raleigh is a simple concept, photographs of Raleigh at night, but the resulting site is elaborate and beautiful. GR captures the many personalities and characteristics of the city that make it seem like a living organism. The photography reveals the haunting loneliness of empty warehouses illuminated by streetlight
and the kinetic blur of nightlife in places such as Sadlack’s Continue reading ‘Goodnight Raleigh’
Published by The Furry Geezer November 15th, 2007
in WTF and Raleigh.
I grew up in a brand new suburb (post-war low-cost) in East Raleigh - (Gatewood on King Charles) but I spent a couple of weeks each summer in “the country” - my aunt and uncle’s farm just down Honeycutt from Falls of the Neuse Road - folks, that was then The Country, first place I ever experienced total darkness, with beans in the field and cow quarters in the freezer - so when a Road Worrier column in the N&O mentioned flocks of turkeys becoming roadkill out on Knightdale-Auburn Road, I knew better. “WTF?”, I thought - turkeys are a sight smarter than that. I went out for a look. “Damn!” I thought to myself as I hit the very stretch of poor asphalt described in the column. “There they are. Goddamned turkeys. Wandering the highway like - well, like chickens. What the hell are those things!?” I stopped and took the pictures above. They are Guinea Hens, I didn’t know what to call them but I knew damn well they weren’t turkeys after I though about it a minute. And don’t you just love living in a town where a 12 or 15 minute drive gives you a sight like this. Or the biker mailbox right down the road.
Raleigh’s beauty really does reside in its ironic juxtapositions. Southern town, government seat, North Carolina city (a recent oxymoron), it retains in its skyline a tracery of trees Continue reading ‘Rural Raleigh’
Published by Robert E Leebowitz November 15th, 2007
in WTF, Raleigh, Urban Planning and RDU.
The N&O reports that Raleigh’s Warehouse District isn’t quite the success downtown boosters might have hoped. This news comes on the same day that Uncle Kracker’s publicist begins the rehab of his sad rapist image, which has seemingly become the face of the Depot District. Good luck, Ess Lounge! We previously described this failed complex of night clubs: The Hurricane, The Metro and Blazing Saddles, as “The Johnston County Entertainment District” because we’re so elitist as to suggest that provincial Raleigh could have a Bridge & Tunnel Crowd without having any bridges or tunnels. We aren’t sad to see it go. The Depot building has a history of landlord tenant problems that can be simply described like so: The rent is too high. God bless Humble Pie and 5-Star, the pioneers with the low rent basis (we hope) and the businesses in the district that actually possess charm. We already have City Limits, The Buckhead Saloon, and Deep South and that should certainly keep the Yup-Neck population covered. Clicking through those Z-Spotlight photo galleries is a guilty pleasure that builds our self-esteem but leaves us mildly depressed after being immersed in so much desperation. Better to watch “Looking For Mr. Goodbar” because at least the desperation is tempered by the good looks and style of young Diane Keaton. We digress.
We also hear rumors Nana’s Chophouse has been struggling and will soon become a BBQ restaurant. Continue reading ‘The Depot District’
Subscribe to rduwtf.com by Email
