If you come to the Deep South Bar on a Tuesday night, you can definitely anticipate great music. Every Tuesday night they host Open Mic night, where bands and solo artists of every style are welcome.

In the warehouse district of downtown Raleigh, there is a place with a lot of character and a lot of talent. I’ve been coming down for a few months now on Tuesday nights since my friend who plays at the open mic invited me to see him play. You’ll be sure to expect more than 6 acts that regularly play every night as well as new musicians that drop by from time to time.

In this very friendly atmosphere, I really got to know a great range of very talented musicians, from a guy that plays the ukulele to a very soulful girl with her guitar.

Open mic goes on from 9pm to 2am every Tuesday, and welcomes anybody to come play music or to sit and listen. It has become one of my Tuesday night activities to enjoy the company of friends, music and beer.

Deep South the Bar

430 S Dawson St

John Morris and Sid Fowler

“Carnival is a pageant without footlights and without a division into performers and spectators.” - Mikhail Bakhtin.

Photo by John Morris

While the midway of the 21st century bears little resemblance to the Medieval festivities Bakhtin focused on in his work, the openness from conventional norms and dissolution of social hierarchy on which he focused still seem to hold sway within the fairgrounds every Autumn. By the time people have wandered past the tents, the agricultural exhibits, and stumbled down into the dizzying lights and noise of the midway, something restrictive has been left behind.

For someone who almost exclusively photographs people, the carnival is both challenging and rewarding. This wonderful energy permeates the crowd, and while taking intimate portraits is difficult, and candid shots near impossible with the shifting crowd and variegated lights, people who would often treat you with suspicion or tell you get stuffed will gladly pose and smile. I love the mix of people, too. While most events provide a somewhat narrow slice of our nation, the fair has it all; young, old, families, criminals, lovers, saints, all races and nationalities.

I think the carnival atmosphere is a very romantic place as well. Gangs of teenagers roam the midway, looking for hook ups. Young lovers sparkle, old couples find the time to walk hand in hand for the first time in months.

Perhaps it’s cultural – even the romance in Charlotte’s Web centers on the carnival – but I think there’s something deeper than that at play.

This year, though, I wasn’t photographing alone. John Morris joined me for the evening, and Goodnight Raleigh’s newest contributors Sarah Mascarah and Rocio Lluch went and shot some amazing stuff.

Photo by Rocio Lluch

Photo by Rocio Lluch

Photo by Rocio Lluch

Photo by Rocio Lluch

These people were too beautiful

A bear of truly enormous proportions

Officer Porter, keeping the peace

The Guesser

Early halloween costume?

Family

Every year, when the fireworks start going off, I tell myself I won’t frantically around taking portraits of people in front of the fireworks, that it’s cliche and I should avoid it. Then every year, about 30 seconds into them, I take off running down the midway, tapping people on the shoulder and saying “excuse me, could I please get a portrait of you guys with the fireworks in the background.”

Fireworks

More families

Lovers

Ok, so yeah, a couple of these are from last year.

Cheesburger stand

Bar-b-que man

More officers keeping the peace

Luke Skywalker and his sister the Princess

Another nice couple

This was also from last year. It was much colder then

Carnie

Another carnie

I couldn't get enough pictures of this guy

The greatest funhouse wall ever

Not the best shot, but I got pretty wet for it

Yes, it was that awesome

Exhaustion

Although the folks at 1304Bikes lost their permanent space back in June, they haven’t slowed down in ther efforts to work with the community. They’ve been looking for a new permanent space, but in the meantime have held mobile bicycle workshops as well as benefit events to find a new home. Tomorrow (Friday) they’ll be hosting DERAILED, a bicycle-themed art and photography show to achieve that end.

The art show, featuring new works of art by local artists such as David Eichenberger, Casey Porn, Paul Friedrich, and others, will benefit 1304bikes as they continue their search for a new space to house the community bike program.  All proceeds from the art show will benefit 1304bikes.  Additionally, music will be provided by DJ Gonzo, refreshments will be offered, and there will be opportunities to learn more about 1304bikes and how to get involved.

The show will be at Ahpeele Studio, located at 400 Capital Boulevard.

More information: 1304 Bikes First Friday Update

(The image above is my contribution, one of the photography pieces that will be available)

For more than a century rain has been mulling over a way to make a home inside the once regal house on the corner of Ashe Avenue and Hillsborough Street.  The house, often referred to as the “Green House” or “The Jackpot House”, drops slate roof tiles as if it were inviting its wet foe inside for an extended stay.  The perimeter of the house is littered with malt liquor bottles, window glass, and broken slate.

A story accompanies every house that man inhabits.  Much like children, we give these organized piles of lumber and stone an identity of their own when they become the structural shadows of their past residents.  The Jackpot House wears its history in plain view.  Its weathered green asbestos siding, peeling paint, gray wood, and cinder block appendage tell a vague story of neglect and abuse.

During the late 1800s and crossing over into the first few years of the 1900s, residential development crept onto Hillsborough Street, and the tract along Ashe Avenue between the railroad tracks and Hillsborough Street was in the process of being sectioned off for development.  It was during this time the Jackpot House was constructed.

Wake County tax records indicate a build date of 1915.  However, city directories and deed research suggest an earlier date of around 1902.  The Queen Anne-style architectural details such as the hipped roof with lower cross gables and the gabled dormers also suggest this earlier build date.  Porches are very significant in dating a residential structure, but sadly only a small portion of the original porch still exists.  It is very likely that the original building had an asymmetrical porch that ran the width of the house and along half of the left side.  The portion that exists today is a good indicator of how the original appeared, but it is still difficult to imagine what this house looked like with a lawn and a front porch.

If the house had any dignity remaining before the Jackpot was built, it was lost when the porch was removed.  As journalist Michael Dolan once said, “a house without a porch is like a man without eyebrows”. Sifting through its catalog of structural scars reveals a more accurate picture of how this structure came into its own identity, and leads to more questions that beg deeper investigation and further speculation.

It is believed that the house was built for the family of Fabius Briggs, a son of Thomas H. Briggs, the founder of Briggs Hardware.  In 1874, the Briggs Hardware building on Fayetteville Street was Raleigh’s tallest building and remained so for three decades.  The Briggs family has deep seated roots in Raleigh and the family business continues to operate today.  The Fabius Briggs family lived at 1301 Hillsborough Street until around 1927.  By 1929, the Great Depression brooded over the city, and in 1932 the Raleigh Building and Loan Association acquired the house through foreclosure.  It likely spent a time unoccupied, and was eventually rented to a Raleigh lawyer, and then to the Sigma Nu fraternity for ten years.

By 1944, the once palatial residence had been humbled and abused by its tenants.  It had lost its innocence, status, and shine. It was around this time that a Greek family by the name of Kledaras bought the Briggs house, which they would own for the next 60 years. In 1949 an architect unwittingly drafted the fate of the old house alongside plans for three storefronts: a dry-cleaners, The Brite Spot Restaurant, and a contractor and building estimator.

Present day, store fronts

One might wonder why someone would destroy any outward aesthetic appeal of a turn of the century Queen Anne house by attaching an ugly cinder block building.  Simply put, in the mid 1950s this style of architecture was out-dated and all too common.  In the eyes of a 1950s Raleigh resident, 1301 Hillsborough Street was a throwback to a time that was becoming increasingly hard to identify with.  In recent years, the Garland Jones building in downtown Raleigh gained attention for its modernist exterior and was considered ugly and outdated by many Raleigh residents.  The revolving door of architectural trends had come full circle.  The Raleigh residents who designed and built Garland Jones were also razing and turning their collective noses up at gaudy, ornate turn of the century architecture.  We are simply mirroring the actions of our ancestors with a new aesthetic ideology.

By the 1960s, the three storefronts and a rooming house occupying the Briggs House itself had been open for more than a decade.  The 1970s proved to be a rough time for the house and its appendage.  The Brite Spot restaurant became an aptly named strip club bearing the same name.  The house, virtually abandoned at this time, naturally became a place for patrons of the strip club to get “privacy”.  The house had become a den of iniquity, and would remain so for some years to come.  When the city cracked down on strip clubs in the late 1970s The Brite Spot closed.  The cinderblock building was then home to a long list of bars and other establishments, while rooms in the house were rented out — or left abandoned.

Fireplace, main floor

A beautiful oak staircase runs along the left wall and turns up at a right angle to the second floor.  Walking up, dark wood surrounds you. Waist-high rail and stile paneling runs the length of the wall opposite the banister, worn smooth by thousands of hands.  The steps have become concave, and the walls seem to ache with age.

The future looks bleak for the Briggs House.  Recently condemned by the city of Raleigh, its days are numbered — unless it is either brought up to code, or moved.  Preservation North Carolina (PNC) is working to save it; however it seems the only way to preserve the house is to move it.  This option would require a tremendous amount of effort and money.  The gleaming question is whether it is worth all the trouble.  History buffs and architecture geeks would certainly chime in with a resounding “yes”, but sadly the majority of people would remain apathetic to its destruction.

Whatever the future holds for this old structure, one can confidently attest to its long life and steadfast nature.  Personally, I take comfort in knowing that I’ll be here in 30 years, telling a new generation of Raleigh residents — “There once was a wonderful old house that sat right there”  — the very words that I find so fascinating today.

Opening song

Friday night, local favorite Left Outlet played an impromptu show at The Rialto, to open for the October Rocky Horror Picture Show and promote this Thursday’s Local Beer Local Band Halloween Bash at Tir Na Nog. While the set was a short opener for the main event, Left Outlet rocked as hard as always, and Goodnight Raleigh’s John Morris and I were there to grab a few pictures and enjoy the music.

Anthony Rhodes on Bass

This Thursday Left Outlet will be playing the Local Beer Local Band Halloween Bash at Tir Na Nog, along with I Was Totally Destroying It, and Story Changes. The show promises to be pretty tremendous, with rumors of serious costumage, thrashing music, and of course plenty to drink. If you’re looking for a great way to kick off your Halloween weekend, this event is probably it.

Lawson Bennett on keys

Getting into the show

Second Song

Roger Flake on drums

Lead Guitarist Drew Smith

Lead Singer Timothy Lemuel

Last Song

Image credit: Sid Fowler

The number of local media sources has grown tremendously, and until now, that growth has been limited to online distribution. This past weekend, a newcomer arrives with print copies of “The Stagger”, a publication known in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, but not in Raleigh.

The Stagger bills itself as “Your source for live entertainment in the Downtown Raleigh area”. It relies on print distribution with a web site that consists of scans of the printed version. According to a Facebook update, the folks had planned on distributing the printed version in Raleigh after landing ad sales with local businesses. Now that the print version has arrived, we can assume they were successful.

Like the frequently updated and beloved local favorite, Raleigh Specials Tonight, it focuses on events and drink specials. As of now there is no Raleigh flavor of their main site, which means they’ve launched here solely as a print venture. The gentlemen in the photo above had around a dozen stands when I saw him. They have a large reach and wide distribution network in Chapel Hill, and I’m guessing they have the same aim here.

Do you think it will be as successful in Raleigh as it is in Chapel Hill/Carrboro?

In early 1959, the world-renowned architect Edward Durell Stone formally abandoned the International Style of modern architecture with the unveiling of the new U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India. Commenting on the new face of the America overseas, Frank Lloyd Wright declared: “It’s the only embassy that does credit to the United States.” Although very well received both then and now, it also put him on a path that would distance him from his peers in the community.

The inspiration for the North Carolina’s new Legislative Building came directly from the new embassy. At the time, the style was labeled as “Decorative Romanticism” and was a lightning rod for attention, both then and now.

The design of North Carolina’s new state house by Stone, in association with the local firm, Holloway & Reeves, was met with scorn. The founding Dean of the College of Design, Henry Kamphoefner, was quoted in the N&O likening the new Legislative Building to the “Raleigh branch of the Four Seasons Restaurant”.

He later blamed the reporter for taking his comments of context and blowing them out of proportion.*

Ralph Reeves (above, right), in association with Stone on the project, replied that Kamphoefner’s comments were “not in accordance with any kind of ethical conduct”. Fighting words over the new project were being exchanged in the papers between local heavyweights.

The State Senate in 1963. Image credit: Architectural Forum Magazine

Although the new building was met with some criticism, it also drew praise:

For North Carolina this structure marks a sharp departure from a long succession of uninspired public buildings. For architect Stone, of course, the building is not a departure but, rather, a restatement of present goals: permanence, refinement of materials, spatial drama, and, in plan, the elimination of corridors by the use of great interior courts.

– Architectural Forum, Dec 1963

The irony in all of this controversy is that it’s widely regarded as the last example of good state government architecture in Raleigh. The buildings that surround it on the state government mall are bland and boring at best.

Straddling a line somewhere between historical cues, lavish design, and modern design principles, it didn’t fit any known quantity at the time. Stone didn’t use the familiar Greco-Roman Ionic columns, arched entryways, or prominent pediments that people had come to expect from established state architecture.

It also wasn’t the minimalist modernist aesthetic, best illustrated locally in the Milton Small office building or the current Ralegh Orthopaedic Clinic. Instead, he fused elements of both -– a low profile, wide and sweeping roof lines, tall windows, with historical cues such as ornamentation and gardens.

One of Stone’s trademarks was the use of a wide variety of other allied arts– including painters, sculptors, and landscape architects. The landscape architect for this project was Raleigh Hall of Fame-r Richard Bell, working in conjunction Ed Stone Jr, the son of the Design Architect.

Incorporating beautiful greenery and other elements of landscaping proved to be an interesting challenge. From a lack of adequate drainage for the indoor plants, to state government bureaucracy, and some legislators vocally criticizing the project, it was quite a learning experience for a man that only had his own practice for a few years.

Some state legislators tried to persuade Bell to put tobacco plants on the rooftop gardens. Many of them were from tobacco-producing counties and after all, “North Carolina is a tobacco state!”. He politely rebuffed the suggestions and instead left behind beautiful patches of green that adorn the surroundings as well as the roof.

The patterns on the marbled columns, façade, and coffered ceilings are quite remarkable and unique for this area. According to Stone’s youngest son, Hicks, “this kind of ornamentation is distinctly Wrightian in origin”. You can see it in other examples of Wright’s work, such as the Ennis House in Los Angeles. The elder Stone and Wright were good friends until the latter’s death in 1959.

The Legislative Building’s ties to established local and international personalities doesn’t end with Stone, Kamphoefner, Wright, Bell, and Reeves, however. In 1963, Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller penned a poem entitled ‘Dymaxion Rating’ which sang the praises of Stone and the building he designed here in Raleigh.

In it, the final verse reads:

Dignity
For common man
In Raleigh’s white-green grace
Edward Durell Stone
In world architects’ first place

Today, the interior of the building appears almost the same as it did when it opened in 1963. There is plentiful use of red carpet, the water gardens are still in use, and the giant doors throughout retain the original unique knobs. Heck, even the furniture still has the look and feel of mid-century modernism.

Several of the images used in this article date back to 2004-2005, a time in which I was discovering the area of my newly adopted city. In terms of architecture, the Legislative Building has always remained close to my heart.

The infinite perspective given by the columns together with the square-spirals can give one a sense of a different place, right here in town.

It is unique, commanding, regal, and extraordinary in terms of architectural details. The Legislative Building is a treasure to all residents of North Carolina. With any luck, it will be regarded by future generations of Raleigh residents with the same level of affection shown to its older sister, the historic Capitol Building a block away.

Most asked questions by school children when visiting the Legislative Building: “Why is the red carpet blocked off?” and “Can the governor walk on it?”

Answer: Thousands of people walk on the carpet on a continuous basis. The maintenance and upkeep are too much for the illustrious carpet. And no, not even the governor can walk on the carpet.

Special thanks: University of Arkansas Special Collections for permission to republish Buckminster Fuller’s poem, Hicks Stone for Architectural Forum scans and historical information, and to Triangle Modernist Houses for use of Holloway and Reeves image.

* For more information on the (sometimes public) disputes between Kamphoefner and Stone/Reeves, see David Brooke’s thesis on Kamphoefner [PDF], page 112 (124 of the PDF)

Recently I took my younger brother who was visiting from out of town to a familiar spot with a great view of the city. As the breeze crept up, I was enveloped with a gripping sense of Deja Vu.

This particular night was a bit more dreary than it was exactly one year ago when I saw the landscape for the first time. Reddish clouds were overhead this night, and it was significantly colder. The familiar low rumbling of the fireworks that were being set off as a part of The N.C. State Fair could be heard in the distance.

The menacing clouds overhead were both intimidating and beautiful. The feeling was the same, but the landscape slightly different.

For a moment I thought blasters had hit Hillsborough Street, but then realized I was mistaken. It was a bit disappointing because the latter isn’t nearly as entertaining.

Hamlett Construction crews are out nightly, jackhammering roadways, shining lights bright into the night and breaking the serenity that would be otherwise peaceful evenings on Hillsborough Street. I am unclear as to when this destruction started but I do know that this roadway has been under construction since I moved to Raleigh, late last year.

There has been a definite decrease in traffic, progressively since the summer began. Travel within this busy area has proven even tougher since it was decided to add Oberlin Road into the mix. Most drivers are finding alternate routes around the madness. Hopefully this is helpful in moving the crews and the process along more efficiently.

With many of the sidewalks now closed off or missing entirely, pedestrians are having to weave their way in and out of traffic barrels and dangerous encounters with buses, cars and construction vehicles that are moving through the area.

In a few busier foot traffic locations, informal crosswalks have been set up to get N.C. State students and staff across the muddy stretches of torn away roadway. Prepare to be cautious when crossing these areas. Mud, rocks, and asphalt, oh my.

Lonely sandwich boards and neon lights beckon to lesser crowds of people, most of whom just want to get off the street and away from the noise. Hillsborough businesses are sure to be the main sufferers during this phase of “upgrades” the city of Raleigh is experiencing. For the sake of Hillsborough St., let’s hope it ends soon.

These folks sure are having a swell time! You will too if you come out this weekend for Home Movie Day — Raleigh 2009.

Bring your family’s old 8mm, Super 8 or 16mm home movies to the Raleigh Home Movie Day event this Saturday, Oct. 17. Not only will you be able to talk with film archivists about the best ways to preserve your movies, but you will be able to see them projected — a real treat if you have not seen them in a while. No home movies? Then come on out anyway and join in the fun watching the old movies of others. It’s not only historically significant — it’s fun too!

Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 from 1 - 4pm

North Carolina State Archives Auditorium
109 East Jones St.
Raleigh, N.C.

Visit  Home Movie Day — Raleigh 2009 for contact information, a map to the auditorium and all the details about this event. See ya at the movies!

Co-sponsored by the Film Studies Program at NCSU, the North Carolina State Archives and A/V Geeks Transfer Services.