Downtown Raleigh: From the street, from the 32nd floor, from everywhere in between.

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Downtown Raleigh. It's a Saturday and also the day of the downtown Raleigh living tour, where you can tour a number of for sale and not for sale homes and condos in the downtown area. Great for getting new views of the city. For my last thread of Raleigh skyline shots, click here.

I start off on Fayettville Street. It's the central street in Raleigh and was redesigned a few years back to be more pedestrian friendly. In fact, much of it is shut down on weekends for some festival or event. In the past month we've been to Brewgaloo, a local NC beer festival, and Out Raleigh. This weekend was Artsplosion or something a few blocks over. Didn't have time to stop by there because there are skyline shots to get!

Looking south down Fayettville:


Looking north:


Walking south there are a lot of historic storefronts:




Looking back north along Fayetteville Street:




Here's the first stop: The PNC tower, completed in 2008. The top part of the tower is condos. We'll be touring one on the 32nd floor; the 2nd highest. At 538 feet this is the tallest building in the Carolinas outside of Charlotte and the tallest between Charlotte and Baltimore.


Annnnnd here's the view from the south facing balcony:


Two Hanover Square, it was the tallest building in the Carolinas outside of Charlotte when it was built in 1991. It was overtaken by Winston-Salem's Well Fargo Center in 1995 and overtaken as Raleigh's tallest by the PNC Plaza in 2008.


One Progress Plaza, competed in 1977, and the brick building hiding behind it is One Hanover Square, completed in 1985.


Probably dorms or something. Shaw University is close to downtown, as well as William Peace College. A few miles from downtown is NC State University and Meredith College.


South along Fayettville Street.




Sir Walter Raleigh apartments, 1928:


A mural on a parking deck:


Downtown amphitheater:


Two Progress Plaza, built 2004. Or at least it used to be Progress Energy; notice the latter and that they are removing the letters. I think this is the building Red Hat bought the naming rights to. At least one tech company is downtown; SAS built their suburban office park in Cary.


Looking more east you can see some of the booths set up for Artsplosion:


Marriott, completed in 2008:


Wake County Office Building, 1942:


Wake County Courthouse, 1970:


The new Wake County Justice Center, 2012ish.


Art and stuff:


Looking east:


Some government office build with a roof of solar panels:


Back down to Fayetteville Street heading North.


Next we tour a loft up here:


View from the window looking across Fayetteville Street:


Looking out the window north up Fayetteville. The capital building is just out of view to the left:


Back down to Fayetteville Street, looking north at the capital building. IMO not as nice as the capital buildings of a lot of other states.


Turning back around, looking south along Fayetteville Street:


The other side of Fayetteville street looking south at Sir Walter Raleigh apartments, the downtown Sheraton just behind it:


The Wake County building again, from street level:


Going over one block east to Wilmington Street:


North along Wilmington Street, Capital Bank Plaza, 1964:


Back south along Wilmington, One Progress Plaza, 1977. Also, Let's Go Canes!


Just south past that is One Hanover Square, 1985:


Two Hanover Square peeking through the cracks:


Turning back north again with PNC Plaza in the background:


Heading north then heading back over towards Fayetteville street again:


Back on Fayetteville Street, looking north at Wells Fargo plaza, 3rd tallest in the city. The older building in front of it is... I forgot. Raleigh has 3 or 4 buildings like this all build in the 1920s and 30s and I can't tell them apart yet.


It says 1914, so that's either the year or the address.


Old building or something. I can't remember them all yet.


Another look at the Wells Fargo building:


Heading north to a few old homes. PNC Plaza from several blocks east:


Built in 1855, home of a former senator:


The bathroom. Soon we will have running water here in NC.


Looking next door this old house is now an art studio:


This one is circa 1900. This is the Oakwood neighborhood just NE of downtown.


Okay, enough old stuff. We head west to view a 16th floor unit here:


And here is the view looking southeast towards downtown:


Turning around and looking the opposite direction towards Glenwood Ave. Glenwood is a trendy area of nightclubs, restaurants, bars, and new condos.


I think this is the new Hampton Inn under construction along Glenwood.


Looking east these are mostly government buildings. The taller white one on the left is the Archdale building, 1977. Looks inspired by the government buildings in Albany.


Looking north, these are some office park type buildings along the I-440 beltway:


To the west of them along the beltway is the North Hills area, upscale shops and bars and stuff. It's a shame that larger building was built all the way up there, it's about the 4th or 5th tallest in the city:


NC Bar Association under construction.


Downtown:


Zoomed out to include the Quorum building, 2007:


State Employees Credit Union headquarters under construction:


We head over to Glenwood Avenue. Here's the popular Hibernian Pub:


Across Glenwood is the next few condos we're touring:


4th floor courtyard view:


6th floor condo with view looking north along Glenwood Ave:


Looking NE, hey I was just over there:


House across the street. A lot of SFHs mixed in with the new condo units.


Looking down at the Hibernian. Also, Lets Go Canes!


Raleigh has pretty good bus service, and plans on expanding commuter rail soon. Light rail and streetcar are still in the planning phases. Here is the R Line, a free bus that loops around downtown every 10 minutes or so. Fancy hybrid electric, would you just look at that?


Now we go out to the parking deck and here is the view southeast towards downtown:




Quorum building again. I think it's mixed use with some condos in it:


Clarion Hotel, 1969, with a restaurant in the top floor. Ever notice a lot of cities have this same building?


Walking back towards downtown, here is the new Green Square project home of the new Natural Sciences Museum and offices for the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources:


Yeah, that's a big freaking globe:


The new SECU headquarters building is connected to it:


It doesn't spin or anything. Part of the Natural Science museum is inside it. I think it symbolizes that Raleigh is the center of the know world.


Just up the street is the NC Legislature building. Kinda ugly. Out front a protest was wrapping up. There are protest daily, either against Wall Street or against the recent Amendment One or against the war(s) or whatnot. Today's protest was (pulls a number from a hat) against fracking.


Across the street is a pedestrian avenue that goes to the capital building. Today there's a science carnival for kids.




Leaving downtown, here's another view of the SECU headquarters from the opposite side:


Hope you enjoyed the tour of Raleigh. Next I'll have to get some street scenes from Glenwood Avenue, Hillsboro/NC State, and the warehouse district. Also Durham soon too.