The Development of Modernism in Raleigh 1945-1965 - Triangle ...

The Development of Modern Architecture in Raleigh 1945-1965 34compromised its modernist design, and the six blocks of retail shops have beensubstantially remodeled, with some replacement construction.On Fayetteville Street in the CBD, where tall Classical Revival-style office buildings ofthe early twentieth century lined the blocks, it is especially significant that three high-riseModernist bank buildings appeared at the very end of the postwar period. In NorthCarolina, the first glass and steel skyscrapers were built by banks in the downtowncommercial core as real estate ventures that reflected the larger spatial requirements ofthe modern banking industry, symbolized the modern corporate bank image, andcontained floors of space rentable to tenants. The earliest examples were built inCharlotte in 1958 and 1961, but all three have been significantly altered on the exterior.The eighteen-story Northwestern Bank Building (now the BB&T Building) rose inAsheville from 1964-1965. The first such building in Raleigh is the five-story FirstFederal Bank Building on Salisbury Street, built in 1960 from a design by HowardMusick of St. Louis. This significant building is slated for demolition. 43 Raleigh’s 1965BB&T Building at 333 Fayetteville Street is apparently one of the two earliest intactMiesian International Style high-rise office buildings in North Carolina. The other is theformer Northwestern Bank Building in Asheville of the same date. Thus 333 FayettevilleStreet has exceptional architectural significance.Registration RequirementsA high level of integrity of design, workmanship, and materials is necessary for NationalRegister eligibility of individual buildings. It is important that the features that expressthe Modernist aesthetic still be in place. For example a building set on steel stilts shouldnot have the original open space enclosed. A high-rise office building must retain itsoriginal exterior materials. However interior remodeling does not necessarily render abuilding ineligible. The lower public spaces, such as entrance lobbies, generally have themost impressive architectural finishes and are the most significant interior spaces. Upperoffice floors were designed to be reconfigured and remodeled to suit the needs ofchanging tenants. Nevertheless, even if all interior spaces have been altered, thebuilding’s iconic landmark power, its street presence, may outweigh interior alterations.A clearly obvious example of this is the Empire State Building, which would still beeligible for the Register regardless of interior alterations. Additions are allowable if theydo not detract from the original form. An even higher standard of design quality andintegrity is necessary for a less than fifty year old building to have exceptionalsignificance. Milton Small’s Northwestern Life Insurance Building retains its basicintegrity although the building was extended to the rear in 1970 with an addition of likedesign because the addition is seamless and was designed by Small to replicate theoriginal. Although the first floor and mezzanine spaces of the former BB&T Buildinghave been altered, the building’s powerful street presence may still qualify it for theNational Register.Commercial Buildings Placed on the Study List for the National Register:43 Cynthia de Miranda, “Study List Application for the Fayetteville Street Historic District,” N. C. StateHistoric Preservation Office, 2004.