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

More documents

Recommendations

Info

The Development of Modern Architecture in Raleigh 1945-1965 38saw-tooth canopy that extends the width of the façade. Bragaw Dormitories wasdiscussed in Property Type 1.SignificanceThe Raleigh public school system was the first in North Carolina to adopt moderneducational plants after World War II. The approximately one dozen schools built from1950 to 1965 in newly developed suburban areas from designs by local architectsrepresent one of the major accomplishments of city government in response to theunprecedented baby boom of the postwar era. Unfortunately all of them appear to havelost architectural integrity due to substantial additions and alterations to accommodate thehuge influx of new students in recent years.The striking 1950s contemporary buildings on the campus of N. C. State University arelikely due to the influence of the School of Design. At the University of North Carolinacampus in Chapel Hill, modern design did not appear until the 1960s. Raleigh’seducational architecture has architectural significance under Criterion C and may haveeducational significance under Criterion A.Registration RequirementsAny school complex that retains basic integrity as a complex with office, cafeteria,auditorium, and classroom wings is eligible for the National Register under Criterion Cand may be eligible under Criterion A for education. The original building must not bedwarfed or engulfed by new additions. Additions to schools have generally includedconstruction of a new office and main entrance in front of the original school plant; suchadditions severely compromise the original architectural character. Interior alterations donot strongly affect overall integrity as the original interior spaces were designed to beflexible. Less than fifty year old schools must have exceptional architectural significanceand a high level of integrity.Institutional Buildings Placed on the Study List for the National Register:Burlington Nuclear Laboratories, NCSU. 1950.Bragaw Dormitory. Dan Allen Drive, NCSU. Lesley Boney, 1959 (also listed underProperty Type 1, Residential Buildings, Multi-Family Dwellings)Student Book Store, NCSU. 1960Houses of WorshipDescriptionWhile schools in Raleigh tended to be modern, church design remained basicallyconservative, tending toward Classical Revival or Colonial Revival styles for Baptists,Methodists, and Presbyterians and Gothic Revival for Episcopalians and Catholics.Jewish synagogues tended toward modern design. Architects Cooper, Haskins and Rice
The Development of Modern Architecture in Raleigh 1945-1965 39designed Beth Meyer Synagogue, 601 St. Mary’s Street, in 1951. The split-level design,with a two-story flat-roofed main block, offset one-story wing, ribbon windows, andterraces and stairs that integrate the building into the site, represent a significantModernist statement. The interior was remodeled in the late twentieth century to convertthe building into offices. The most exquisite example of the postwar Neoclassical Revivalchurch is White Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1704 Oberlin Road, built in 1951. Thetall brick church has a stunning pedimented Corinthian portico. Forest Hills BaptistChurch, 201 Dixie Trail, built in 1960, is a monumental pedimented brick sanctuary witha mammoth steeple, but with less richness of wooden ornamentation. A notable exceptionto Colonial Revival designs is the Romanesque Revival sanctuary of Pullen MemorialBaptist Church, 1801 Hillsborough Street, by F. Carter Williams, 1951. Edenton StreetMethodist Church, 228 W. Edenton Street, is a 1957 somewhat streamlined GothicRevival-style brick church with ornate stonework and a notable arcade.Modernist churches are quite rare in Raleigh. The most notable are Holy Trinity LutheranChurch and St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. The 1959 Holy Trinity Lutheran Church,2723 Clark Avenue, is a Neo-Gothic design by local architect Horace Taylor with orangetapestry brick walls, raised on concrete pillars with a low story beneath the sanctuary, andtall windows filled with abstract stained glass designs. St. Michael’s Church, designed byLeif Valand in 1956, is a modern Neo-Gothic design with stained glass windows recessedbehind deep brick pilasters, a slate front-gabled roof whose eaves extend nearly to theground, and a detached square bell tower. Other contemporary churches of slightly lesserarchitectural distinctiveness are Milner Memorial Presbyterian Church and St. JamesUnited Methodist Chapel. Milner Memorial, 1950 New Bern Avenue, was designed by F.Carter Williams and built in 1956-1958. The front-gabled sanctuary has a glazed façadewith tall clear glass windows with stained glass spandrels. Along the side elevation aresawtooth windows. St. James Chapel, 3808 St. James Road, is a bold Neo-Gothic 1962design with a steel frame, yellow brick walls, and a steep cross-gabled roof with jutting,curved shapes reminiscent of traditional Scandinavian forms. The adjacent sanctuary ofsimilar design was built in the late 1960s.SignificanceRaleigh churches, predominantly of classical and Gothic revivalist styles, mirror postwarchurch architecture throughout the United States. To be significant, such a representativesanctuary would need to have a high quality of design and craftsmanship exhibiting closeattention to detail that stands above the numerous other examples of the styles. Bycontrast, Modernist church designs are so rare in Raleigh that any of them from thepostwar period ending in 1965 is eligible if it retains architectural integrity. The mostoriginal Modernist design, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, is a very creative integration ofhigh quality brickwork, stonework, and stained glass, with a soaring interior. Such achurch has exceptional architectural significance.Registration Requirements
Page 1 and 2: The Development of Modernism in Ral
Page 3 and 4: The Development of Modern Architect
Page 37: The Development of Modern Architect

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

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?