Designed by noted Raleigh architect William Henley Deitrick, this is a rare local example of the International Style applied to a commercial building. This trend of modern architecture, which originated in Germany prior to World War I, stressed function over ornament. The Nehi Bottling building is devoid of ornamentation except for its unusual entrance of black Carrara glass; this entrance is made all the more dramatic by its contrast with the otherwise severe facade. The building, modified in the 1950s, retains much of its integrity and was redeveloped in the early twenty-first century for office use.
Date: 1937
]]>Funded by a local bond and federal public works money, the City built the Bain Water Treatment Plant on the site of the still-operating 1887 Raleigh Water Works without interrupting the water supply. The 1940 Art Moderne plant features dramatic stepped massing at the exterior and vaulted interior spaces. Soaring staircases with ornamental wrought- and cast-iron railings and oak handrails rise to a mezzanine in the two-story lobby, where ornamented plaster beams decorate the ceiling. The operations floors flank an extended arcade of molded plaster arches, with pilasters marking the bays and square clerestory windows illuminating the space. The building is now privately owned and awaiting redevelopment.
Date: 1940
]]>This structure stands as a relatively rare example of late-nineteenth-century industrial architecture in Raleigh, a city that has always been a government, education, and market center rather than an industrial town. The solid brick construction, shallow-pitched roof, and large windows typify mill buildings of this time. The large windows introduced natural light into the work area prior to the use of electric lights. The interior, which has high timbered ceilings, decorated columns and large open spaces, has lent itself to conversion to condominiums.
Date: 1890; 1895
]]>Caraleigh Mills is the largest of the six textile mills built in Raleigh. Caraleigh manufactured raw cotton and wool yardage as well as finished sheet goods in the first half of the twentieth century and synthetic fabrics in the second half, remaining in operation until 1999. The Italianate building features full-height pilasters with brackets, decorative brickwork, and segmental-arched windows. The structure also has a heavy timber frame and maple floors. Developers converted the defunct mill into condominiums in 2003.
Date: 1892, expanded ca. 1900, ca. 1910, ca. 1919, and in the 1950s
]]>An urban-based industrial complex two blocks north of the 1881 city limits, the mill buildings and accompanying worker housing mirrored those of rural mill sites. James and William H. Williamson established the mill for the manufacture of unfinished sheet goods. The mill building has been rehabilitated for office and school use.
Date: 1893, 1910, ca. 1917
]]>Named for Phares Yates, whose family operated it from 1869 to 1948, Yates Mill is the only water-powered mill building remaining in Wake County. Remodeled at various times, its present size and configuration date to the 1850s. Prior to closing in 1953 for lack of demand, it was utilized for lumber manufacturing, corn and wheat milling, and wool carding. The mill is now part of a county park with hiking trails and picnic areas in addition to the historic structure.
Date: ca. 1756
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