The crown atop RBC Plaza was flooded with light last night for a short time, pleasantly adding a focal point to the building at night. I’m guessing it was a test run, because it was not on for very long. Here are some pics:

Lights on RBC Plaza’s crown. LED’s will shine on the spire portion (perhaps changing color?). Red aircraft beacons have been added to two corners of the compression ring.

The full moon competed for the brightest thing in the sky.

The RBC crown will prove to be yet another difficult object to properly expose for at night.

The moon gets caught in the RBC cage.

Frustratingly, the illumination of Two Hannover Square/BB&T has been not been coming on until past midnight. Even then, several setbacks are not lit.







June 18th, 2008 at 12:53 am
The moon shot made me **** ** *****. Awesome!
June 18th, 2008 at 6:25 am
yeah the buildings in dt are wack when it comes to lighting… i think they do it on purpose!
June 18th, 2008 at 7:17 am
careful, jrd! you might look into flomax or depends, if you have a “going problem”
the spire looks beautiful, matt. thanks!
June 18th, 2008 at 7:17 am
nice
June 18th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Hehehe…..childish building fight LOL! Great shots! They are only going to get MORE competitive after The Edison’s four towers are completed by 2015.
June 18th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Any chance wwe may see a new rendering that includes the Edison Towers in the near future???
June 18th, 2008 at 10:48 am
It would be cool if RBC could light up the spire for different holidays.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:43 am
TJ…that is in the works.
June 18th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I saw it last night as I was on the belt way @ Wake Forest. It caught my eye and I was like wow! It really looks a lot better than I thought it would lit up. Makes DT look like a DT!
June 18th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
laryea, another skyline that looks like crap at night is Boston. I was watching the NBA finals last night and they did steady cam blimp shot over downtown and I could barely tell there were any buildings there. Looked like shadows.
June 18th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Outstanding quality images!!!
June 18th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Well, that spire looks better illuminated at night than it does in daylight. It does add quite a bit to the evening skyline!
June 18th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Boston is actually quite a beautiful city. Look at the pictures on Metro Scenes.
http://metroscenes.com/cities/boston-winter-2006/
http://metroscenes.com/cities/boston-winter-2007/
http://metroscenes.com/cities/boston-02-2008/
June 18th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
i live outside boston, and all i can say is if your whole knowledge of boston comes from seeing it on nba coverage, you should maybe look into it just a BIT more. boston is one of the nicest looking cities out there, not to mention the financial district has more cool skyscrapers than raleigh will in 100 years.
June 18th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Sounds like a disgruntled Laker fan. LOL
June 18th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I was born in Boston and it has agreat skyline, but the main thing it has over Raleigh is history.
June 18th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
So the LEDs will light up the spire, but I wonder will the aircraft beacons also be strobing/lit? It would be cool if the spire would/could change color, though…
June 19th, 2008 at 8:44 am
First, who cares about the NBA (they are all cheating). Second, Boston has a NICE skyline (I have been their MANY times, it’s OK), New York and Chicago have GREAT skylines (Boston is pathetic compared to these two cities). Also, Boston’s Little Italy (just OK – too many copy-cat Italians). Typical Boston person, come out of the closet when they feel they are better than someone or something else (why are we still not talking about the Giant’s destroying the Pat’s!), because Boston whines when they are at the bottom of the heap, in any catagory). Poor comparison: Of course there is more history in Boston vs Raleigh, Boston has more history than any city in the South.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:54 am
TC, do a better job of hiding your envy of other cities. LOL
June 19th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Mongo: I only provide facts, not B.S. like you!
June 19th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Oh please! You are just a straight up hater! Translation envy. LOL
June 19th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Sheez, you’d think everyone in here was talking about the BoSox/Yankees topic. Leave it along and just comment on the once again AMAZING photos – thanks for doing this Matt!!
June 19th, 2008 at 11:38 am
just for the record… new york and chicago skylines make any other city’s skyline in the usa look like doo doo! especially new york. cities that have good skylines in imho are ny, chicago, atlanta, dallas, seattle, boston, houston, denver, baltimore, and pittsburgh. to me philly is only ok and la, for it to be so big i dont think their skyline is nearly as big as it should be. this is just my opinion. the miami beach area is nice also. richmond has a dense skyline for it to be so small ( smaller than durham) but some of the buildings are uninspiring…
June 19th, 2008 at 11:53 am
there are aton of new projects in miami
June 19th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I didn’t mean to spur a rivalry between Raleigh and Boston. All I’m saying is that Boston’s downtown skyline looks like crap at night.
I have been to Boston on many occasions and I think it is one of the few cities left in our country with true American urban grit and character, much like NYC but on a smaller scale. Boston has a recognizable downtown and midtown skyline, which is more than many cities can say. The street-level experience in ALL of Boston is very city-like… it’s too bad Boston’s city limits are so constrained which is why the listed city population is so small for such a big place.
Don’t take my words and distort them. All I said was Boston’s skyline lacks illumination at night. You can argue all you want how Boston is better than Raleigh and I will agree with you in most cases (except when it comes to hockey, I despise the Bruins… and all the other New England teams at that, I’m from NYC
)
laryea – you forgot San Francisco!
June 19th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
oh yeah sf does have a nice one
June 19th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Comparing NYC or Chicago skylines to anyone else in the USA is like comparing Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods to everybody else. Just Pointless. Everyone else is just a matter of opinion. Boston could be in that 2nd or maybe 3rd tier of US skylines based on who you ask. Lots of haters out there so you just have to weed them out. Houston really impresses me as well as ATL. ATL would be even better DT if not for sprawl. Bucktown, Midtown ect..
June 19th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
New York and Chicago are in a class by themselves. Boston, Philly, and San Fran are in the next tier. They have a combination of tall buildings within a real dense city-like fabric. They are like junior versions of NYC and Chicago. Next you have Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Houston, LA, and Seattle. They all have tall buildings, but they are more spread out and the downtowns are really not that big and city-ish. After that you have Minneapolis, Denver, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. Then you have everyone else.
The Boston bashing is foolish. It’s a great city. Very unique and quirky. Lots of history. Very cosmopolitan. And two neat skylines in the greater downtown area (Financial District and Back Bay).
June 20th, 2008 at 12:01 am
I think that JR said it clearly from the VERY beginning… He spoke of Boston’s skyline in the evening. I see neither hatred, nor jealousy. We are wasting time trying to argue over a wrong assumption.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:38 am
Great way to end it Ernest by as usual adding your 2 cents.. LOL
June 20th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Sorry, Mongo Slade, 2 cents is ALL I can offer… I am broke, man :LOL: Seriously, though, why wasting energy on which skyline is nicely, or badly illuminated? The fact remains that OUR skyline is badly illuminated and this will be the case for a while. Yes, we are improving things, and by this September our skyline will look MUCH better during the evening, but I surely hope more landlords find a way to compliment their buildings by some sort of illumination. In other words, they have to find a way to offer THEIR 2 cents worth of light… Thank God we are not asking for a dollar :LOL: On the other hand, it is our lack of high-rise buildings that creates this “dark” image of our downtown during the evening hours. If we had a few more towers, things would have looked MUCH different. I am betting a lot on The Edison to fix a few things, but not from all angles. Maybe the Clarence Lightner Public Safety Center will do this. After all, if delivered as proposed – 18 stories tall, with LEED certification – it will be visible enough, particularly during the evening hours.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Did you see the city approved the plans for the 11-story building across the street from 42nd st oyster bar? Powerhouse Plaza I think… I guess they’re going to tear down those law offices in the existing space. Offices, hotel rooms, and rooftop bar though – sweet! The view should be outstanding and Glenwood South is really starting to look like an entertainment and living destination.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Mon-go-away: Your confusing yourself, first you say Boston is a great skyline, than you say it could be listed as a 2nd or 3rd tier skyline depending on who you ask (sounds like you convinced yourself that it is not a great skyline), WOW! Hater and translation envy, what does that mean
? I have traveled ALL over North America, as I said, I introduce facts. Feel free to chime in when you know what you are talking about.
Laryea, you are right on! Nice to hear from someone who is logical. Go Raleigh!
Wait-and-see: Next 30-90 days: JP Morgan to acquire Wachovia
June 20th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Dead Horse… punch… slap… kick…
June 20th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
TC stay off whatever it is or at the very least learn to read. Where did as you put it I first said Boston had a great skyline? I made a joke about the Lakers and you jumped in with your usual nonsense. I just think you bash other cities in a weak attempt to cover your obvious envy. Also I hope you don’t think you are impressing me about travel in NA? Please my passport is full of stamps so I am kinda passed the bravado of going from coast to coast. So again to make it clear you are just a straight up hater who hides his/her envy with that nonsense you post on the regular.
June 20th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Umm, I think this website is called Raleigh Skyline.com, not Boston vs the world.com. But anyway, it will be interesting to see how the Edison turns out. I hope Soliel is succesful so they can move DT and put up a monster building!
June 20th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I must say, it entertains me to watch you guys bicker like a bunch of 12 year olds.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
dropkick… headbutt… bodyslam… the horse is dead… let it go…
June 21st, 2008 at 3:44 pm
This would look great from the money shot.
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:28 am
I wonder how RBC Plaza could get away with the aircraft beacons on the compression ring, and not one on the top of the spire (ie, the tallest point, no matter how thin it may be)?
June 22nd, 2008 at 11:41 am
Food for thought, my friend.
June 24th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I saw the spire lit up last night driving into downtown on Hillsborough St… wow what a difference at night! It looks fantastic – I hope they play around with the lighting a bit more and have sort of like a rotation of lighting schemes to choose from.
June 27th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
I can’t wait to see this thing lit up in person, I really hope they have different colored lenses/covers for the floodlights (much like the red ones for the NC State belltower).
I noticed today that the aircraft beacons don’t strobe, but seem to be constantly lit. I wonder how visible they would be with the crown and spire lit up.
August 15th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
FWIW: Crown’s lit up again, from the webcam. Going to check that out later tonight!
August 15th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I’m sorry, but what does FWIW mean?
August 16th, 2008 at 10:28 am
For What It’s Worth
August 16th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Alright, thanks Ernest. I’m gonna go back to watching TS Fay now. I’m not liking the latest GFDL run
August 16th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Hehe, yeah, perhaps I should have wrote it out. Whoops! They turned off the crown after about 30 minutes or so, wonder why that is.
Ari: You like the weather, too? I got a degree last May in Meteorology
August 16th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Yeah, I’m into the weather, primarily tropical cyclones. My family says I should be a meteorologist when I get older, I might just do that. Anyway the reason I am so concerned with TS Fay is because on present course, it will run straight through an area of 90 degree waters with very low wind shear at the time, so it wouldn’t take very long for this thing to blow up into a monster. And to top it all off, this thing could recurve and nail us late next week.
August 16th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I walked down the new portion of F Street today…it’s quite nice, esp. when Site 1 is done.
August 16th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Yes, it seems that the gulf waters always intensify storms much more than the Atlantic waters. Which is why I’m glad to be in North Carolina and not Louisiana or other points on the gulf.
I haven’t been downtown in several days, I’ve actually been purposely forcing myself to wait till the streetscaping in complete in front of the Convention Center – at that point I would like to get some updated photos (as I’m sure Matt R will too).
I’m also looking forward to Raleigh Wide Open again – I’ll probably do like I did last year and catch the fireworks from the Boylan Bridge.
Speaking of which – I see they are at work on the new pub there but it looks like it has a ways to go. Any word on when it will open? I also noticed there is some clean up work happening on the property below by the wye. It looks MUCH better, regardless of whether it’s just clean up or prep work for something coming in.
August 16th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
OK…your name is Matt also….. So now we have Official Matt R., Matt R. #2, and now Matt K.?? What’s with all these Matts….
August 16th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
For the record, I am Matt H. I am the guy who went to RBC Plaza roof, not Matt Robinson. I am also the guy who brought up Dominic’s in the pizza discussion.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:17 am
OK, thanks for the correction. I like to keep my facts straight. Matt R., Matt H., and Matt K.
August 17th, 2008 at 8:27 am
Maybe I should include the “H” in my name to avoid confusion?
August 17th, 2008 at 11:13 am
The H would help enormously I think, although I haven’t had any trouble keeping us straight. I’m sure it would benefit the others though.
I imagine I’m probably the oldest “Matt” of the group on here. Just for the record, I’m not a Raleigh native – but I am a native of eastern NC, who spent many years living up north. I guess you could call me “reclaimed”.
BTW, when I say “Matt R” – I do mean Official Matt – aka Matt Robinson. I didn’t realize anyone was understanding it to be anyone else, unless there is yet another Matt R posting on the site.
Whew – I’m confusing myself here. LOL
August 17th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Alright, we got all our Matts straight. If I may, I’d like to switch the topic back to weather for a minute.
Today the National Hurricane Center/Tropical Prediction Center issued watches and warnings for Florida for TS Fay:
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the Florida Keys from Craig Key westward to the Dry Tortugas, including Florida Bay.
A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for southeast coast of Florida from Ocean Reef northward to Juniper Inlet, and for Lake Okeechobee.
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the Florida Keys from south of Ocean Reef to Key West, including the Dry Tortugas and Florida Bay, and for the Florida mainland from Card Sound Bridge westward to Anna Maria Island.
Current intensity:
Winds: 50 MPH gusting to 65 MPH
Pressure: 1003 MB/29.62 inches
Position: 20.5 North 78.6 West
Movement: West-northwest at 13 MPH
That’s all, I hope I’m not boring anyone. I got to go eat some hot dogs. LOL…..sorta.
August 17th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
noticing…..so much off topic stuff. Wow
August 17th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Hey, don’t blame us for trying to figure out which Matt is which.
August 17th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
saw this lit the other nite….it looked really cool. Way better than those airplane beacons.