This series mixes in some older photographs I’ve taken showing how some downtown buildings were previous illuminated, notably Two Hannover Square and the Progress Energy towers.
Citigroup Center and RBC Plaza?
Two Progress Plaza and Capital Bank.
Fiery Raleigh Skyline.
University Tower in Durham.
Detailed look at RBC Plaza.
South Saunders Skyline.
NC Capitol Building.
Peace/St. Mary’s Street View.
Last sunlight on downtown Raleigh.
BB&T Building on July 18, 2005, with its full original illumination.
Convergence of media and emergency crews.
Downtown Raleigh from Duke Health complex.
June 2005 view with One Progress, Two Progress, and Two Hannover with full illumination.
Two Progress Plaza.
Two Progress Plaza with lighting in 2005.
Southern end of downtown.
February 2006 view from Boylan Avenue with original BB&T illumination, coming on before complete darkness.
RBC Plaza reflects eastern Raleigh.
Golden sky reflects on downtown Raleigh buildings.
Looking up on original lighting of BB&T in early 2005.
Clear skies from Boylan Avenue Bridge.
Raleigh Firefighters stream water on “Hunter and Co. Painterswork”.
Raleigh Firemen descend ladder.
Raleigh Fire rescue.
Raleigh Police Car diverts cars away from scene of the fire.
Downtown Raleigh.
BB&T Building remains dark.
RBC Plaza balcony.
North Raleigh Louisburg Road view of downtown.
October 2004 view of downtown Raleigh.
Current BB&T Building illumination, missing setbacks, and turing on at 9:30pm.
Corner of Davie and Wilmington.
2005 view from Western Boulevard.
RBC Plaza.
One Progress Plaza illumination in 2005, now missing.
Sun halo on the edge of TS Hanna.
Mid-2005 view of skyline.
Quick gathering of downtown skyscrapers.
September 29th, 2008 at 7:42 pm (#)
Isn’t that last one a trick photo? How did you get the Wachovia tower so close to the RBC, and where is the Wake County CH?
September 29th, 2008 at 7:48 pm (#)
I’m guessing that the pool on the roof, midway up the RBC tower, is far enough away to keep some jackass from jumping off one of the balconys??….
I really like the 2005 photo from Wastern Blvd. I hope you can update it for us when you get a chance.
September 29th, 2008 at 7:48 pm (#)
Mark, it is a trick photo- I just hastily grouped the big guys together to see what it would look like.
September 29th, 2008 at 8:47 pm (#)
Another great series, Matt! Great shots of the fire… you could see the immense smoke cloud at 6 from within Downtown.
PS – You’d think Progress Energy of all folks would be shutting the lights off at night 😉
September 30th, 2008 at 7:22 am (#)
I love that angle from Peace & St. Mary’s for the feeling of density it gives. A few times I’ve stood on that corner gazing at the skyline and just imagining the future possibilities. (It’s too bad the traffic lights and utility lines are in the way.) Matt, have you ever looked into seeing if there was a way for you to reach the roof of Broughton HS and try your zoom lens from that angle? I’m guessing there could be some great shots if you could see over that intersection somehow! (I know it’s not easy, I’ve tried nearly every possible spot near that corner myself… lol)
September 30th, 2008 at 8:18 am (#)
see how good the progress plaza looks with the roof lit up… now why the hell do they not turn it on anymore?
September 30th, 2008 at 9:01 am (#)
You know, One Progress had some really cool blue and green lighting in the mid 90’s. Blue and Green were Carolina Power & Light’s corporate colors before the whole Progress rebranding after the merger. It would be cool to see a picture of that somewhere.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:28 am (#)
Matt, I will sound redundant, but I must say this: every time I think that it can’t get any better, you easily prove me wrong 🙂 You never fail to amaze me with your photos. The images taken from the Boylan Ave bridge are certainly impressive, and if our skyline had 3-4 more buildings between 400ft and 500ft (or even taller) it could look truly nice.
I know we’ve been talking about The Edison so much, and rightfully so, considering the size of this project and its impact on every level, not just skyline-wise. People do not yet realize how BIG change The Edison will be for our skyline. It will add depth, density and height, nearly doubling the number of towers that make an impact today. Of course, we need to be patient and give Matt encouragement and time to deliver a future skyline image that includes The Edison. Then, and only then, we’ll see the tremendous change that is about to happen in our skyline, although in phases.
Thanks for the great images, Matt… You always deliver the highest quality possible 🙂
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:03 pm (#)
Great pic man!!!!!!!!
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:03 pm (#)
i mean pics lol
October 19th, 2008 at 4:03 am (#)
Hey Matt K., I attend Broughton HS, and surprisingly like few i venture to the top of the school. IT started when someonne said it was a pool up there, i had to check it out and of coarse it wasnt true. Only thing i saw was a belltower toward the front and center, and The Best Open-Air View of Raleigh ever witnessed. Its looks even better when the sun starts to late after school. Its risky but its worth it, it brings me to peace sometimes when im bogged down.
December 19th, 2008 at 1:31 am (#)
This is the best collection of downtown Raleigh I’ve found yet! And the pictures are amazing! Thank you for these pictures, these are the kinds of pictures I be dreaming of taking myself but I dont have what it takes. So thank you so much! 😀
February 3rd, 2010 at 8:54 pm (#)
Great Pictures of Downtown Raleigh. I remember when the BB&T building (Now Capital Bank) was Raleigh’s tallest building at 15 stories. WRAL used to broadcast thier evening news from the 15th floor with the Memorial Auditorium as the backdrop.