Gone but not forgotten: What’s left Hillsborough Street? What’s taken its place?
READ MORE
Howling over Hillsborough
More than any place in Raleigh, Hillsborough Street flaunted the city’s playful character and scruffy charm. Now, it’s mourned, lamented and dismissed by the city’s more-seasoned locals — defined, most often, by landmarks it has lost. Though some look to the future and embrace change, others reject modernity. Dive into nostalgia with this special report.
Expand All
As Hillsborough Street icons go away, should we mourn the past or embrace the future?
Gone but not forgotten: What’s left Hillsborough Street? What’s taken its place?
What’s changed along Hillsborough Street? Use this interactive map to see
Before and after: See how much Hillsborough St. has changed with these interactive photo sliders
Raleigh’s history unfolds across hundreds of black-and-white pictures of Hillsborough Street, showing a strip of long-gone signs with letters 6 feet tall: Brothers Pizza, ACC Tavern and — old-timers will remember — Charlie Fallon’s Eatery.
But as Hillsborough’s appearance and role has changed in Raleigh, the street has witnessed a string of more-recent departures — one quickly following another.
Among the icons, Mitch’s Tavern, Cup A Joe and — slightly off Hillsborough — Player’s Retreat still remain.
Here’s a list of some losses and replacements from just the past 10 years:.
Velvet Cloak Inn
In its day, this red-brick hotel with New Orleans-style trimming qualified as Raleigh’s poshest digs, boasting crystal chandeliers and a black-tile jacuzzi. Van Halen stayed there before a 1979 gig.
What replaced it: Signature 1505 apartments, luxury off-campus housing.
Sadlack’s
This no-frills watering hole and sandwich joint served four decades of dedicated fans and helped launch the musical life of Whiskeytown and many dozens of other bands lost to history.
What replaced it: Aloft Raleigh, a 135-room hotel graced by a Thomas Sayre sculpture on its Hillsborough Street front.
Pantana Bob’s
Perhaps the dive-iest of Raleigh’s vanishing dive bars, featuring $1 beers and a tree growing out of the bar on the back patio.
What replaced it: The Stanhope, an upscale student apartment building with a resort-style pool and movie theater room.
Western Lanes
Raleigh’s old-school bowling alley with a cafe and bar could have substituted for the set of “The Big Lebowski,” and it hosted N.C. State University bowling classes.
What replaced it: First, it became The Alley. Then a Target.
East Village Grill
A well-worn favorite for burgers and beers where the TV showed Wolfpack baseball games and the whole bar tuned in.
What replaced it: Uncommon, student housing that offers amenities including a yoga room and hammock garden.
Read more: A love song to Raleigh’s circular Holiday Inn, an oddball ‘pleasure dome’ of the past
This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Gone but not forgotten: What’s left Hillsborough Street? What’s taken its place?."