Lumsden-Boone Building - Raleigh, NC
N 35° 46.644 W 078° 38.364
17S E 713370 N 3961829
The Lumsden-Boone Building was constructed in 1896 and is the only surviving building on Fayetteville Street with a sheet metal facade. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Waymark Code: WMAKJT
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 01/25/2011
Views: 1
"A striking prefabricated Neoclassical pressed sheet metal facade survives on the upper portion of the three-story Lumsden-Boone Building. The three-bay facade has paired Corinthian colonettes flanking the one-over-one double-hung wood windows. A wide frieze above the windows features arches with scalloped detail. A narrower band above the arches has a row of anthemions across the facade; above that is the cornice, which also features anthemions, molding, and dentils. These elements are advertised in a 1904 catalog from Mesker & Brothers of St. Louis. Both the first and second stories of the building have been remodeled more than once. Currently, the second story has a band of fixed-sash plate-glass windows set in gold-anodized aluminum. A large square of gold-anodized aluminum adorns the lower portion of the center of the second-story; the square apparently held a sign at one point, as remnants of glue remain in the center of the square. The balance of the second story is white stucco. The first floor storefront is five bays wide with double-leaf glass doors in gold-anodized aluminum frames deeply recessed in the center bay. Two fixed-sash plate-glass windows, recessed to the same plane, flank the doors, and a second set of fixed-sash plate-glass windows pierce the outermost bays, which are flush with the rest of the facade. Dark green marble surrounds all fenestration at the first floor. The first two floors of the building are slated for another remodeling.
The building was erected for tin and hardware dealer J.C.S. Lumsden; the elaborate metal facade would have served as advertisement to the products available within. Later occupants included a men’s clothing store owned by Charles R. Boone (1879-1968), who also owned the building, and F. W. Woolworth’s, which occupied the building from 1926 to 1972. The building has the only surviving metal storefront on Fayetteville Street."
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"Built in 1896 for tin and hardware dealer J.C.S. Lumsden, the building is the only surviving metal-front building today on Fayetteville Street. The building is currently in the National Registry of Historic Places and bears the name the Lumsden-Boone Building. Many people say that the metal facade would have been great advertising for the original occupant who offered metal work to his clients.
Another notable occupant of the building was C.R. Boone whose official business name was "C.R. Boone, DeLuxe Clothier." Boone was a member of the Masonic Order as well as a Shriner, and was also noted as donating 10% of all his earnings to Christian mission work throughout the community. His business was considered one of the city's leading merchants and boasted the slogan "Come and See."
From 1926 to 1972, 226 Fayetteville St. had become the center of Raleigh. F.W. Woolworth opened its doors and served the community throughout a very interesting time. During the Civil Rights movement, a very notable protest was held at the lunch counter of this establishment, and resulted in the arrests of 41 young students. It wasn't long after these arrests that the lunch counter was integrated and Raleigh began to grow as a unified city.
On February 10, 1969 while occupied by McCrory and Company, the building suffered a devastating fire. It is reported that the fire required the response of multiple firehouses and caused over $225,000 in damage. Remnants of the charred floor joists can still be seen in the basement today.
Other notable people to occupy the building were a jeweler, Kirby's Five and Dime, and a real estate agency."
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