ÿþM i c r o s o f t W o r d - C a r o l i n a C o a c h G a r a g e a n d S h o p p h o t o s . d o c

NORTH CAROLINA STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE

Office of Archives and History

Department of Cultural Resources

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Raleigh, Wake County, WA4968, Listed 8/27/2009

Nomination by Circa, Inc.

Photographs by Circa, Inc., April 2008

Façade view

Rear view

NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 10024-0018

(Oct. 1990)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Registration Form

This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking “x” in the appropriate box

or by entering the information requested. If an item does not apply to the property being documented, enter “N/A” for “not applicable.” For

functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place

additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all

items.

1. Name of Property

historic name Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

other names/site number

2. Location

street & number

510 East Davie Street

N/A not for publication

city or town Raleigh N/A vicinity

state North Carolina code NC county Wake code 183 zip code 27601

3. State/Federal Agency Certification

As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this nomination

request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of

Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set for in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property

meets does not meet the National Register criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant

nationally statewide locally. (See continuation sheet for additional comments.)

Signature of certifying official/Title Date

State or Federal agency and bureau

In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. ( See Continuation sheet

for additional comments.)

Signature of certifying official/Title Date

State or Federal agency and bureau

4. National Park Service Certification

I hereby certify that the property is:

entered in the National Register.

See continuation sheet

Signature of the Keeper

Date of Action

determined eligible for the

National Register.

See continuation sheet

determined not eligible for the

National Register.

removed from the National

other,

(explain:)

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake, NC

Name of Property County and State

5. Classification

Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property

(Check as many boxes as

apply)

(Check only one box) (Do not include previously listed resources in count.)

private building(s) Contributing Noncontributing

public-local district

public-State site 1 0 buildings

public-Federal structure 0 0 sites

object 0 0 structures

0 0 objects

0 0 Total

Name of related multiple property listing Number of Contributing resources previously listed

(Enter “N/A” if property is not part of a multiple property listing.)

in the National Register

N/A N/A

6. Function or Use

Historic Functions Current Functions

(Enter categories from instructions) (Enter categories from instructions)

TRANSPORTATION/road related VACANT

7. Description

Architectural Classification Materials

(Enter categories from instructions) (Enter categories from instructions)

No style

foundation CONCRETE

walls BRICK

roof METAL/steel; WOOD/plywood

other

Narrative Description

(Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.)

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake, NC

Name of Property County and State

8. Statement of Significance

Applicable National Register Criteria Areas of Significance

(Mark “x” in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property (Enter categories from instructions)

for National Register listing.)

A Property is associated with events that have made

TRANSPORTATION

a significant contribution to the broad patterns of

our history.

B Property is associated with the lives of persons

significant in our past.

C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics

of a type, period, or method of construction or

represents the work of a master, or possesses

high artistic values, or represents a significant and

distinguishable entity whose components lack

Period of Significance

individual distinction. c. 1926 - 1939

D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield,

information important in prehistory or history.

Criteria Considerations Significant Dates

(Mark “x” in all the boxes that apply.)

c. 1926

Property is:

A owned by a religious institution or used for

religious purposes.

Significant Person

B removed from its original location.

(Complete if Criterion B is marked)

N/A

C moved from its original location.

Cultural Affiliation

D a cemetery.

N/A

E a reconstructed building, object, or structure.

F a commemorative property

Architect/Builder

G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance

Unknown

within the past 50 years.

Narrative Statement of Significance

(Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.)

9. Major Bibliographical References

Bibliography

(Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.)

Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data:

preliminary determination of individual listing (36 State Historic Preservation Office

CFR 67) has been requested Other State Agency

previously listed in the National Register Federal Agency

Previously determined eligible by the National Local Government

designated a National Historic Landmark Other

recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey Name of repository:

# Olivia Raney Local History Library, Raleigh, NC

recorded by Historic American Engineering

Record #

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake, NC

Name of Property County and State

10. Geographical Data

Acreage of Property

.50

UTM References

(Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet.)

1 3

Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing

2 4

See continuation sheet

Verbal Boundary Description

(Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.)

Boundary Justification

(Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.)

11. Form Prepared By

name/title Ellen Turco

organization Circa, Inc. date April 1, 2009

street & number PO Box 28365 telephone 919/834-4757

city or town Raleigh state NC zip code 27611

Additional Documentation

Submit the following items with the completed form:

Continuation Sheets

Maps

A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property’s location

A Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources.

Photographs

Representative black and white photographs of the property.

Additional items

(Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items.)

Property Owner

(Complete this item at the request of SHPO or FPO.)

name Honorable Charles Meeker, City of Raleigh

street & number 222 West Hargett Street telephone 919-996-3050

city or town Raleigh state NC zip code 27601

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate

properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listing. Response to this request is required to obtain

a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.)

Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including time for reviewing

instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any

aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P. O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the

Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Projects (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20303.

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: 7 page: 1

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Section 7:

The 1926 Carolina Coach Garage and Shop building is located at 510 East Davie Street in Raleigh, the Wake County

seat. East Davie Street is an east/west corridor in downtown Raleigh’s street grid. The Carolina Coach Garage and

Shop building is in the center of the south side of the 500 block and faces north. The 500 block of East Davie Street

is bounded to the west by South East Street, to the south by East Cabarrus Street, and by Chavis Way on the east

side. The surrounding area is urban, with a mix of commercial and residential structures. This particular part of

downtown Raleigh has seen its share of urban renewal construction projects. Across East Davie Street from the

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop is a complex of ca. 1980 duplex apartments, facing east on Chavis Way is a

collection of early 1990s single family detached houses, and on the west side of South East Street is Carleton Place,

an 80-unit apartment complex of two-story buildings built in 2007.

Immediately adjacent to Carolina Coach and abutting its east side wall is an altered 1930s brick warehouse (512

East Davie Street). This building was renovated in 1997 and now houses Rex Senior Healthcare. Abutting the west

wall is 502 East Davie Street, a ca. 1930s one-story brick commercial building. At the corner of East Davie Street and

South East Street is 500 East Davie Street, an altered brick commercial building built around 1950.

The façade of the Carolina Coach Garage and Shop building sits on the parcel’s north boundary line. Between the

façade and street is a concrete sidewalk. Behind the building is a grassy yard enclosed by a six-foot cyclone fence.

This fence marks the approximate location of the north boundary of the East Raleigh-South Park National Register

Historic District (NR 1990).

Exterior

The rectangular building measures roughly 90 feet by 140 feet enclosing an interior space of roughly 12,500 square

feet. The building is constructed of brick curtain walls laid in a 6/1 bond. The façade’s most distinguishing feature is

its stepped parapet with five levels stepping down from the center parapet. Original terra cotta coping caps each

step and runs along the side and rear parapet walls. The parapet hides a gabled roof pierced by twelve square

skylights. The building originally had skylights although the number and placement are not known. The roof rafters

and sheathing were replaced in the 1990s so these particular openings date from that time. The roof covering is not

visible. The building sits on a poured concrete foundation.

The façade’s upper level has four windows arranged symmetrically. Two large thirty-two-light metal windows are in

the central bay. The windows include an 8-light hopper sash. Adjacent to each large window is a smaller fixed six-

light sash, also of metal. All of the windows have brick header course sills. At the ground level of the façade’s east

end is a large window opening covered with plywood; west of the window are two modern metal lift garage doors.

Both doors are replacements and the western one is somewhat wider and taller than the center bay to the east.

Between the two garage bays is a light fixture with a metal shade attached to the building by a metal hook arm.

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: 7 page: 2

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

West of the garage doors is a three-part opening containing a metal replacement door topped by a tall transom and

a large window opening currently covered with plywood. A third covered window opening, similar in size to the one at

the façade’s east end, is at the west end of the façade. As on the upper level, all lower-level window openings rest on

sills of brick headers. The exact configuration of the original door and window openings is not known. There is

evidence in the brickwork that some changes have been made. The garage door openings appear to have been

widened. Wood window sashes survive in the two west openings suggesting that the arrangement of this half of the

building is unaltered. Inset slightly from the facade’s west end is a copper gutter topped by a scupper.

The roofline of the rear elevation has a gabled form. Like the front parapet is it also capped with terra cotta coping. A

square chimneystack rises approximately three-quarters of the way down the parapet’s west slope. The upper-level

fenestration corresponds to that of the front elevation with two smaller six-light metal windows flanking two thirty-

two-light, metal windows with hoppers. At ground level between the two west windows is a low, brick shed

projection, approximately four feet in height, and covered with a metal roof. Slightly off-center west of the gable

peak is a large glazed lift garage door sheathed with sheet metal. On either side of the door is a pair of metal

windows with hoppers. Each window has fifteen lights. At the rear elevation’s southeast corner is a door opening

that has been partially infilled with concrete block. Set into the blocks is a pair of double metal doors hung on strap

hinges. On the east wall in the southeast corner are four fifteen-light metal windows. The brick wall of the adjacent

building at 512 East Davie Street now blocks these windows. They can be viewed from the interior. These windows

are the only fenestration on either of the side elevations.

Interior

The interior is a rectangular space of roughly 12,500 square feet, unbroken by interior walls. The roof’s apex rises

roughly thirty feet above the floor. The structure is made up of metal supports and roof trusses. Each long wall has

seven steel I-beam posts infilled with 6/1 bond brick curtain walls. The façade and rear elevation walls are built of

structural brick and lack the I-beam supports of the side walls. The side walls are surmounted by a steel I-beam

header. Atop the header are a series of triangulated prefabricated trusses that support the roof. The current roof (ca.

1990s) is not the original one and consists of two-by-four rafters sheathed with plywood. Twelve square skylights, six

on either side of the roof ridge, light the interior. The roof is rotten and failing at the northwest corner, perhaps due to

a failure of the drainage system below the side parapet.

The floor of the building is made up of roughly ten-feet by ten-feet squares of poured concrete. The foundation is not

visible, with the exception of an approximately thirty-feet long section of a concrete foundation wall that runs from

the northeast corner down the east wall. Centered in the rear wall in front of the garage door is a sloped vehicle

access ramp. Adjacent to the building’s west wall is a roughly twenty-by-twenty feet pit, approximately three-feet

deep. The pit is delineated by a metal pipe rail that runs along its north and south sides. On the floor of the pit are

four trapezoidal concrete piers. Two square drains are cut into the concrete floor; one is located near the building’s

southwest corner and a second is in the northeast corner. The exact use of the pit is not known.

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: 7 page: 3

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

In the building’s northwest interior corner are a band of three deteriorated 6/6 double-hung wood window sashes

under a wooden header. These windows are not visible from the exterior due to the plywood covering. A small

remnant of plaster between this band of windows and the next window bay to the east suggests this area may have

been partitioned at one time. Sanborn maps identify this corner as a storage area and a 1927 newspaper article

states that the building had storage, offices and locker room in addition to the repair area. Also visible from the

interior is a four-light wood transom visible over the front pedestrian entry door. As for the remaining window

openings on the façade wall, it is impossible to tell the type of sash that was or is present because it is either

missing or covered from both the interior and exterior. It is interesting to note that the other fenestration bays of the

façade have steel headers, rather than the wood one at the northwest corner.

Integrity

Despite recent neglect, Carolina Coach Garage and Shop retains a good degree of original materials including its

form, metal frame and roof truss system, brickwork, and both wood and metal windows. Its character defining

interior space is an expansive unsupported work area which is still present.

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: 8 page: 4

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

Statement of Significance

Nationally, bus travel was a prevalent mode of long distance transportation from the 1920s through the

close of World War II. The Carolina Coach Company was incorporated in Raleigh in 1926 and was the

only intercity service provider in Raleigh until 1936. The company remained in business until 2008. The

building meets National Register Criterion A for its local association with the intercity passenger bus

system. The building is one of Raleigh’s two surviving historic buildings associated with intercity busing.

Though deteriorated in places, its overall condition is good and it retains a high degree of integrity of

form, plan and materials. The building’s period of significance is ca. 1926 through 1939, the years the

building was occupied by the Carolina Coach Company and prior to the company’s move to a larger

maintenance facility complex on South Blount Street. Utilitarian in both form and finish, it retains its

large, open interior space, a feature common to the very few automotive storage and repair structures

from the first half of the twentieth century still standing in Raleigh.

History and Local Transportation Context

Rail lines were built across North Carolina beginning in the 1830s to carry freight to distant markets. Some

railroads also offered limited passenger service. With the exception of overland travel by horse and carriage, rail

was the only means of long distance transportation for individuals from the mid-nineteenth through the early

twentieth century. The decline of the railroads began with the proliferation of the gasoline powered engine and

the mass-production of Henry Ford’s Model T in 1908. In 1916, 472,000 Model T automobiles were sold

nationally. A basic model could be purchased for three-hundred-and-sixty dollars (www.wikipedia.org/HenryFord,

accessed 25 March 2009). By 1927 almost one-half million cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles were registered

in the state (Powell 477). In 1927 Governor Angus W. McLean implemented a series of bonds to improve and

extend the state’s road network (Powell 476). These publicly funded improvements allowed intercity and

interstate bus service to become a viable business.

Raleigh’s first public transportation was a system of mule drawn carriages operated by the Raleigh Street Railway

beginning in 1886. In 1891 Raleigh Electric Company installed the city’s first electric streetcar system. In its

early days streetcars provided service in the area immediately around the Capitol. Carolina Power and Light (CP &

L) acquired the Raleigh Electric Company in 1910, and by the early 1920s had extended the system to include the

city’s early subdivisions such as Cameron Park to the west, the Idlewild neighborhood to the east, and the city’s

northern suburbs of Roanoke Park, Vanguard Park, and Hayes Barton. The streetcar was an important factor in

the development of the city’s early suburbs as the lines enabled homeowners to live and work in different parts of

the city. However, the electric streetcar was never revenue producing for CP & L; the service was essentially a

public relations tool to promote the company’s residential and commercial electrical service. Streetcars where

phased out in 1933 when the system was replaced by a gasoline-powered bus system operated by both the city

and CP & L. Unlike the streetcars, buses were not limited by tracks and electrical lines. New routes were added

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: 8 page: 5

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

and old ones extended. Fares on the new nineteen passenger coaches were five-cents (“New City Buses”).

Ridership remained strong until the 1950s, when the popularity of private vehicles reduced transit ridership

nationally. However, Raleigh provides a city-wide bus system to this day.

Privately owned intercity and interstate bus companies also played an important role in Raleigh’s transportation

history. Bus service was crucial in the middle years of the twentieth century as private car ownership was

increasing but not yet prevalent and air travel was still beyond the means of many Americans. Bus and train

service were the only options for many people in need of long distance transportation. Bus transportation was big

business in North Carolina, with eighty-five passenger lines carrying 2.5 million passengers in 1927 (“State Bus

Lines”). The Carolina Coach Company was the only long-distance bus transportation provider in Raleigh until the

arrival of its primary competitor, the Greyhound Line, in 1936. Nationally, bus travel peaked during World War II.

Although it remained a vibrant industry in subsequent years, the war’s end marked the beginning of a slow

decline and fierce competition among carriers. In order to counteract decreasing ridership in the post-war years,

companies expanded their offerings to include sightseeing excursions and pleasure travel. Despite this effort, the

decline continued throughout the second half of the twentieth century, marked by the consolidation of terminals

and schedules, and ultimately carriers.

The Carolina Coach Company was incorporated in Raleigh in November 1925 as an independent passenger

carrier (Raleigh Times, 21 Nov. 1925; “New Station”). The building at 510 East Davie Street was completed in

1926 at a cost of $100,000 and served as the company’s garage, repair shop and headquarters from 1926 to

1939, when the company built a larger facility several blocks south on South Blount Street (“Safe Driving”).

According to a 1926 newspaper article, the shop could accommodate “30 large coaches” and “fifty men.” From

the shop Carolina Coach’s distinctive cream and crimson buses traveled to the city’s passenger stations, the

Union Bus Station at the southeast corner of Martin and McDowell streets (demolished), or a second station in the

200 Block of West Morgan Street (demolished).

Carolina Coach was North Carolina’s first intercity carrier to be successful on a large scale. In the earliest years

under the leadership of company President R. C. Hoffman, Carolina Coach offered service from Raleigh to

Charlotte, Fayetteville and Norfolk, Virginia. Service to Chapel Hill, Durham, Greensboro, Fayetteville, Wilson and

Rocky Mount was soon added. Hoffman expanded the company to include interstate service to Virginia, Maryland,

Delaware and Pennsylvania. By the 1940s Carolina Coach was the nation’s largest regional bus company

(“Trailways Head”). The company’s success was due in part to its participation in an umbrella group of smaller

regional carriers, the Trailways bus network founded in 1936. By acting under the Trailways banner, smaller

carriers could transport passengers interstate and pool resources for sales, advertising and scheduling. The

names Carolina Coach and Carolina Trailways became interchangeable. In 1949 six regional Trailways carriers

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: 8 page: 6

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

established the “Dixieland Route,” a 1,500 mile leg from Raleigh to Dallas, allowing regional carriers to provide a

cross-country route (www.trailways.com/history.asp, accessed 5 December 2008).

Carolina Coach’s most viable competitor was Greyhound Bus Lines, whose centralized model of ownership

differed from that of the Trailways network. Greyhound service arrived in Raleigh in 1932. Their arrival set up a

competition over passengers and bus station space--a competition that continued for decades. The State Utilities

Commission tightly controlled construction of public bus depots and newspaper accounts of the day describe the

struggle between the two carriers for use of a limited number of stations.

In 1939 Carolina Coach moved from its East Davie street location to a new and much larger facility on South

Blount Street. The new facility concentrated all of the company’s resources within a multi-building complex

encompassing one city block. It included repair and storage garages, a passenger depot, and a two-story office

building. The size of the complex is a testament to the company’s growth in the late 1930s.

Carolina Trailways was purchased by the nation’s largest bus line, Dallas-based Greyhound Lines, in 2008,

completing a process that was begun in the late 1980s with Greyhound’s purchase of the Trailways Corporation.

The Carolina Trailways station on Blount Street was closed and activities consolidated at the West Jones Street

Greyhound station, bringing to a close Carolina Coach’s seventy-year presence in the capital city.

The utilitarian form of the Carolina Coach Garage and Shop reflects its primary function as a bus maintenance

facility. The large, open interior is unimpeded by columns or other structural supports, and is perfectly suited for

maneuvering motor coaches. The unobstructed floor space was made possible by the roof structure comprised of

a series of triangular roof trusses. The clear span truss system and the voluminous, open, floor plan are the

building’s main character-defining features. The truss’ function is to span distances and support heavy roof loads,

eliminating the need for floor-to-ceiling supports. With the growth of the industrial economy around the turn of the

twentieth century, prefabricated wood and metal trusses became widespread in American building (Ochshorn

www.people.cornell.edu) . Trusses could be quickly produced, easily transported, and assembled on site and were

a modern choice for factories, warehouses and other industrial buildings requiring unobstructed floor space. They

were a common design element in buildings associated with transportation functions.

Local buildings comparable to Carolina Coach are limited as it is one of four historic automotive garages that

remain in Raleigh. In the group that survives and is offered as comparison below, only two retain the open floor

plan representative of the type. Carolina Coach is also one of only two structures in Raleigh that speak

specifically to the important role of intercity busing. The other is Carolina Coach’s 1939 facility on South lount

Street. Both the ca. 1925 Union Bus Station at 131 West Martin Street and the ca. 1940 bus station in the 200

Block of West Morgan Street have been demolished. Two passenger bus stations remain in Raleigh (the

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: 8 page: 7

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

Greyhound Station at 314 West Jones Street and the 1981 former Trailways Station at 311 New Bern Avenue,

now a United States Post Office). Neither is more than fifty years of age.

Three automotive transportation buildings in Raleigh provide appropriate context, especially when extended to

include structurally similar retail buildings, in which to consider the integrity and significance of Carolina Coach.

The buildings are the CP & L Garage at 116 North West Street, the 1939 Carolina Coach Company Shops complex

at 1501 North Blount Street, and the former Sanders Ford Dealership at 210 East Davie Street.

The CP & L Garage was built in 1925 (survey file). The Art Deco building spans the depth of a city block between

North West and Harrington streets. The building takes advantage of the ground slope, transitioning from one-

story on the east end to two stories on the west end. Curtain walls of red brick are broken by vertical piers with

glazed lozenges and concrete capstones. Between each set of piers are large multi-pane metal widows. The

upper level was originally a large open space with small, partitioned offices at the east and west ends. Like

Carolina Coach, the interior expanse was enabled by a roof system of steel trusses set on brick support piers. This

upper level garaged CP & L’s fleet of automobiles and buses. The lower level was used as a repair shop. Cline

Design, an architectural firm, currently occupies the upper level. The original open-plan interior has been

somewhat altered by the need for a modern office environment. Half-height office cubicles line the perimeter and

a double-height walled “box” running parallel with the ridgeline houses bathrooms, a kitchen, enclosed

conference rooms, and offices.

Just three blocks west of Carolina Coach on East Davie Street is the former Sanders Ford Dealership built around

1925. The company advertised itself as “one of the South’s largest dealers” of Ford motorcars. The building was

owned by the family from the time of construction through the mid-1980s (“Moore Square, 7.9; Wake County tax

records). The Sanders’ also owned the Carolina Coach Garage and Shop and used it for overflow storage and

repair from 1950 through 1975. The dealership building is a contributing resource in the Moore Square National

windows are metal sashes with brick header arches and sills. In the mid-1980s the building was converted to a

visual arts center and the original open-plan interior was divided into smaller exhibition galleries and artist

studios. The concrete floor, metal roof trusses and wood rafters were left exposed.

In 1939 Carolina Coach moved its facility from 510 East Davie Street several blocks south to a new and larger

facility in the 1200 block of South Blount Street. This complex of brick repair garages and company offices was

occupied in November of 1939 (“Carolina Coach Emphasizes Safe Driving”). The buildings were expanded and

the complex continued to evolve until the 1990s. It was abandoned in 2008. The one-block parcel is currently for

sale and its future uncertain. Approximately twenty service bays are housed in three buildings arranged around a

large central courtyard. The size of the complex reflected the company’s success and the need to service an

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: 8 page: 8

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

increasingly large fleet of coaches. Unlike the East Davie Street facility where coaches entered the building from a

primary garage bay and were maneuvered within the building, buses at the new facility were driven headlong into

one of multiple bays for servicing. In-and-out garage bays eliminated the need for an open floor plan and the

truss roof system. The shallow-pitched roofs are supported by floor-to-ceiling steel I-beams surmounted by I-beam

rafters. The roof is sheathed with corrugated metal pierced by skylights. Additional light is admitted by large

metal casement windows.

The Carolina Coach Garage and Shop compares favorably with these three truss-roofed transportation facilities

described above. This simple and functional building retains a high degree of architectural integrity and its

condition, despite some deterioration of wood elements, is good overall. Exterior alterations include changes to

door and window openings, which is not uncommon in transportation garage and repair facility buildings as

vehicles grew larger over time and access points were necessarily expanded. It retains its system of metal trusses

and its interior volume is unobstructed as the building continued to be used for vehicular storage after Carolina’

Coach’s departure in 1939. Raleigh City Directories list the Carolina Coach building as vacant between 1939 and

1944. The next occupant was the City of Raleigh, which used the building as a vehicle maintenance shop between

the years 1945 and 1949. The 1950 city directory lists the Sanders Motor Company at the location. The building

served as a sales showroom and repair facility for Ford cars and trucks from 1950 through 1975. The Raleigh

Rescue Mission rented the building as a warehouse from 1975 to 1995. The building was purchased by J.W.

Stone in the early 1980s. Mr. Stone used the building to warehouse unknown goods until the City of Raleigh

purchased the property, as well as the adjacent ones, around 2001 with plans to sell the block of buildings to a

developer for an adaptive reuse.

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: 9 page: 9

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

Bibliography

Brewster, Brad. “Carolina Power and Light Car Barn and Automobile Garage.” National Register Nomination. 1997.

On file at Survey and Planning Branch, Historic Preservation Section, NC Department of Archives and History,

Raleigh, NC.

“The Bus Stops Here.” News and Observer [Raleigh] 19 October 1986. Section C, pp. 1, 2.

Bushong, William B. and Charlotte V. Brown. “Moore Square Historic District.” National Register Nomination. 1980-

1982. On file at Survey and Planning Branch, Historic Preservation Section, NC Department of Archives and

History, Raleigh, NC.

“Carolina Coach Emphasizes Safe Driving.” News and Observer [Raleigh] 18 May 1940. Section U, page 4.

“Carolina Coach Reports Higher Net.” News and Observer [Raleigh] 11 March 1938.

“Carolina Coach has New Plant Here.” News and Observer [Raleigh] 7 May 1927.

“Carolina Coach Offers to Build Station.” News and Observer [Raleigh] 24 October 1929.

Little, M. Ruth. “Depot District.” National Register Nomination. 2002. On file at Survey and Planning Branch, Historic

Preservation Section, NC Department of Archives and History, Raleigh.

Murray, Elizabeth Reid. Papers on File at Olivia Raney Local History Library. Raleigh, NC. Box 503

“Transportation.” File No. 7, “Buses: Intercity.”

“New Station Open Wed in Raleigh.” News and Observer [Raleigh] 3 December 1927.

“New City Buses.” Raleigh Times 28 February 1933.

“One of Raleigh’s Buses.” News and Observer [Raleigh] 1 March 1933. Page 1.

Powell, William S. North Carolina Through Four Centuries. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press:

1989.

Raleigh City Directories 1926-1998. Olivia Raney Local History Library. Raleigh, NC.

Sanborn Map Company. Map of Raleigh, North Carolina, 1914-1951. New York: Sanborn Map Company.

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: 9 page: 10

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

“State Bus Lines Attain Rank of Big Business.” News and Observer [Raleigh] 11 November 1929.

“Trailways Head Plans Retirement.” News and Observer [Raleigh] 29 December 1961.

Wake County Architectural Survey File for Carolina Coach Company Shops. 2008. On file at Survey and

Planning Branch, Historic Preservation Section, NC Department of Archives and History, Raleigh, NC.

Wake County Tax Maps and Property Records. On file at Wake County Courthouse. Raleigh, NC.

Web Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Area_Transit_(Raleigh). 23 March 2009.

http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/jo24/writings/truss.html. Ochshorn, Jonathan. “Metal Truss Systems

on 20

Century Architecture.” 5 December 2008.

http://www.trailways.com/history.asp. 5 December 2008.

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: 10 page: 11

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

Verbal Boundary Description

The boundary of the Carolina Coach Garage and Shop is marked in a heavy, black line on the accompanying

Wake County GIS map drawn to a scale of 1” = 136’. The tax parcel is a total of .83 acres; however, the

portion being nominated includes only the building and the open land between the building’s rear wall and

the east parcel boundary. The nominated parcel contains approximately .60 acres.

Boundary Justification

The National Register boundary includes the land and building historically associated with the Carolina

Coach Company. The building is not connected to the adjacent ones by interior doorways. Despite abutting

sidewalls, the adjacent buildings are separate and distinct and are not included in this nomination.

NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018

(8-86)

United States Department of the Interior

National Park Service

National Register of Historic Places

Continuation Sheet

Section number: page:

Carolina Coach Garage and Shop

Wake County, North Carolina

Photographs:

1) Façade/north elevation

2) Façade second story detail

3) Rear/south elevation

4) Rear elevation first story window detail

5) Rear elevation second story window detail

6) Interior

7) Truss system

8) Remaining wood sash on front elevation

9) Entry ramp at rear of building