Over the Top / Inside the Beltline: Historical Highlights by Irena Dorton

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Historical Highlights by Irena Dorton

Arndt House, Canterbury Road, Raleigh

The Arndt house is one of fourteen houses built from 1945 to 1965 recommended for individual listing in the National Register in a 2006 comprehensive inventory of all Raleigh buildings for the Raleigh Historic Districts Commission.

Designed in 1959 by F. Carter Williams for the Arndt family, the one-story Contemporary with a wide, sloping front-gabled roof, a recessed front gallery porch, and an almost fully transparent front living room wall is one of the most graceful modern residences in Raleigh. The house is so extravagantly windowed that when you are standing in front of the house, you can see straight through to the huge old trees in the backyard.

3 comments:

Unknown said...: I absolutely love this house! You are right about the beautiful windows too- it just seems like such a pleasant home to occupy. Thanks for sharing.

--
http://www.newraleigh.com; July 19, 2007 at 2:23 PM
admin said...: I have enjoyed visiting your blog. I recommend it to our readers. Raleigh is full of best kept secrets and it is great to be able to appreciate them.; July 24, 2007 at 11:26 PM
hoopla said...: That house is hideous.; August 17, 2007 at 10:36 AM

Post a Comment

Welcome

This blog originates from an older community in Raleigh NC. We are experiencing at least our fair share of growing pains, perhaps even someone else's. "Inside the Beltline" is a term used around here; it refers to the circular highway that is used to delineate "old" Raleigh from "new" Raleigh. Geography is failing us now, old Raleigh is being replaced at a rapid rate by new Raleigh, right here ITB, and beyond.

New Raleigh is characterized by its lack of connection with the existing surroundings. In our area, the new houses are large, the lots are small, the prices are higher than the roof, and those are out of proportion too. These houses are built in settled diverse neighborhoods, areas that have developed a character all their own. One by one this character is being removed and replaced. Our landfill runneth over with the craftsmanship of another era.

I am fortunate to have spent my adult life in one such older neighborhood, one that from time to time was not so pricey, but has remained stable for its 70 year life. We have enjoyed renewed energy as others have found our little neighborhood, bringing in creative renovations and diverse neighbors. But we are in a time of transition, and what we as a community accept today as the norm could determine the future for the old neighborhoods, the people in them, and the look and feel of our fine city herself.

My perspective is from central Raleigh, and a lot of posts will originate from here. I hope established neighborhoods throughout the city will feel at home here too. After all, we are all in this together.
--Fallonia

Correspondents

Fallonia Parker: I am a long-time Raleigh resident in one of our modest neighborhoods. My elders taught me to conserve our resources, and we have. They never told me someone would want to throw away a house.

Irena Dorton A Raleigh architectural historian, Irena is a devotee of Raleigh's mid-twentieth century modern architecture. The namesake of Dorton Arena, Raleigh's first contribution to the advancement of world engineering in 1950, Irena delights in discovering examples of progressive design from Raleigh's post World War II era. She believes that these built landmarks of "The Greatest Generation" help to define Raleigh as a fascinating city.

Over the Top / Inside the Beltline

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Historical Highlights by Irena Dorton

3 comments:

Welcome

Correspondents

Categories

Respect4Raleigh 2008

The Magical Missinghouse Tour

Blogs of Interest

Reader Feeder

Blog Archive

. . .

Share This Content

Contacting Over the Top

Links ... Connecting the Dots