by Leo Suarez

BeerCon: The Flying Saucer

The online activity about Raleigh has really been picking up lately. It is obvious I love to discuss downtown Raleigh happenings with anyone. Blogs and forums are getting more traffic and interest as downtown grows. But the conversations do not stop there. They continue offline in the coffee shops, bars, and restaurants. So as part of my continuing effort to promote downtown, I’m starting a BeerCon series that will highlight the many watering holes in the area.

The Flying Saucer is not a Raleigh original but with about 80 beers on tap, you cannot say that there is not a beverage that meets your taste. Claiming to have over 200 beers total, the saucer hits every angle on the beer lover’s spectrum. With a new menu updated each season, they are one of the more reliable places to get your favorite seasonal ales. One of my favorite things to do is to jump into a new beer simply because it has a funky name. They also have memberships and after consuming 200 different beers, you will be immortalized with your own plate on the wall.

Wifi
Food
Some wine
A couple TV’s for games
Outdoor seating (dog friendly)

Website: www.beerknurd.com

328 W Morgan St
Raleigh, NC 27601
(go to map)
(919) 821-7468

by Leo Suarez

Waiting For The L

The parking deck at the corner of McDowell and Davie St. is starting to rise out of the ground. This is also the site of the future ‘The L’, office over retail building, which will hide the deck from the sidewalk.

At this pace, do not expect it any time soon because this deck will be nine stories tall and they are not building it lego-style like RBC’s deck. At least we will all feel safe parking in this slowly built deck.

by Leo Suarez

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

One of the big downtown attractions is the Museum of Natural Sciences. Some of the wildlife facts you will read here make North Carolina pretty significant. For example, the only place in North America that emerald is mined is here, which is actually rarer then gold. We also have the highest density of salamander species then anywhere else on earth.

The museum has four floors of exhibits covering the piedmont, mountains, and the coast. What looks to be the main attraction here is the Acrocanthosaurus skeleton on the third floor. The skeleton and the skull are the most complete ones ever found. The real skull is not in the picture below but housed in a display case right outside. Make sure and see this exhibit next time you are there.

Admission is FREE!
NCMNS Website
Hours: Mon-Sat: 9 am – 5 pm
Sun: noon – 5 pm
Address: 11 W. Jones St.
Raleigh, NC 27601

by Leo Suarez

222 Parking Deck Paint Job

Edit: The RalCon Tumblelog has been discontinued.

I threw up this picture on the RalCon Tumblelog but remembered that recently there was good discussion related to 222 Glenwood. It appears that this is the final paint job of the parking deck and the flat wall along Jones St. is looking a little ‘simple’. We also had discussion about the murals of downtown and this blank wall was mentioned as a good space for another mural.

by Leo Suarez

The State of Hillsborough St.

Hillsborough St. gets my vote as being one of the most important streets for downtown. From the Capitol building out to Glenwood, the first six blocks will be a major route that connects Glenwood South and Fayetteville St. The zig zag route should become the spine of activity for downtown. It is pretty clear that Fayetteville St. and Glenwood South are already budding entertainment centers but Hillsborough St. is on the rise.

What Is Planned
The weak economy and I’m sure a couple other factors have held back some of these projects and they are currently on standby. It is still a bit exciting to see these proposals because if all are eventually built, Hillsborough St will be its own urban corridor.

Winston Hotel Tower

A 25 story hotel and condo tower will occupy the block shown above.

The Hillsborough

Another 25 story hotel and condo tower. It is currently on hold because of the bad credit market.

Campbell Law School Relocation

Classes should start in summer 2009. I think this a key move that should create traffic on Hillsborough St. I’m worried though because there is a serious lack of rentable apartments nearby and students will be prime renters.

HBS Properties Tower

HBS Properties has bought up a majority of this block. Last I heard, they were floating around the idea of a 10 story tower that would wipe out this streetscape.

The Potential

There are a couple of empty lots and surface parking lots that are in prime locations. There may be controversy in the future over established churches and businesses versus developers willing to offer big money for these lots. However, we are still not there yet so let’s save that argument for later.

I see this stretch of Hillsborough St. becoming a hotel row. Two hotels are in the list above and The Clarion is already in service in this location. This is a central, easy to get to area and with a wider street, it is car traffic friendly. It connects our two major entertainment centers and any visitor has an easy walk to either one.

I also think that the triangle near the Hillsborough/Edenton merge could be something really unique for downtown. I had an idea once.