Antebellum & Civil War: Institutional

Antebellum and Civil War Institutional Architecture, 1831-1865*

	St. Mary's School		East and West Rocks, St. Mary's School
	Smedes Hall, St. Mary's School		State Capitol
	Christ Episcopal Church		Chapel, St. Mary's School
	First Baptist Church		Peace College, Main Building

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900 Hillsborough Street

ca. 1834

Saint Mary's School, Raleigh's oldest private educational institution for girls, was founded in 1842, following the failure of an Episcopal school for boys established on this site around 1834. Today's campus covers approximately 160 acres and features an eclectic collection of buildings that are testimony to the school's continual operation.

*National Register of Historic Places

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900 Hillsborough Street
1834; 1835

East Rock (1834) and West Rock (1835) were built of stone discarded during the construction of the second State House. The twin buildings flank Smedes Hall, the school's main building; enclosed walkways connect the three buildings.

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900 Hillsborough Street
1839

Smedes Hall is a three-and one-half story Greek Revival brick building. Originally built for the boys' school and called Main Hall, Smedes was renamed in honor of the Reverend Aldert Smedes, first rector and president of Saint Mary's School. It has been used as a multi-purpose building since the girls' school opened in 1842.

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1 East Edenton Street (Union Square)

1833-40

Built to replace the original capitol building, which burned in 1831, this National Historic Landmark is one of America's most important neoclassical structures. Three outstanding nineteenth century architects, Alexander Jackson, Ithiel Town, and David Paton designed this copper-roofed, roughly cruciform-plan building. Chambers originally used by the state senate and house remain intact. The building now houses offices for the governor and secretary of state. Guided tours are offered.

*National Register of Historic Places

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120 East Edenton Street (Union Square)

1848-1852, 1859-1861

English-born architect Richard Upjohn, founder of the American Institute of Architects, designed this granite church in the early English parish style of Gothic architecture. The church features a Latin-cross plan and a stone bell tower, completed after the main building, in 1861. It is one of the four ecclesiastical anchors of Union (Capitol) Square and has been designated a National Historic Landmark.

*National Register of Historic Places

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900 Hillsborough Street (St. Mary's School)

1856

Designed by English-born architect Richard Upjohn, this small board-and-batten Carpenter Gothic chapel graces the campus with its beauty and simplicity. The main gable contains a cartwheel rose window above an entrance hood supported by curved brackets. A cruciform finial crowns the steep gabled roof.

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99 North Salisbury Street
1859

Designed by English architect William Percival, First Baptist Church is a variant of the Gothic Revival style. The church is a symmetrical brick structure stuccoed and scored to give the appearance of stone. The building features an entrance tower with tall pinnacles and a 160-foot-tall spire. It is one of the four ecclesiastical anchors of Union (Capitol) Square.

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15 East Peace Street (Peace College Campus)

ca. 1861

Peace Institute, chartered in 1857, was named for William Peace, who contributed eight acres and $10,000 toward the establishment of a Presbyterian school for girls. The Main Building is an impressive Greek Revival structure with Italianate accents. Used during the Civil War as a hospital, it then became a Freedman's Bureau. During Reconstruction, the building was reclaimed for use as a girls' school.