{"nrhp_refnum":"78001980","name":"Raleigh, Sir Walter, Hotel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"400--412 Fayetteville St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Raleigh","county":"Wake County","state":"NC","lat":35.77540034300006,"lon":-78.63980713999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-08-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A ten-story brick hotel at 400-412 Fayetteville Street in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, opened in January 1924 and designed by architect J. A. Salter, with a westward addition in 1938-1939.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the hotel is a Raleigh landmark as the chief surviving major hotel of the city's earlier hotels. Its statewide significance lies in its role in twentieth-century North Carolina politics: through the 1930s to 1950s it served as an unofficial headquarters for legislators, lobbyists and newspapermen, earning the label \"third house of state government.\"","narrative":"Rising ten stories at the corner of Fayetteville and Davie Streets in Raleigh, the Sir Walter Hotel opened in January 1924 as a large, convention-oriented hotel designed by J. A. Salter. Its brick, L-shaped form carries classical ornament: a gray striated stone base with arched openings and scroll keystones, modillioned cornices, and a stone-capped parapet. Six bays were added at the west end in 1938-1939 to match the original block. The hotel's importance lies in state politics. Legislators, lobbyists, newspapermen and others gathered there through the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, since offices near the Capitol were scarce, and it came to be called the \"third house of state government.\" It was also a mainstay of Raleigh's convention trade and was the largest hotel in the state after its late-1930s expansion. Falling revenues, motels and a new Legislative Building in 1963 reduced its role, and conversion to apartments was under consideration.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Architect J. A. Salter; built by B. H. Griffin, contracted by C. N. York","architectural_style":"1920s hotel with classical ornament at street and roof levels","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition and occupied; the ground floor and interior have been remodeled. Conversion into apartments was being considered at the time of nomination.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.737084-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/9/7226/47722609/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/78001980.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001980/f63ed2d56a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001980/f63ed2d56a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jmturner","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir-Walter-Raleigh-Hotel-20080321.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jmturner</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir-Walter-Raleigh-Hotel-20080321.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47722609","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Walter_Hotel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7529401"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/wake-county/raleigh-sir-walter-hotel-78001980/"}