Rocky Mount Central City Historic District

Rocky Mount's central city is a downtown district of about 98 acres, centered on a broad Main Street with railroad tracks running down its middle. Most of its red brick buildings date from 1890 to 1925, when bright leaf tobacco markets and the railroad brought rapid growth. At the south end stands the Romanesque Atlantic Coast Line station of 1903, and at the north end a group of twelve tobacco warehouses and processing buildings. Washington Street parallels Main and keeps many little-altered facades. Notable buildings include the Philips Building and First National Bank by John Christie Stout, the Planters Bank by H. W. Simpson, the Beaux Arts post office of 1914, and cast metal fronts by Mesker Brothers. Elaborate brickwork, classical detailing and a few Art Deco renovations add variety. Because little building took place after the Depression, the core keeps the look of its boom years, apart from scattered parking lots and a few intrusive newer buildings.