Briggs Hardware Building
Why it's listed
Briggs Hardware Building, at 220 Fayetteville Street in Raleigh, is a brick commercial block four stories tall at the front and three at the rear, running through the block between two streets. Thomas H. Briggs opened his hardware business on the site in 1865 in a smaller building. A new building was begun in 1872 and finished in 1874, a date recorded in the parapet inscription. The facade features vermiculated quoins, molded window surrounds with lion's head hoodmolds, a curvilinear pediment and large urns. Inside, a pressed tin ceiling and a wooden arcaded balustrade survive on the first floor, along with skylights and original stairs. The ground floor was fitted with a glass storefront in 1915. The nomination values the building as the only essentially unchanged nineteenth-century commercial structure on Raleigh's main street. It also notes that the business has stayed in the Briggs family and downtown, while upper floors have housed groups such as the Oak City Guard and the city's first YMCA.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it the only nineteenth-century commercial building on Raleigh's main street that survives essentially unchanged. Its red brick facade with bold metal trim, along with continuous business use and family ownership, makes it one of the city's important architectural and historic landmarks.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 73001372, listed October 25, 1973. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 220 Fayetteville St., Raleigh |
|---|---|
| County | Wake County |
| Listed | October 25, 1973 |
| Reference number | 73001372 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th Century (specific date 1874) |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed in good condition, altered, on its original site, occupied and in commercial use as a hardware and toy store still run by the Briggs family. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Fayetteville Street Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.77756, -78.63952 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 73001372.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4967260
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.