Earlier, we told you that we would be posting some local history from Raleigh. Here is our first entry about the Carolina Pines Hotel.
Carolina Pines Resort and Hotel
Located on the north side of Tryon Road adjacent to the Norfolk and Southern Railroad right-of-way, the Carolina Pines Hotel stands as a reminder of the early 20th century resort hotel movement in North Carolina. Opened on July 23, 1933 the hotel and surrounding 450-acre resort was the dream of Herbert Anderson Carlton, a local developer who wished to provide an idyllic retreat and recreational opportunities for well-to-do patrons, as well as people of ordinary means. To this end, he constructed the handsome Colonial Revival-style hotel building in the midst of a pine grove, and laid out two 18-hole golf courses, a riding club with 35 saddle horses, four tennis courts with night illumination, a lake and a swimming pool, a casino, an outdoor theater, polo grounds, a fishery, a pet farm, and girls’ and boys’ camps.
Carolina Pines Hotel now Delta Sigma Phi fraternity
Although the Carolina Pines Resort and Hotel was modeled on similar North Carolina resorts such as Southern Pines in Moore County and the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, it presented a somewhat novel idea in that it promised choice recreational activities and luxurious accommodations for citizens of all classes at an affordable price. This was Mr. Carlton’s philanthropic philosophy, and was reflected in the interpretation of the Colonial Revival style of the hotel building. (more…)
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