Historic photos reveal snapshots of North Carolina’s ever-evolving landscape
North Carolina continues to grow with no signs of slowing down.
With all the change, especially in the Triangle, it’s sometimes nice to look back and remember the way it was — when towns celebrated the sweet potato harvest with a parade and actress Ava Gardner took a selfie before the term was even coined.
We took a deep dive in The News & Observer’s archives to find some of these hidden gems that show Raleigh, Durham and other parts of the state from another era.
We’ll periodically look back in The News & Observer’s collection to showcase former photographers’ work and memories of some special times.
A special thank you goes to the staff at the State Archives of N.C. who administers The N&O’s negative and print collection.
The Sweet Potato Queen bites into one of the yams for a photographer at “Tater Day” in Tabor City, NC. October 31, 1947.
Actress Ava Gardner takes a selfie with News and Observer photographer Lawrence Wofford’s camera on a visit to Raleigh, June 1947.
The Durham Christmas Parade makes its way down rain-slicked streets in the 1950’s.
Workers install Christmas decorations on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh, NC November 16, 1961.
A view of holiday decorations along Fayetteville Street in Downtown Raleigh in 1968.
Christmas decorations along Raleigh, N.C.’s Fayetteville Street in December 1968.
A News & Observer and Raleigh Times photographer is seen with his Leica rangefinder camera in the rear parking lot of the old offices at 215 S. McDowell Street in Downtown Raleigh in 1961.
