North Carolina State Fair
| North Carolina State Fair | |
|---|---|
A view from the Midway with Dorton Arena in the background.
|
|
| Genre | State fair |
| Dates | October 12–22, 2017 |
| Location(s) | 1025 Blue Ridge Road Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 |
| Years active | 1853–Present (excluding 1861-1869, 1926-1927, 1942-1945) |
| Attendance | 1,019,738 (2015) |
| Website | |
| http://www.ncstatefair.org/ | |
|
North Carolina State Fair Commercial & Education Buildings
|
|
 
|
|
| Location | NW corner Jct. of Blue Ridge Rd. and Hillsborough St., Raleigh, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Built | 1928 |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Mediterranean Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 87000855 |
| Added to NRHP | June 5, 1987 |
Coordinates: 35°47′46″N 78°42′43″W / 35.7960°N 78.7119°W
The North Carolina State Fair is an annual fair and agricultural exposition held in Raleigh, North Carolina, and organized by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The North Carolina State Fair was first held by the North Carolina State Agricultural Society at a site east of Raleigh in 1853. The event has been held at three different locations since, finding its current home in 1928. It has been celebrated continuously since 1853, with the exceptions of 1861 to 1869 (during the Civil War and Reconstruction), 1926 to 1927 (when the Agricultural Society disbanded and the state Agriculture Department took over operations), and 1942 to 1945 (during World War II). In the 1870s and 1880s, the mills in Winston-Salem would close so that workers could attend the state fair in Raleigh.
The fair has been held at its present site on the western edge of Raleigh since 1928. The 344 acre site includes many notable buildings, including Dorton Arena, a 7,500-seat arena constructed with a unique large suspended roof.
Held for 11 days in mid-October, the fair attracts more than a million people to the N.C. State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. In 2010, the fair broke an attendance record with 1,091,887.
Along with Dorton Arena, the North Carolina State Fair Commercial & Education Buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The pair of large rectangular exhibition halls were built in 1928, and are stucco-covered Mediterranean Revival style buildings. The buildings appear as a single building because of their unified facade and design, but are a large rectangular complex of two buildings, 504 feet in length and 80 feet in depth. They feature twin, tower-flanked entrances and glazed terra cotta ornamentation.
...
Wikipedia