Hometown

One of my major ambitions as a child was to grow up and move away from Raleigh. One of my earliest career goals was to be a trapeze artist in a circus. I used to sit under the trees on capitol square pictured above, feeding the pigeons and dreaming my dreams. I frequently skipped Sunday school which was taking place at Christ Episcopal Church which you can barely make out in the right hand side of this photo (red roof). For many decades the same old man sold peanuts on the square and I spent many pleasant moments feeding the birds on the peanuts I bought from him. I can't remember how old I was when I started ducking out of Sunday school to feed the pigeons.The rooster on the top of the church steeple has always been a favorite feature of mine about the church. I think it's a beautiful church and it is the oldest example of the early Gothic Revival Style in the south (U.S.). Richard Upjohn who founded the American Institute of Architects designed Christ Church in 1848. The sanctuary was consecrated in 1854 and the adjacent bell tower was completed in 1861.
Through the arches above, the entrance to the bell tower is on the left and as you walk straight down the path an entrance to the church is on the right and an entrance to the chapel is on the left. I have always preferred the chapel in many ways. Much smaller than the main church and quite beautiful.It's funny how I ended up in Raleigh. It's not the same town I grew up in which in a lot of ways is what I like about it. The triangle area which includes Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Research triangle park and several smaller towns has a lot of variety. I could do without the traffic but I like the diversity in this area. After all is said and done, it's probably just as well that I didn't run off with the circus.