Thanks to Goodnight Raleigh we learned about the Raleigh Historic Development Commission’s Works in Progress Tour – first stop on our tour was the H.J. Brown Coffin House and Embalmers/Raleigh Industrial Bank (soon to be Death & Taxes Restaurant). This building was both a mortuary and a bank in its previous life and was claimed to be the “most haunted” building in Raleigh. Great tour – interesting to see the bank vault and the size of the building from the small footprint it appeared to have.
What I could find on the previous tenants –
The H. J. Brown Coffin House was founded in Raleigh in 1836 by H. J. Brown. Five generations have left nothing undone to make Brown-Wynne Funeral Home one of the most complete mortuary establishments in the South. Brown-Wynne Funeral Home is North Carolina’s oldest funeral provider, as well as the oldest continuous business in Raleigh. Founded in 1836, it dates back to when Andrew Jackson was President of the United States. Brown-Wynne has grown along with Raleigh and its surrounding cities. The original building site was at the corner of Dawson and Morgan Streets. The home moved to the corner of Hargett and Salisbury in 1889, then in 1928 moved again to Hillsborough Street. In 1954, Robert W. Wynne, Jr. built a new home on the corner of St. Mary’s and North Street. He also had the foresight to expand to Cary, in 1969, and the Millbrook community, in 1973. In 1991, Brown-Wynne proudly became part of Dignity Network, the largest network of funeral care providers in North America. [SOURCE]
I didn’t find anything on the Raleigh Industrial Bank if you do add it to the comments below. More to come but this is the first batch of pics from the tour.
