Theater and opera houses
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh
The Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in the city of Raleigh is the central point of contact for all visitors to the city when it comes to the performing arts. The center was created in 1997 and currently consists of:
- Raleigh Memorial Auditorium (opened in 1932)
After the last major renovation in 1990, the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium accommodated 2,277 guests and most of the time large music productions took place here. - Meymandi Concert Hall (opened in 2001)
The Meymandi Concert Hall offers 1,700 seats and is known for its excellent acoustics. - AJ Fletcher Opera Theater (opened in 2001)
The AJ Fletcher Opera Theater, with its 600 seats, is the venue for chamber music, ballet and opera. The Carolina Ballet also plays here. - Kennedy Theater (opened in 2001)
The Kennedy Theater is a rather small experimental theater with only 150 seats. - Lichtin Plaza (opened in 2001)
The approximately 8,100 m² Lichtin Plaza is the forecourt of the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts and is used for numerous outdoor performances, especially in summer.
The Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts as the center for the performing arts is the venue of Theater In The Park, Opera Company of North Carolina, Carolina Ballet, North Carolina Theater, North Carolina Symphony, Raleigh Chamber Music Guild, Raleigh Dance Theater, Raleigh Little Theater, Burning Coal Theater Company, AJ Fletcher Opera Institute, Triangle Brass Band and Triangle Youth Brass Band.
- See Countryaah for a full list cities and towns in North Carolina. Also includes counties, airports, zip codes, and public holidays of North Carolina.
| Contact | 2 East South Street Raleigh, North Carolina 27601 www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com |
Playmakers Theater
The Playmakers Theater, also known as Smith Hall, is actually a temple. As such, built in 1850, the building initially served as a combination as a library and ballroom. The building is in the style of the Greek Revival. Over the years, the building also served as a laboratory and law school. Since 1923, however, it has served as a theater and is now the home of the Carolina Playmakers. In 1971, the Playmakers Theater was added to the list of Historic Landmarks.
Carolina Theater in Durham
The Carolina Theater in the city of Durham is a historic cinema from 1923. The Carolina Theater was one of the first cinemas to allow black people to enter. The Carolina Theater is the last of 13 cinemas from the 1920s. The main hall can accommodate over 1,000 people and can admire the stylish interior in addition to the films.
| Contact | 309 W Morgan St Durham, North Carolina 27701 |
North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte
The North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in the city of Charlotte is a center for the performing arts and opened in 1992. The North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center combines several theater and opera stages, but some of these are located in different locations in Charlotte. The North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center includes the Belk Theater with 2,097 seats as the primary stage for operas, the Booth Playhouse with 434 seats for theater and cabaret performances as well as the Stage Door Theater, the Knight Theater, the McGlohon Theater and the Duke Energy Theater and the 2,400-seat Ovens Auditorium.
| Contact | www.blumenthalarts.org |
Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte
The Tremont Music Hall in downtown Charlotte is a very hip place for music performances and was opened in 1995. Both halls contain the Main Hall (1,000 seats) and the Casbah (350 seats). The Tremont Music Hall is considered one of the best places in North Carolina for independent, metal or alternative bands.
| Contact | 400 West Tremont Avenue Charlotte, North Carolina 28203 |
Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh
The Walnut Creek Amphitheater, formerly known as the Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek and Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion, is an amphitheater opened in the city of Raleigh in 1991. The amphitheater is integrated in an approx. 310,000 m² and is used for the performance of large music productions in the warmer months. The Walnut Creek Amphitheater has a total of 20,000 seats, of which around 7,000 are covered. Aerosmith, BB King, The Beach Boys, The Black Crowes, Blondie, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Neil Young and many others have played here.
| Contact | 3801 Rock Quarry Road Raleigh, North Carolina 27610 www.livenation.com/walnut-creek-amphitheatre |
Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham
The Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham City opened in 2008 and is one of the largest performing arts centers in North Carolina. In addition to theater productions, concerts are also held here and the Durham Performing Arts Center has already seen performances by greats like BB King. The Durham Performing Arts Center offers a total of 2,712 seats.
| Contact | 123 Vivian Street Durham, North Carolina 2770 www.dpacnc.com |
ImaginOn in Charlotte
ImaginOn, full name ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center, is a collaborative effort between the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and the Children’s Theater of Charlotte. In this theater, which is also partly a library, children are introduced to friends and the art of theater. There are also interactive workshops. But it is also a complete theater with performances. The ImaginOn has existed since 1948.
| Contact | 300 East Seventh Street Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 www.imaginon.org |
Museums and exhibitions
North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh
The North Carolina Museum of Art in the city of Raleigh was founded in 1947 and is one of the most important museums in the state. It was built with public funds, originally a million dollars, so that 139 paintings and sculptures were purchased. This was unique in the United States. Today, the museum houses North Carolina’s largest art collection, with over 5,000 works of art from over 5,000 years. The museum collects works of art from all over the world and is not limited to individual countries.
| Contact | 2110 Blue Ridge Road Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 www.ncartmuseum.org |
Nasher Museum of Art in Durham
The Nasher Museum of Art in the city of Durham is the art museum of Duke University and was reopened in 2005 in a new building on the university campus. The museum attracts over 100,000 visitors every year. The museum’s collection includes over 13,000 exhibits, most of which come from American artists.
| Contact | 2001 Campus Drive Durham, North Carolina 27705 www.nasher.duke.edu |
Carolina’s Aviation Museum in Charlotte
The Mint Museum in the city of Charlotte is one of the most famous museums in the city. Actually, there are two museums or two locations. There is a Mint Museum in Uptown and one in Randolph. The Mint Museum was opened in 1936 and the Randolph Museum is still in the same building. The museum’s collection includes exhibits of American art, European ceramics, but also African and Asian art. The museum also offers historical maps, photographs and even contemporary art. The new building of the Mint Museum in Uptown is also particularly worth seeing.
| Contact | www.mintmuseum.org |
Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte
The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in the city of Charlotte is one of the best art museums for contemporary art in North Carolina. However, it should be mentioned that the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art specializes in art from the mid-20th century. New works can be found in the new Levine Center for the Arts. The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art was opened in 2010 and covers an exhibition area of approximately 3,400 m². The building was designed by Mario Botta, who also designed the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The figurehead of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art is the light-flooded, open-plan glass atrium.
| Contact | 300 East Seventh Street Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 www.bechtler.org |
North Carolina Museum of History at Raleigh
The North Carolina Museum of History is located in the city of Raleigh and is the state museum for the history of the state of North Carolina. It was opened in 1902, at that time still under the name “Hall of History”. In the permanent exhibition, visitors will find exhibits on the military history of the state, but also everyday objects from North Carolina’s history. However, there is much more to discover and other topics are dealt with in the changing exhibitions. Incidentally, entry is free.
| Contact | 5 East Edenton Street Raleigh, North Carolina 27601 www.ncdcr.gov/ncmoh |
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is located in the city of Raleigh and is the State Museum of Natural History. The museum was founded in 1879, making it the oldest museum in North Carolina. The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences consists of a total of 4 buildings that form the entire complex, but are distributed throughout the city. It is the Nature Exploration Center, the Nature Research Center, the Prairie Ridge Ecostation and the North Carolina Museum of Forestry. Together they cover a huge spectrum with their exhibitions and offers. For example, there is a 700 year old swamp cypress in the exhibitions, but modern interactive exhibits are also represented. A real tourist magnet is the 3-story globe, part of the wall of the Nature Research Center. In this there is a somewhat unusual cinema.
| Contact main building and Nature Research Center |
11 West Jones Street Raleigh, North Carolina 27601 www.naturalsciences.org |
Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte
The Carolinas Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in the city of Charlotte. The museum was founded in 1992 and now attracts over 70,000 visitors annually. The museum’s collection includes countless smaller exhibits related to aviation and over 50 historical aircraft.
| Contact | 4672 First Flight Drive Charlotte, North Carolina 28208 www.carolinasaviation.org |
Monuments and memorials
Wright Brothers National Memorial
The Wright Brothers National Memorial is located in the town of Kitty Hawk on “Bodie Island” – one of the numerous Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina. The memorial is said to commemorate the Wright brothers’ first powered flight in 1903. The flight took place here after the Wright brothers heard of the favorable wind conditions. Today’s memorial covers an area of approximately 1.7 km² and annually attracts over 450,000 visitors. In addition to 4 footpaths that follow the exact routes of the first flights, the memorial also includes a visitor center that provides more information and, since 2003, an expanded museum. On the Kill Devil Hill there is also the Memorial Tower, an 18m high granite monument from 1932.
| Contact | 1000 N croatan hwy Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina 27948 www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm |
NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte
The NASCAR Hall of Fame is located in the city of Charlotte and was opened in 2010. In this hall of fame, NASCAR drivers are honored with exceptional skills, but also significant team owners are honored here.
| Contact | 400 East Martin Luther King Blvd Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 |
Thomas Wolfe Memorial in Asheville
The Thomas Wolfe Memorial, also known as Thomas Wolfe House, in the city of Asheville is the former home of the famous author. He lived here in his childhood and (extended) youth from 1900 to 1938. The house dates back to 1883 and today serves as a museum, in which school classes in particular come to find out more about the author, his time and his life.
| Contact | 52 North Market Street Asheville, North Carolina 28801 www.wolfememorial.com |
