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Sadly the original plans for the building of the Lane house have been lost to time, if they were ever properly documented to begin with.
Some wealthy men building houses (such as plantation owners or governors) employed professional builder/architects, but some would draw the plans up themselves. For example, Governor Tryon (Royal Gov. of NC from 1764-1771) unusually brought over an architect from England, John Hawks, to construct his palatial gubernatorial mansion, Tryon Palace, in New Bern. (Pratt, A Guide to Early American Homes, South). Practical builders’ guides and architectural pattern books were popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s and could be used as a general framework for anyone to construct a dwelling. (Lane, Architecture of the Old South: North Carolina)
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During the 20th century the State of North Carolina made an effort to document the architecture of some historic houses; below is a set of plans drawn up in 1934, which is currently posted to the Historic American Buildings Survey web site. Please note that this set of drawings does not included the 1840s addition (now the “Visitor’s Center”) which was still attached to the the back of the Lane House in 1934.
The below floor plan drawings were part of the North Carolina State University (NCSU) School of Design “Historic Architecture Research Project”, which ran from 1951-1976.
The collection is currently held at the Special Collections Research Center at NC State’s University Library, but many documents (included the scans of the Joel Lane House) can be viewed online here.
This project is described in their own words as: “Between 1951 and 1969, many architecture students at North Carolina State University completed summer projects documenting historic buildings and districts. Beginning in 1959, these projects were submitted to the National Park Service’s Historic American Buildings Survey. The project was formalized with the creation of the undergraduate course, “Historic Architecture Research” (ARC 300), which was required for admission to the fifth year architecture program.”
AWARDS
The house was restored in the 1970s to its circa 1793-94 appearance. In 1976, the Historic Preservation Society of NC awarded the Ruth Coltrane Cannon Cup for “outstanding and significant achievements in the field of historic preservation, restoration, and/or research in NC” to the Wake County Committee of the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of NC for “their dedicated and tireless effort in the restoration of the Joel Lane House.”
The NC Chapter of the American Institute of Architects presented the Historic Preservation and Restoration Award to the Joel Lane House, the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of NC, Dodge & Beckwith, Restoration Architects, and Cameron Construction, General Contractor.
On July 15,1976, the Wake County American Revolution Bicentennial Commission awarded the Joel Lane House a Certificate of Appreciation for its “Outstanding Participation in the Bicentennial Year of our Country.”
The Joel Lane Museum House gardens received the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Community Appearance presented by the City of Raleigh “for Outstanding Contribution toward Enhancing the Beauty of the City of Raleigh.”
In 1997, the Joel Lane House was awarded a certificate of accreditation by the National Society of Colonial Dames of America.
In 2009, the Joel Lane House was awarded an honorable mention for Best Historic Site by Metro Magazine Bravo Awards. The winners included much larger sites, such as Mordecai Historic Park, The Biltmore House in Asheville, and Tryon Palace and Gardens in New Bern.
Lane, Mills. “Architecture of the Old South: North Carolina.” New York: The Beehive Press, 1990.
Pratt, Dorothy and Richard Pratt. “A Guide to Early American Homes, South.” Bonanza Books, 1956.
RoanokeVA.gov. “History of the Pattern Book PDF.” ‘Residential Pattern Book.’ Accessed February 17, 2022. https://www.roanokeva.gov/1281/Residential-Pattern-Book
Library of Congress. “Joel Lane House, 728 Hargett Street, Raleigh, Wake County, NC”, accessed February 17, 2022. [url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.nc0326.sheet/?sp=1]https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.nc0326.sheet/?sp=1[/url]
NC State University Libraries. “North Carolina State University School of Design, Historic Architecture Research Records Project, 1951-1976,” Accessed March 3, 2022. https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/ua110_041
NC State University Libraries. “Historic Architecture Research Project Records,” Accessed March 3, 2022. https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog?f%5Bclassification_facet%5D%5B%5D=Historic+Architecture+Research.+Project+Records#
NC State University Libraries. “Cross section, details, and first floor plan, Joel Lane House, Raleigh, North Carolina,” accessed March 3, 2022. https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/bh006701701#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-1937%2C-1%2C13205%2C7105
NC State University Libraries. “Elevations and second floor plan, Joel Lane House, Raleigh, North Carolina,” accessed March 3, 2022. https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/bh006702702#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-2070%2C0%2C13302%2C7156