This is a picture from the N&O from early 2006 after the old civic and convention center was imploded.
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This is how to get rid of an old convention center. Watch how Charlotte did it.
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Now they need to implode Epicenter (or whatever it’s called these days) that replaced it.
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I recognize those tables. They are chess tables and are currently on the side of Fayetteville Street using 3 chairs each.
Fun fact: the tables are set up completely wrong and anyone that’s played chess at a reasonable level cringes when they walk by the tables. I think there are 6 tables set up and 4 of them are set up in a way that makes playing traditional chess not possible.
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Kudos to the structural engineer who designed that entire roof assembly of the old civic center. Even in implosion, that glazing within it survived.
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I noticed in the past that those tables were repurposed, but I never knew the story about the tables not even being set up properly for chess! What about them makes it impossible to play? Are they not 8x8?
Thanks for sharing that story.
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They are, but the chairs are set up for two players and one spectator. The issue is that the black square is on the bottom right for 4/6 of the tables
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-set-up-a-chessboard
So, in order to play, one of the players would need to stand up with the current setup. A pretty clear oversight that most chess players will notice when walking by.
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so, basically it’s the position of the tables relative to the player seating?
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Yup, exactly. They need to turn 4 of the tables 90 degrees.
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yes but the only problem is there are 3 hotels as part of that project now Epicenter. It does need a lot of help for sure.
They’re checkers tables then, voila. 
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Good riddance to the old convention center. It was an absolute monstrosity that hindered the center of downtown. Downtown Raleigh was a dead man walking when that corpse of a structure was in place. Please don’t romanticize!
Try moving to Winston-Salem or Greensboro if you want a bit of the old school Raleigh feel. However this place is now a major city that needs amenities. Where the heck is my baseball team and LT system???
Xenophobia needs to be addressed.
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What does xenophobia have to do with the convention center? I’m confused.
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Given the attitudes toward downtown in the early 1970s, it’s a miracle that the 1977 civic center was built at all – or that it was built in downtown instead of somewhere along the beltline. One could argue that time has not been kind to many of Arthur Odell’s designs, but to be fair in this instance he was given a very challenging mandate for square footage within a minimal construction budget. Montgomery, Ala., another southern state capital city, also made a timid bet on a downtown civic center in the mid-1970s… and like Raleigh, they regretted it quickly and eventually demolished it for a better building.
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To be fair, many folks who use those tables are in assisted mobility devices, so maybe it was done on purpose? (probably not, but I’m just trying to give whoever did it a break 
)
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