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Raleigh from above: Hidden messages and history only visible from above

Did you know the State Capitol has a hidden piece of artwork that you can only see from above? Or that pieces of lost history from some of Raleigh's oldest airports and race tracks are hidden in plain sight?

Posted Updated

By
Heather Leah
, WRAL multiplatform producer
RALEIGH, N.C. — Did you know the State Capitol has a hidden piece of artwork that you can only see from above?

Or that pieces of lost history from some of Raleigh's oldest airports and race tracks are hidden in plain sight?

Or that some businesses, museums and universities have written messages meant to only be visible from above?

When you think of 'hidden history,' you often think of underground tunnels, dark basements and secrets hidden inside old buildings. But Raleigh has plenty of secrets hidden in plain sight -- you just have to get a bird's eye view.

Hidden messages from above in Raleigh: "PICTURE THIS" is written across the NC Museum of Art's field.

1. NC Museum of Art - "PICTURE THIS"

When strolling through the giant sculptures in the grassy fields at the North Carolina Museum of Art, you may not realize some of the enormous sculptures create the words "PICTURE THIS" when viewed from above.

In fact, the 'R' and 'E' in 'PICTURE THIS' appears at ground-level to be a mysterious labyrinth of concrete walls. But a change in perspective reveals the labyrinths to be part of a larger message.

Hidden messages from above in Raleigh: Trails around the State Capitol create a dogflower, the state flower.

2. Dogwood Flower around the State Capitol

When strolling around the State Capitol in Raleigh, you may not notice the symbolic design created by the pathways. From above, the walkways seem to create the shape of North Carolina's state flower: The Dogwood.

The Capitol building itself is shaped like a cross, modeled after the old State House.

It is not known whether the walkways were intentionally shaped to look like the state flower, or if it was just a convenient accident.

Hidden messages from above in Raleigh: The Raleigh Rose Garden is inside the oval footprint of the old racetrack that was once part of the State Fairgrounds.

3. Racetrack around the Raleigh Rose Garden

The hidden history of the Raleigh Rose Garden can be easily spied from above.

From ground level, the history isn't obvious, but from above you can see the curvature of the gardens tucked in the outline of an oval racetrack that once circled the fairgrounds.
Hidden messages from above in Raleigh: An old runway from one Raleigh Municipal Airport is still visible in a neighborhood field.

4. A runway from one of Raleigh's first airports

You wouldn't expect to find the remains of an airport in the middle of a Raleigh neighborhood. From the ground level, the grassy field with a lake seems to harbor no secrets. From above, however, you can clearly see the 'scar' across the land, where an airport runway once sat.
This grassy patch of land was once Raleigh Municipal Airport. Built in 1929 and closed in 1973, it once served as a WWII air base – and it was visited by pilot legend Amelia Earhart.

By comparing old maps of the airport runways to modern day satellite images, history hunters were able to point out the original runway's location.

Hidden messages from above in Raleigh: The CEI logo is created from over 600 solar panels.

5. Messages for RDU airplanes

Offices for both CEI and Jeep are located very close to RDU Airport. Perhaps it's no coincidence, then, that both companies have a giant version of their logo or brand plastered on their rooftops.

CEI, the digital office, is known for their state-of-the-art work and quirky robot mascot.

Hidden messages from above in Raleigh: The Jeep logo is on their rooftop near RDU.

The CEI logo was constructed from over 600 solar panels, which were installed years ago to shrink their carbon footprint.

"Our President thought we could really get creative with it," shared one employee.

Secret message within a secret message.

6. NC Museum of Art - "To Be Rather Than To Seem"

Even eagle-eyed viewers who noticed the "PICTURE THIS" hidden at the North Carolina Museum of Art may have missed a second message, hidden even deeper within the letters.

The "I" in "PICTURE THIS" has its own small hidden message: Esse Quam Videri.

This is the English translation of North Carolina's motto: To be, rather than to seem.

Hidden messages from above in Raleigh: This mysterious arrow is on top of a downtown building. Where is it pointing?

7. Pointing arrow on a downtown rooftop

There is a giant, faded arrow hidden on the rooftop of The Architect Bar & Social House.

Large arrows like this are often remnants from the days before aircraft had radar guidance, according to Will Pearce, who is a pilot.

"They are alignment markers for pilots who are making daylight approaches to specific runways," he said.

Ironically, and it's still visible on the downtown Raleigh rooftop, pointing towards the airstrip, which is also still visible from above.

Hidden messages from above in Raleigh: Pullen Park once had its own zoo. The outline of one of the cages is still visible today.

8. Remnants of the old zoo at Pullen Park

It may be hard to believe, but Pullen Park once had a zoo. Few locals are able to remember when the zoo was still active, but some people still remember where the monkey cages and alligator pit once stood.

This unusual circular garden at Pullen Park stands out as a beautiful but somewhat unexpected park feature. Some locals remember that being the location of the alligator pit, saying the circular garden is the footprint of where the zoo feature once stood.

No official maps have confirmed, but several Raleighites' memories align with the historic theory that this is possibly a remnant of the old zoo.

Hidden messages from above in Raleigh: The circular footprint of Harrelson Hall is enshrined in the NCSU Brickyard.

9. Lost building in the NCSU Brickyard

The NCSU Brickyard has a logo visible from above, but it's small enough that it's also visible from the ground. The bigger 'secret' in the brickyard is the enormous circular footprint of Harrelson Hall.

Built in the 1960s, Harrelson Hall was the first cylindrical building on NCSU campus – and one of the very few cylindrical buildings in Raleigh. Generations of students remember the somewhat odd sensation of circling the looping hallways.

Harrelson is not yet hidden history – but 100 years from now, will students walk over the grassy circle in the brickyard, shocked to learn a building once stood there?

Did we miss any?

If you know any other hidden messages, unique visuals, or pieces of history that can only be seen from above, please email hleah@wral.com. We'd love to add more to the list!

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