Location: 101 Dry Avenue
Built: 1939
Designated in 2017

This monumental building reflects the importance civic leaders in a small railroad town placed on education. The site was originally home to Cary Academy before the state purchased the private school and turned it into Cary Public High School, the state’s first state-funded public high school. 

The 1939 building was a substantial Public Works Administration project, connecting it to a government program of profound consequence in American history. It is also an excellent example of Colonial Revival architecture, designed by prominent Raleigh architect William Henley Dietrick in the first half of his career. 

While the building was renovated and expanded in 2010-2011 to become the Cary Arts Center, it retains its essential historic and architectural integrity and remains in its original location at the terminus of Academy Street, two blocks south of the railroad tracks and the historic commercial core of the town. 

For more information, read the Landmark Designation Report.