What lies beneath Fayetteville Street? Fayetteville Street was once a major thoroughfare for Raleigh's streetcar system, with tracks running right down the middle of the road. In December 1886, the Raleigh Street Railway Company opened the state’s first trolley system. The first trolleys used mules to tow the vehicles, and later trolleys used electricity. The trolley system allowed Raleigh to expand into suburbs, growing further and further out from the center of downtown in a way that was impossible when horses and wagons were the major transportation.
Beneath Fayetteville Street, Hillsborough Street, and Glenwood Avenue, the remains of the trolley track are sometimes uncovered during street construction. Other remains of the trolley era can be found near the Five Points area, including the remains of two trolley stops and the remains of Bloomsbury Park, a roller coaster theme park which once stood at the end of the trolley tracks.
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