This story first appeared in CityView magazine’s September 2026 edition.
If you don’t live in Fayetteville, chances are you don’t see the city as a cultural hot spot. That was my own first impression when I arrived in town 27 years ago.
Hay Street was more rubble than art and there was no central arts-and-culture destination here. The good stuff—which I found pretty quickly—was scattered about, looking like it was dropped at random across the landscape with no plan or forethought.
But oh, there was some good stuff in those scatterings. There was the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, a cultural beacon at the top of Haymount Hill, the home of extraordinary drama, comedy, and music. Not far away was the Museum of the Cape Fear, The Little Engine That Could of local history. The Arts Council, a downtown renaissance pioneer, offered gallery shows and, more important, one of the great catalysts of downtown’s redevelopment: 4th Friday. And hidden away in a residential neighborhood off Bragg Boulevard was the Fayetteville Museum of Art, a gem that was perfectly located to be ignored.
Along the way, both of the city’s universities became cultural resources of their own, the Cape Fear Botanical Garden grew into a stunning venue for festivals and performances, the city built the gorgeous Festival Park downtown, and the Crown Complex moved beyond sports to present a broad array of music and other entertainment. There was a lot of arts and entertainment to love in this city.
But it was still scattered, with little rhyme or reason.
The smartest change that happened in Fayetteville’s cultural growth was the city’s decision to create a downtown arts and entertainment district—a central destination for residents and visitors to go and enjoy good food and good times. The transition was almost magical, with excellent restaurants, splendid little bookstores, small galleries, and boutiques sprouting throughout the downtown district, while residential construction made it an excellent place to live. It was a stunning transformation, much of it happening in just a decade or so.
The job isn’t done. The Fayetteville Museum of Art shut down 16 years ago and nothing has really replaced it. It’s a big hole in the city’s cultural landscape, despite efforts by the universities and small galleries to fill the gap.
And more worrisome, the county’s decision to abandon its exciting plan for a downtown performing-arts venue has left a continuing crater in the downtown arts and entertainment district. County commissioners probably chose the wisest financial course when they decided to walk away from the downtown project and put money instead into the resurrection of the decrepit Crown Theatre.
I get the moneyball considerations. I get the need for county politicians to appear frugal and good stewards of the taxpayers’ money. That makes sense—at least for politicians who want to win the next election.
But it still was a terrible decision that in the long run will hurt downtown—where, it should be noted, the county is a major property owner—and won’t help put Fayetteville on the map of cultural destinations in North Carolina. In truth, it was a revisiting of a terrible decision made decades ago by predecessors of the current commissioners when they decided to locate the Crown Coliseum out on U.S. 301, near the airport, instead of downtown, where it belonged.
By the time the coliseum was built, 301’s glory days had long faded. Before I-95 was built, it was a major north-south route running through the city. But once I-95 took the bulk of that traffic, 301 faded fast, upscale businesses disappeared, and urban blight took over. That hasn’t changed.
What we have now is an unsightly drive from the city out to the Crown property—a drive that many people will avoid if they can when they’re headed to a Crown event. And they definitely won’t be stopping downtown to visit the restaurants and shops before or after shows out there. They’ll just head home, just like I did whenever I went to shows or games.
If the Crown Complex were located in a pleasant, safe, walkable downtown, it’s a good bet I would have strolled from the event to a restaurant for a snack and maybe a drink before or after the show. And I would have had a lot of company. A downtown performing arts center would have a multiplier effect downtown, drawing customers to many of the other businesses there.
Out on 301? Get me outta there!
I hope the city gets serious about building a convention or performing arts center of its own downtown. It may be the only way it gets done. And I hope even more that the plans will also include a substantial art museum. I have long believed downtown is the cultural core of Fayetteville and that it can be developed further to create a prosperous synergy that lifts our economy and our spirits.
A lot of people share that dream. Let’s not let it die.
