Special Exhibit Celebrates Reconstruction of Tryon Palace

‘Rebuilding Tryon Palace’ opens in North Carolina History Center April 5

Tryon Palace will celebrate the history of its 20th-century reconstruction with “Rebuilding Tryon Palace,” a free exhibit opening in the Duffy Exhibition Gallery this Sunday, April 5.

Rebuilding Tryon Palace explores the reconstruction of Tryon Palace, North Carolina’s first state capitol, and examines the George Street community that existed on the palace grounds from the early 1800s to 1950.

Visitors are invited to learn about the individuals that made the reconstruction possible, see the palace construction in process and enjoy the pomp and pageantry that surrounded the reconstructed palace’s opening day.

The exhibit will include archeological material and artifacts discovered at the site of Tryon Palace during the reconstruction, photographs from the George Street neighborhood that once stood on the Palace’s footprint, and items that were added to the Tryon Palace Collection before the site reopened in 1959. Highlighted items include the ribbon used during the opening ceremonies held April 8, 1959, Claude Lorrain’s “Pastoral Landscape with Huntsmen” completed in 1639, and a George III pier table built c. 1765-1770, which served as part of the reconstructed Palace’s original furnishing plan.

In conjunction with the exhibit, a special lecture by Tryon Palace research historian Siobhan Fitzpatrick will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 26, entitled History of Tryon Palace. Discover what the Stable Office looked like after the Palace’s destruction, how the Palace was rebuilt by moving an entire neighborhood, and more during this free lecture.

For more information call 252-639-3500 or visit www.tryonpalace.org.