J. S.

Venue: Dorton Arena
Town: Raleigh, US

J. S. Dorton Arena is a 7,610-seat multi-purpose arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina, on the grounds of the North Carolina State Fair. It opened in 1952 as State Fair Arena. It has hosted many sporting events, concerts, political rallies, and circuses. Dorton Arena was the first structure in the world to use a cable-supported roof. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 1973. It was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2002. Dorton Arena was originally named the State Fair Arena when it opened in 1952 on the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, North Carolina. The building was designed by architect Maciej Nowicki of the North Carolina State University Department of Architecture, who was killed in an airplane crash before the construction phase. Local architect William Henley Dietrick supervised the completion of the arena using Nowicki's innovative design. It was dedicated to Dr. J. S. Dorton, former North Carolina State Fair manager, in 1961. Dorton Arena was one of only two new building in the United States given a 1953 National Honor Award by the American Institute of Architects. Dorton Arena was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 1973. It was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2002. Dorton Arena was the first structure in the world to use a cable-supported roof. Its design features a steel cable supported saddle-shaped roof in tension, held up by parabolic concrete arches in compression. The arches cross about 26 feet above ground level and continue underground, where their ends are held together by more steel cables in tension. The outer walls of the arena support next to no weight at all. The arena served as an inspiration to many architects and civil engineers, both at home and abroad. This led to a boom in lightweight constructions such as the Eu