The core of the following story appeared under the title “The Atlantis Lodge” in the July 2010 The Shoreline. Since that time, we have learned considerably more about the history of Pine Knoll Shores.
A.C. Hall, owner of the Atlantis Lodge—the first motel in
Pine Knoll Shores—says that on a recent to trip to Raleigh, he stayed on the
top floor of the Renaissance Hotel: “I had requested a room with a view of the
city, and when I went to the window, you know what I saw? Trees.” It’s no
coincidence that when driving past the Atlantis Lodge in Pine Knoll Shores,
what one sees first is a modest wooden sign nestled among trees. The lodge is
situated on the oceanfront in such a way that it is barely visible from Salter
Path Road, and its contemporary wooden design blends perfectly with the natural
setting.
A.C. Hall
was Raleigh city planner from 1952 to 1980 and the man responsible not only for
the Atlantis Lodge but also for the layout of the main section of central Pine
Knoll Shores. His fondness for trees is evident in both Raleigh and Pine Knoll
Shores.
His wife,
Dot, and her parents, Shella and Ruth (“Mabee”) Bray, are largely responsible
for bringing A.C. Hall to our shores. Sadly, Shella Bray, who was a railroad
worker, died in an accident in 1958. The railroad company offered the family a
settlement of $30,000. After paying their lawyer, three Bray siblings divided
the money. A.C. and Dot were able to save most of their share. That’s how the
dream of owning beach property started.
“Mabee
loved the beach,” says A.C. The family used to go to Nags Head on vacation.
However, when looking for beach property to buy, they quickly eliminated Nags
Head because it had no oceanfront lots with trees. They visited Wilmington-area
beaches and could not find a section with trees there either. Then they came to
Bogue Banks. Driving beyond Atlantic Beach on an unevenly paved road no more
than 12-15 feet wide, they saw an expanse of property totally wooded on both
ocean and sound sides.
Aerial photo of PKS at the time A.C. Hall bought the property for the Atlantis. To the left of the north-south streets is the area he was asked to design for development.
But, first,
A.C. had to borrow more money. Even with his dad’s help, A.C. was having
trouble borrowing the $70,000 he felt he needed to begin building a quality
lodge. Finally, with the assistance of
Cliff Cameron, a Raleigh neighbor, he was able to get a Small Business
Administration loan. For a 10% share of the business, Cameron-Brown Mortgage
Company guaranteed the loan.
While
building, A.C. and his family would make trips down to Bogue Banks from Raleigh
and rent the Deffenbaugh Cottage on a sound-side lot not far from the site he
had purchased. This was all part of the 1950’s phase of the town’s development.
(See post on “Early Development of PKS.”)
A.C.’s
mother-in-law, Ruth “Mabee” Bray, is central to the Atlantis story. She was
selling high-end women’s dresses for a shop in Raleigh and was beloved by her
customers. The Burton family, owners of a dress shop in Cameron Village,
decided to put a similar shop on the Atlantic Beach causeway and offered Mabee
the manager’s job there.
So, she
rented an apartment and worked in the causeway dress shop. In 1963, when the
central building and east wing of the lodge were completed, Mabee moved into an
apartment downstairs in the lodge’s main building. She would go on to manage
the lodge for 17 years—from 1963-1980.
Early ad in The State magazine.
Throughout the 1960s, Roosevelt Property Manager Ted Hearth continued to make trips to Bogue Banks and began staying at the Atlantis Lodge. He soon learned that A.C. was a Raleigh city planner and asked if he was interested in working, in his spare time, on a plan for the next phase of development in Pine Knoll Shores—from Cedar Road to Municipal Blvd. A.C. agreed to take on the project.
Ted Hearth
could not have found anyone more qualified. A.C. had graduated from Wake Forest
with a degree in biology, studied at N.C. State’s School of Design for three
years and completed a master’s degree in City Planning from Chapel Hill.
“To get to
know the lay of the land I was to work on here,” A.C. says, “I put on big boots
and walked it many times. It was swampy, had lots of water on it and lots of
low spots. There were snakes, several small ponds and a large one around where
Holly or Willow is now.” The Roosevelts had wanted to have a water-treatment
plant and sewer system, but the state would not allow it. “That meant putting
in septic tanks,” says A.C. First, he
needed to design canals to drain the land. Then, he had to identify appropriate
sites for homes where septic systems would work. “In most areas, you couldn’t
dig very far without running into water,” he says.
In Raleigh, A.C. had connections with Piedmont aerial surveyors, who did contour maps, so he hired them to do aerial contour maps here. He had another friend Jerry Turner, who was a landscape architect with a drafting room at home. A.C. got his help in drawing the first plan.
Bringing
together knowledge gained from aerial contour maps and from many soggy walks
through the area with skills as a master land planner and designer, A.C. went
to work. He determined where the canals had to be for drainage purposes and how
to place as many houses as possible on canals to provide all the advantages of
waterfront property. He identified the best locations for home sites to ensure
they could have well-functioning septic systems. He wanted to design quiet
neighborhoods with lots of trees and did not want there to be any through
traffic. With a smile, he says: “You better know where you are going when you
drive in there. It’s not easy to find property if you don’t, and that was by
design.”
In 1967,
Ted Hearth hired Von Oesen Engineering Firm from Wilmington to do some survey
work for implementing A.C. Hall’s plan. Working on this project was Don Brock,
who, like A.C., was hired by Ted Hearth to work for the Roosevelts and help
guide the implementation of A.C.’s plan.
A. C.’s plan for downtown Pine Knoll Shores
There were
two aspects of his plan that may have been too farsighted for the time. He
envisioned Municipal Boulevard leading to an attractive, tree-lined town center
with a pond and, nestled within the trees, sites for small shops, restaurants,
and parking. The boulevard was to open on the north side to a bridge that would
go from McGinnis Point across the sound to Morehead City. But, alas, these were
among the few ideas in A.C.’s plan not adopted.
Shops he designed for
Pine Knoll Shores Mall
The town did, however, adopt the City Seal he designed. When the town incorporated, there was no town hall, so the Atlantis Lodge served that function. A back office, now used for supplies, provided space for the town clerk and the Police Department. Mabee, who died in 1993, was on the first Board of Commissioners—the only woman on the board at the time.
A.C Hall’s sketch of
a billboard advertising the new PKS
In 1982,
Don Brock still working with the Roosevelt family, still represented by Stone
& Webster Management Consultants, approached A.C. about developing a plan
for western Pine Knoll Shores, which became Beacon’s Reach. Don says that A.C.
had just retired as Raleigh city planner and did not want to take on another
big project.
A.C. and
his wife, Dot, had maintained their primary residence in Raleigh until A.C.
retired, and then they moved to the Atlantis Lodge. A.C. created a new
apartment by combining four upstairs units.
Over the
years, the Atlantis, the lodge thrived and expanded. First, a top floor was
added to existing buildings. Then came a western wing with 16 units and a
top-floor lounge and finally two buildings that, as A.C. puts it, “stick out
toward the water.” Today, the Atlantis Lodge has 42 units—36 efficiencies and
six regular motel rooms. Guests enjoy a private outside pool and the upstairs
lounge. The lodge is open year round, except for three weeks in December. “It
always opens for New Year’s, and for some reason is always full the last week
in February,” says A.C. Many guests return year after year. “By the end of the
summer,” he adds, “we are half full for the next summer.” Guests schedule their
week(s) before leaving, and some rent for one or two months.
The
Atlantis is pet friendly. In fact, A.C., as member of numerous hotel/motel
boards on the state and national levels, was instrumental in getting the law
changed to allow dogs in motel sleeping rooms.
What great
contributors to the community Mabee and the Halls have been. When you look out
a top floor window anywhere in Pine Knoll Shores and see a dense green canopy
of maritime forest, you may think of all the people we have to thank and know
that A.C. Hall is certainly one of them.
Post Author: Phyllis Makuck
To contact the author or the History Committee
____________________
The illustrations in this post are housed in the Pine Knoll Shores History Committee archives, the planning drawings are part of the A.C. Hall collection.