1952 J.S. Dorton Arena | Architect: Matthew Nowicki | North Carolina State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, North Carolina
Nowicki called his 7,610-seat multi-purpose arena the Paraboleum. Unfortunately, he died in a plane crash before the actual construction and local architect William Henley Dietrick took over until it’s completion.
Its design features a steel cable supported saddle-shaped roof in tension, held up by parabolic concrete arches in compression. The arches cross about 20 feet above ground level and continue underground, where the ends of the arches are held together by more steel cables in tension. The outer walls of the arena support next to no weight at all. Incorporating an unusual elliptical design by Matthew Nowicki, of the North Carolina State University Department of Architecture, the arena was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 1973. Originally named the “State Fair Arena”, it was dedicated to Dr. J. S. Dorton, former North Carolina State Fair manager, in 1961. - wiki