New greets old in Cary
Staff Photo by Scott Sharpe
Chatham Street in Cary's center still evokes a laidback small-town atmosphere, but elsewhere the town is moving inexorably, frenetically, toward a big city's pace.

By KYLE YORK SPENCER, Staff Writer, The Raleigh News & Observer, June 1998


     CARY -- Cary's estimated population of 85,000 makes the town a big suburban area with a small-town feel.
     It is the third largest municipality in the Triangle and the 10th largest in the state, and many consider it the South's newest city. But those who live in town say it is also a place of close-knit neighborhoods and civic groups.
     Cary is a mix of old and new. It has a modern, centralized Town Hall campus and an old-style refurbished downtown, which is within walking distance of older neighborhoods. Nearby is Cary Elementary School, one of the oldest public schools in North Carolina, and an often-touted symbol of the town's rich history.
     Downtown Cary is the main attraction when it comes to traditional town events, such as the Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival. On the last Saturday in August, blocks of downtown are given over to more than 500 exhibits of handmade crafts and original works of art, which attract thousands of visitors from all across the state.
     Each year, the town also holds the Page One Festival of Books for which nationally known writers come to read their work and schmooze with prospective publishers.
     Five minutes away from downtown, though, modern subdivisions with streets that end in cul-de-sacs abound. Here is the new Cary of dozens of shopping centers and lots of restaurants.
     The new Cary is where well-heeled young families come to live, work in the area's high-tech industries and school their children. It is one of the Triangle's best addresses, one people are willing to pay for.
     Jobs in Cary helped attract some of those new residents. SAS Institute, the largest privately owned software company in the world, has its headquarters in Cary. MCI's network management center, is based in Cary and has 2,200 employees.
     There are two country clubs, 184 restaurants and a mall, Cary Towne Center, that houses Hecht's, Dillard's and Sears department stores as well as The Gap.
     It is in this newer part of Cary that an array of new hot spots has come to town. The best known is Gypsy's Shiny Diner, which opened in late 1997 to offer a 1950s atmosphere and diner-style food. It is on Buck Jones Road at Devonshire Place.
     Other new spots include the steakhouse Ruth's Chris, which is on Buck Jones Road; a family-oriented skating rink, Jellybeans, also on Buck Jones Road; and a hotel, Embassy Suites, which has sprouted up on Harrison Avenue.
     As for schools, there is Cary Academy, which opened in August not far from SAS Institute, with 245 students in grades 6-10. Grade 11 is to be added in the coming school year.
     Those who plan to send their children to the school on Harrison Avenue should be prepared for the cost. Tuition for the upper school is $9,200. The middle school is $8,750 a year.