[bright music] - Next on "North Carolina Weekend," join from Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh as we take you to reimagined spaces.

We'll visit an old bank that's become an upscale eatery, a bluegrass barber shop.

And a distillery in an old prison.

Coming up next.

- [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge in the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[bluegrass music] - Welcome to "North Carolina Weekend" everyone.

I'm Deborah Holt Noel and this week we are visiting reimagined spaces, places that have been converted, transformed or redefined.

You know, it's not uncommon for spaces to be repurposed.

Part of what makes them so appealing is their history.

Each of these spaces began with a vision to create something new.

We'll start our episode with where we are at Dorothea Dix park.

Once the grounds of a psychiatric hospital, Dorothea Dix Park is a massive reuse adaptive project that's brought a beautiful green space to our capital city.

[gentle music] - [Sean] Dorothea Dix Park is America's next great downtown park.

- [Kate] Dix Park is one of the most exciting and urban park projects in the US today.

It's 308 beautiful acres of land located less then a mile from downtown Raleigh.

- [Nancy] Just the potential for what I can be for generations to come is something that only if you're lucky comes around once in a lifetime.

- This land has a long and deep history and legacy that really mirrors the growth and development of North Carolina.

So originally it was native American tribal land and then in the 1700s, it was a plantation.

In the early 1800s, a woman by the name of Dorothea Lynde Dix came to North Carolina to establish the state's first mental health hospital.

That happened in 1850.

In 2012, the state hospital closed.

And in 2015, the City of Raleigh bought this property for the creation of North Carolina's Central Park.

- Dorothea Dix Park's core value is that this is a part for everyone built by everyone.

- Last year was the first year we had over 2 million hits on social media.

[cameral clicks] And I think one of the most amazing things is people came from all over the state.

- We had Kirby Derby, which is a longstanding Raleigh tradition where people built their own soapbox racing cars and raced down the hills of Dix park.

We have regular fitness classes.

You'll have a 5K here on a weekend that turns into a beer festival.

We have movies out on this big field that bring thousands of people and picnics over the course of the summer.

In the winter, you'll see hundreds of families out here sledding down the hills.

And with Dix Park, because of the generosity of the size of the place, we can have activities, but we also have tons of spaces for reflection, for quiet, for solitude, for kind of mindfulness and meditation.

- So the master plan for Dorothea Dix Park has six primary landscapes.

And when you look at those three natural spaces, the meadow, the grove and the creek, these are the parts of the park where people can come to connect to nature.

And when you look at these three more active spaces, the valley and the ridge and the gateway, these are these 21st century public urban park spaces where all of us can come together to connect with one another.

- Dorothea Dix really believed in the healing power of nature and we believe that this evolution of this space as a park has the opportunity to continue that legacy.

- And so this is a really great opportunity for us to celebrate this really extraordinary woman in American History.

- [Kate] This is going to be unlike any other place in North Carolina and we hope the whole state comes to visit.

- It's a great place to be now and it'll be even greater in the future.

[gentle music] - Dorothea Dix Park is at 2105 Umstead Drive in Raleigh and it's open from dawn to dusk.

To find out more about the park, including maps, guidelines and special events, go online to dorotheadixpark.org.

Another popular reimagined space was at one time not so popular.

Let's head to Mount Pleasant and tour a distillery that was once a prison.

[upbeat music] - This prison where we're located was locally known as Mount Pleasant Prison, but it was actually the Cabarrus Correctional Facility.

It was opened in 1929.

We're co-located beside the Department of Transportation because this was the dormitory for the chain gang.

It closed in December of 2011.

- Whiskey and prison go way back in time.

We had a lot of moonshiners that served time here.

- [Deborah] In 2016, the started making small batches of whiskey in the facility and low and behold, whiskey prison was born, America's first distillery behind bars.

[door closes] - We call this place Whiskey Prison because a lot of folks often call a barrel a whiskey prison and being here it just seemed to fit.

- [Deborah] To get the full experience, visitors have an opportunity to go on the behind the bar's tour.

- So all of our tours being in our chapel.

We start off, you can take your behind bars pictures and your mug shot while you're down there.

[camera clicks] - First you'll get to go to manufacturing, which is the 1987 four-cell block dorm where you can distillation and fermentation and you see where the prisoner's used to sleep.

- It's a little strange walking through a prison facility.

And then learning about bourbon at the same time, but it's cool, it feels a little backwoods.

It's kind of neat, though.

- [Deborah] Next stop on the tour, you'll walk across the prison yard to cell blocks east and west where the whiskey is aging with the help from some high decibel music.

♪ You're the only who drown in my desire for you ♪ - We are one of the distillers out there using sonic aging.

- And the idea is the sound waves from the speakers will actually help the liquor inside the barrel move and out of the wood and that's essentially increasing the rate that it ages at.

- I have never heard it in my life.

I just heard Metallica blaring and I was like what is that?

And then she told us about it and I thought it was a really cool thing I had never heard of before.

- [Deborah] The process they have in place is working well.

After two years, the bourbon they call Conviction is starting to get attention.

- The nose of Conviction, a lot of folks call it a vanilla bomb, it's got a sweet, very caramel forward nose.

The taste is smooth.

- Probably quite possibly the best bourbon I've ever had.

So, I'll be back.

- I fell in love with it.

It's very smoother.

And to know that you could actually do bourbon in a prison that was active up until maybe three or four years ago, you know, it drew my interest with it.

- The flavored stuff is even very good like the pink lemonade.

I'm not a huge flavor kind of guy, I pretty much like my whiskey straight, but all of it was very good.

- I have friends that come in from out of town and the first thing they say is take me to see your friends at the prison and I'm more than happy to bring them down and we'll get them a tour and they do their tastings and it's something that they can go home, no matter where you live, when you go back home you tell people you've been to a prison that makes bourbon and you've got a unique story that nobody else can tell.

[upbeat music] - Southern Grace Distilleries is at 130 Dutch Road in Mount Pleasant and they're open for tours and tastings Wednesday through Sunday.

For more information, give them a call at 704-622-6413 or visit them online at southerngracedistilleries.com.

This life-sized sculpture is called "Wings of the City" and it's one of nine bronze sculptures by world renowned artist Jorge Marin on display here through March 22.

Great place for a selfie, right?

Right now, let's head to another reimagined space that's on the inner banks.

It was an old bank at one time, but now it's been converted into a beautiful and upscale very popular restaurant.

It's called the Hackney, let's head to Washington.

- [Susanne] When someone walks through the front door of the Hackney, I want them to feel a warm welcome, to feel like they're expected and then to be seated and happy and comfortable.

- [Narrator] That's what Susanne Sanders wants her customers to feel when they walk into this old bank building in downtown Washington.

It now houses the restaurant she and her husband, Nick, own called the Hackney, which is her family name.

- [Susanne] It opened in 1922 as the First National Bank.

- [Narrator] It housed other business on the upper two floors until the bank closed in 2006.

The building sat empty and idle until the Sanders bought it in 2017.

They had been living in England, but wanted to return to Susanne's hometown.

- We love old buildings in England.

We loved this old building.

I knew that it would be great for a restaurant and a hotel.

I showed it to Nick and Nick came to see it and we both sort of believed that it was a good building for that.

- [Narrator] It's a neo-classical steel and stone building finishes with touches of marble and wood.

- [Susanne] And we really just wanted to just really bring out the features of the building.

- [Narrator] The hotel upstairs will come later, but the restaurant and bar on the renovated main floor opened in August 2018.

The building was the Sanders' first find.

Executive Chef Jamie Davis was the second.

- [Susanne] And when we found him, we were so excited because of all he had done and his potential.

- [Narrator] Davis has a simple philosophy.

- Keep it seasonal and just be honest with yourself.

What you can do, do it to the best of your ability.

Put your heart on a place and hopefully it works out.

I like to use very local ingredients.

You can taste the freshness.

Nothing is every frozen.

- [Narrator] Top sellers include the Pamlico Sound shrimp and grits made with a carrot juice broth.

- [Jamie] You got some North Carolina bacon, some grits from South Carolina, with a little bit of Parmesan cheese.

- [Narrator] The North Carolina rockfish is served atop local cabbage and ham hocks.

- [Jamie] So you get a little bit of everything.

You get a little saltiness, you get a little savory and the fresh fish, you can't beat it.

- [Narrator] The pheasant ravioli with fresh local butter and herbs is the restaurants bestseller.

- [Jamie] You can't beat it.

We sell probably about 25 orders a night.

- So in our case, we use juniper and 21ú other botanicals.

- [Narrator] Nick Sanders runs the Hackney distillery next to the restaurant.

Distilling gin started as a hobby and became a business.

- Gin in the rest of the world is what's driving the crafters to the industry.

What gin is is juniper, filled with a neutral spirit, with as many other botanicals as you choose to put it.

There's almost an infinite number of botanicals you can use to make different flavor profiles around the juniper flavor.

We use fresh grapefruit peel, fresh orange peel, using wonderful root ginger and lemongrass.

- This gin is very flavorful.

It's got some nice aromas to it and it's even just sipping it straight without mixing them with tonic or whatever, it's enjoyable, I like it.

- [Narrator] This gin's roots may stretch to London, but it's name is rooted with here in Beaufort County, 1,000 Piers.

- What's special about here is the interaction between the land and the water and the most visible representation of that is the pier and there's lots of them, so 1,000 Piers.

- - Visiting the Hackney Distillery and restaurant is all about the experience.

- It's very upscale.

You feel special.

It's like just a really nice nice out.

- [Narrator] Susanne Sanders sees this as a destination, not just stop on the way to one.

- I lived in France where they used to take long lunches where the families would get together and all sit together and eat meals and really enjoy the meal together.

That's what I envisioned is I wanted people to come in here, not feel rushed.

Just have that time together to talk.

I don't see a lot of cell phones in the restaurant, which is nice.

It's really to feel like you've got all night if you want to have all night.

- [Deborah] The Hackney is at 192 West Main Street in Washington and they're open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday.

For more information, give them a call at 252-623-2368 or check them out at thehackneywashingtonnc.com.

- I just love the way they've made this area at Dorothea Dix Park kind of fun with all of the colors.

You know, another way to reimagine a space is to put things together that normally wouldn't go together, like we found a place in Burke County where you can get a shave and a haircut and live bluegrass music.

[bluegrass music] - I don't know of any place in the United States where there's more music than here.

There are more people who play music.

And not necessarily to make money or at venues, but in their homes and on front porches and in barber shops like this.

- [Deborah] For over 60 years, Lawrence Anthony ran the barber shop and hosted the popular jam sessions.

- He played that guitar.

He'd sit, when he didn't have anything to do, he'd sit in a chair and play his guitar.

And then the Chief of Police came in, he played a mandolin, so they started hooking up every day and they'd play for a little bit.

- It just become a gathering place, more so, it's a barber shop, but more pickin' and grinnin' than haircutting anymore.

- [Deborah] Mr. Anthony pass away in 2009.

Thanks to his son, Carroll and a few friends, these back room jams continue today.

[bluegrass music] - Well most people that come in here don't get a haircut, that's for sure.

The ones that do have plenty of time because it takes David about an hour and a half to cut a head, if you like a 10-minute haircut.

- Some of my fondest memories, as I said, was accident.

Made the wrong turn.

The most beautiful place is not on Interstate 40 always or on the interstate.

The back roads are rewarding sometimes.

Slow down and you'll see a lot more.

[bluegrass music] [men applauding] - [Deborah] The day usually starts early with a fresh pot of coffee and some sweets.

Slowly, but surely, one by one, musicians arrive until it's standing room only.

♪ Sweet water ♪ - Three days a week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and about usually 8:30 till 4:30, sometimes Dave stays here till six or seven and just whatever he feels like.

- You know we have some local musicians and then there's musicians that's also come.

I know there's some that come every weekend from Asheville and Greenville, South Carolina.

And there's some come from Tennessee and Virginia.

Musicians come from all over.

- It's a good place to come.

I come here, I'd say that I was the first banjo picker to pick up in here.

- We've had people from Australia and Sweden and all kinds of different places that come here.

- [Deborah] The Drexel Barber Shop is important to a lot of people for a lot of different reasons.

It's safe to say this place is a western North Carolina treasure.

- There's a magic in touching the past and touching your heart and touching your life in that music that goes on in there every week.

That's what people come here for is to feel the love of it.

- It was his last request basically.

He wanted to keep the music going and we've done all we can to do that.

I think people that come understand that.

They come for that reason also, just to keep the music and the heritage, keep it going.

[banjo music] - [Deborah] You can hear the bluegrass jam sessions at the Drexel Barber Shop every Thursday, Friday and Saturday around 11 a.m.

The barber shop is at 100 South Main Street in Drexel.

That's in Burke County, just east of Morganton.

For more information visit them on Facebook or go to blueridgemusicnc.com.

Our state's rich textile history has produced a number of historic mill towns that folks have reimagined.

Come with me to Rocky Mount where they have transformed a mill into a unique cultural commercial destination and the highlight of the weekend was overnight stay in a tiny house.

[upbeat music] - Rocky Mount Mills was and is a historic cotton mill.

It was established in 1818 and has been functioning up until 1996 when it closed.

It was the second longest running cotton mill in North Carolina and the most historic oldest cotton mill.

- [Deborah] Today Rocky Mount Mills are reinvented with new industry.

- We have five breweries.

We are the country's only incubator for breweries.

We have three restaurants.

We have pizza, we have tacos, we have tavern style food.

We've also got the river and all the beauty of being able to be on the river and enjoy kayaking and canoeing and tubing and paddling.

And then finally we have the tiny homes.

River and Twine, our tiny home hotel.

20 tiny homes.

Each one has records and curating album collections and ENO hammocks and all kinds of great things for you to do.

Let your kids run around, play gaga ball or join the slack line crew handing out.

- [Deborah] With plenty of open spaces and the river, Rocky Mount Mills is a great destination for young families, couples and small group getaways.

And the tiny house hotel concept provides the curious, like my husband, Jerel, a perfect way to experience tiny house living.

- Oh, wow.

- What do you think?

- This is great.

You know, you see all the television shows and they really make it look really neat and I loved it.

They thought of everything.

The use of space, things like that is just really neat and how creative people are, I guess who designed these.

I guess the biggest thing is for me, being six foot tall, I gotta remember to duck, but I'm looking forward to my stay.

- And you didn't bump your head or anything.

- No, I didn't.

- There's plenty of room.

- I might have to duck right here, but wow.

- Yeah.

- This is better than my college dorm.

- I gotta tell you, one of the best parts about staying at the River and Twine tiny house hotel is you can just walk right over to the restaurants and breweries.

- Ready to go?

- Yes.

- [Deborah] In the mornings, walk no further than to Books and Beans, a casual spot for breakfast and delicious fresh brewed coffees.

The owner is not only a barista boss, she's a New York Times bestselling author, looking to build community.

- I think that we all think in a small town that is historically know to be a small town that we know everyone in it, but once the Rocky Mount Mills campus opened, I personally found myself meeting people that I've never met before in the past decade that I've been here and we sell breakfast and lunch, coffee, books.

We have book club meetings every month.

I's really been a place where people have come together to get to know each other and get to know Rocky Mount.

- [Deborah] Later in the day, the Mill is hopping with both eateries and breweries.

- What I find fun is just coming out to the Beer Garden on a Friday or Saturday afternoon.

There's always a gathering and just people kind of congregating and talking and then getting a bite to eat at Tap 1918 is a special, too, that I like to do.

- So, we're a gastro pub.

Pub, tavern food.

We have a full bar, 40 beers on tap.

We have wine, champagne, total top shelf and then where you the get the pub part, a good burger, good sandwich, a good fish and chips, we have that.

The gastro pub part is the food is a little bit more concentrated.

So all our food is pretty much made in house, even to the french fries.

So that's what I like.

I'm very progressive, so I like to always see something happening, something new.

- [Deborah] And that's exactly what Capital Broadcasting envisioned as they invested in this destination and business incubator.

- The incubator program here was a perfect fit for us, really allowing us to come in, get started right away, hit the ground running and really put a lot of focus into the quality of our beer and he business plan behind it.

The resources here made it really easy for us to scale and grow over the last two years and it's just been a perfect home for us to start our business.

- [Deborah] And grow their business as Hopfly expands to a 1,600 square foot tap room right on campus, just adding to all the great reasons to visit and stay awhile at Rocky Mount Mills.

The Rocky Mount Mills are at 1151 Falls Road in Rocky Mount.

To find out more about breweries, restaurants and other venues, go to rockymountmills.com.

To book a River and Twine tiny house, go to riverandtwine.com.

And that's it for tonight's show.

We have had a great time showing you around Dorothea Dix Park.

It is an enormous space that's been beautifully reimagined and if you've missed anything in today's show, just remember you can always watch us again online at pbsnc.org.

Have a great North Carolina weekend everyone.

[upbeat music] - [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[bright music]