Jump To:
The Borden Building and Fred Fletcher Amphitheater are located in Fred Fletcher Park. The building and the amphitheater can be rented for weddings, parties, small conferences, bridal portraits, meetings, and other special events.
Borden Building and Fred Fletcher Amphitheater
Updated: Apr 14, 2026
Site Features & Hours
Hours
The Borden Building is a non-staffed facility. If you are interested in renting the Borden Building or the Amphitheater and would like a tour of the facility please contact the Rental Manager at 919-996-4363.
Site Features
- Indoor and outdoor rental space
- Kitchen with microwave, oven, and refrigerators
- Folding tables and chairs for indoor and porch use
- Two upstairs dressing rooms
- The first floor of the Borden Building is wheelchair, scooter, or Electric Conveyance Vehicle (ECV) accessible via ramp, including two single-stall restrooms.
- On-site parking at 820 Clay St or 835 Washington St
Rentals
The Borden Building does not offer an informal reservation system. The facility is booked on a first come first serve basis.
To start the rental process, all applicants must contact and meet with the Historic Sites Rental Manager, Vanessa Jeter, at vanessa.jeter@raleighnc.gov.
The Borden Building is available to rent every day from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., excluding holidays.
Learn more about Special Occasion Rentals
Rental Rates
- $150/hour with a minimum of four consecutive hours for residents.
- Non Residents- $200/hr with a minimum of four consecutive hours
- $20 per hour supervisory fee for set up day before the event.
- $250 damage deposit (refundable).
- $80 cleaning fee.
- $15 application fee (non-refundable).
- $100 alcohol permit fee (non-refundable).
History
Built in 1900, the Borden Building is one of two remaining structures from the former campus of the Methodist Home for Children. The institution, originally called the Methodist Orphanage, stood just northwest of downtown Raleigh and provided a home for thousands of children between 1898 and 1978. The Borden Building served first as a house for the orphanage’s superintendent, then as a boys’ dormitory.
The Methodist Home for Children closed its residential campus in 1978, and the City of Raleigh purchased the Borden Building and surrounding land a few years later to create Fred Fletcher Park. Borden was renovated extensively in 1992 and opened as the first home for the Raleigh City Museum, now the City of Raleigh Museum.
Programs and Special Events
Check out our calendar below for more information about programs and special events at the Borden Building at Fletcher Park, Latta University Historic Park, Mordecai Historic Park, Tucker House and the Historic Raleigh Trolley!
View the Historic Sites Programs and Special Events Calendar
Volunteering
If you are interested in volunteering at the Borden Building please contact Historic Sites Manager Joshua Ingersoll at joshua.ingersoll@raleighnc.gov, or view the volunteer information for the Historic Resources and Museum Program.