The Jiddi Space & Courtyard is part of the Helig-Levine Complex on the corner of Wilmington and Hargett streets in downtown Raleigh. Comprised of four buildings dating back to the late 1800’s, the complex is also home to restaurants, Sitti and Gravy, the exclusive caterers for the Jiddi Sapce & Courtyard. Hidden in the middle of the complex is the Jiddi Space & Courtyard.
The original building at 111 E. Hargett Street, which is situated in front of the Jiddi Space, was built in 1909. Initially, it had only two floors and housed a furniture store and dry goods store. Once the Heilig-Levine Furniture Store took over 137 S. Wilmington Street in 1935, 111 became an accessory building to the furniture store, undergoing significant renovations to help establish the space as a stock room.
Like 111 E. Hargett Street, the Jiddi Space & Courtyard was used as storage for the businesses around it; for carriages in the late 1800s to early 1900s, then for furniture and other goods in the mid-1900s. Empire Properties bought the complex in 2002 and restored it in 2005, using the Jiddi Space & Courtyard as a workshop during the renovation. Nearly 150 years later, the Jiddi Space & Courtyard acts as a fully functioning event venue, glowing with market lights for parties, weddings, and events operated by its street-facing neighbors, Sitti and Gravy.
