The first Dome

Under the Dome became a regular feature in The News & Observer on Sept. 3, 1934.

The long-running political column had appeared off and on before then, but it got off to an inauspicious start as a regular feature on page 14 — the back of the newspaper. Subtitled "Capitol News and Comment," it ran between two articles about local Labor Day sermons.

After items about Gov. John Ehringhaus, the state Supreme Court and the difficulty of getting a law license in North Carolina, it ended with this rather apologetic item:

Today being Labor Day, the Capitol and State Department buildings will be deserted. On Tuesday things will begin humming again. The Governor is due back in his office then. When he is gone Capitol news drys up.

In 1935, Under the Dome moved to the front page, where it ran until 1989. It has moved around the paper since then, but it is still the newspaper's longest continually running feature.