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Nov. 2023 Community Meeting
On Thursday, November 30, 2023, a meeting was held at the Chavis Park Community Center to provide an update on Raleigh’s Black Heritage and Historic Places: 1945-1975 project.
At the meeting, Octavia Rainey, a Raleigh Historic Development Commission member and participant in the oral history interviews, provided welcoming remarks. City staff provided an overview of the project, including the project scope and deliverables and updates on the oral histories.
Project consultant Mary Ruffin Hanbury presented findings from her research, including highlighting details about the identified properties that will be recommended for inclusion on the North Carolina Study List. The state’s Study List is an informal list of properties considered good candidates for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Inclusion on the list does not mandate or ensure National Register listing. Properties on the Study List must generally be over 50 years of age, have significance, and have integrity. Ms. Hanbury showed photographs of the entertainment venues, churches, properties designed and/or constructed by African American architects and building professionals, and places associated with the Civil Rights movement that are recommended for the Study List. She also provided summaries of the history of the Biltmore Hills and Cedarwood Estates neighborhoods.
The meeting closed with a presentation by city staff on the next steps for the project. Staff reviewed the consultant’s recommendations for future study, provided an explanation on the different types of historic designation, and suggested possible non-regulatory options that could be implemented to celebrate culturally and historically significance places. Meeting attendees were asked to rank the six topics recommended for future study from top priority to least priority and vote for their three favorite non-regulatory programs that could be implemented to celebrate historic properties. The results will be included in the final report.
Visit the main project page to stay up to date on the project’s progress. If you wish to be alerted when the project’s final community meeting is scheduled, please sign up to receive email alerts from the Raleigh Historic Development Commission (RHDC) through MyRaleigh Subscriptions.
The City hopes to celebrate Raleigh’s Black heritage and historic places and help more members of the public learn about the important people and stories behind them. Please contact the City’s Historic Preservation planning unit at the information listed above with any questions.
View the meeting presentation slides.
A transcription of the audio recording of the meeting will be available soon.
May 2022 Kickoff Meeting
On Wednesday, May 11, 2022, a meeting was held at the Biltmore Hills Community Center to kickoff Raleigh’s Black Heritage and Historic Places: 1945-1975 study.
At the meeting, project consultant Mary Ruffin Hanbury introduced herself and gave a brief background on past survey work that has been done in Raleigh. Many of the past oral history interview recordings and transcripts conducted as a part of the Raleigh Roots and Culture Town projects were discussed. Those who are interested can find them in the City of Raleigh Museum’s Online Collections Database.
Mary Ruffin explained what an architectural survey is and why the city is pursuing this grant project. An architectural survey is a process of identifying and gathering information about historic architectural resources. Documenting these places – and the people and events that have made them significant to a community – is often the first step towards responsible cultural resource stewardship. Mary Ruffin also highlighted the project’s scope of work, including the questions the study is trying to answer, how the research will be conducted, and requested input from members of the community about places that should be studied. Questions were also answered about the project timeline, where to track the project’s progress, and how individuals can participate further and share information about historic places that are important to them. The consultant and participants had an engaging discussion regarding the neighborhood history and resident concerns about the impacts of growth around them.
Mary Ruffin highlighted the goals and potential outcomes of the study, including the final report. The report will make recommendations to the city and state about places that may be eligible to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The National Register is a largely honorary designation and does not impose any local regulations or prevent demolition. For interested property owners or neighborhoods, the report could also be used to pursue local historic designation, although historic designation is not a required outcome of the study for anyone. The study will not designate any properties as historic, only recommend properties that may be eligible with more in-depth research.
Ultimately, we hope to celebrate Raleigh’s Black heritage and historic places and help more members of the public learn about the important people and stories behind them. We invite you to tell our consultant about historic places in Raleigh that are important to you by participating in our online survey.
View the meeting presentation slides.