The work of surveying Raleigh's architecture was broken into four components:

• Phase 1 - Raleigh's African-American communities.
• Phase 2 - Ten endangered downtown neighborhoods.
• Phase 3 - Ten more neighborhoods illustrating Raleigh's growth in the early and mid-twentieth century.
• Phase 4 - A broad band between the 1920s suburbs to the 1988 city limits.

Preliminary research for Phase 1 was conducted by Richard Mattson. The survey itself was undertaken by a team lead by Elliott K. Wright that included Bruce Kalk, Joyce Marie Mitchell, and Terri Myers. Phases 2 & 3 were conducted by Helen P. Ross. Ruth M. Little, Ph.D. was the researcher for Phase 4.

Phase 1

The survey of Raleigh's African American communities included fifty-six oral histories and resulted in the documentation of eight distinct areas: College Park, East Raleigh-South Park, Fourth Ward, Idlewild, Method, Nazareth, Oberlin, and Smoky Hollow. More than thirteen hundred buildings were recorded, and the East Raleigh-South Park neighborhoods were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. As with all the other Raleigh survey work, the bulk of the documentation is in the form of survey records on file with the State Historic Preservation Office. Culture Town: Life in Raleigh's African American Communities (ISBN: 0-9635677-0-5), by Linda Simmons-Henry and Linda H. Edmisten, was published by the Raleigh Historic Districts Commission in 1993 to describe the project and share its findings. The large format (8-1/2" x 11") 180 page book contains more than 160 black and white contemporary and historic photos, some never before published, and includes a 22-minute cassette tape. It is available in the Raleigh City Museum Gift Shop, and from the Raleigh Historic Districts Commission office (919/832-7238) (also the Planning Dept.).

Phases 2 and 3

During a two year period Helen Ross evaluated more than 3100 properties. Much of this work was done via bicycle and was cause for an article in the News & Observer. The material included here consists only of the summary material; the complete survey records are on file at the State Historic Preservation Office. The two primary portions of the summary material are an essay on the history of Raleigh architecture and a study of buildings by property type (residential, commercial, industrial, etc.).

Essay on the Architecture of Raleigh (1880-1970)

Multiple Property Types Documentation

Phase 4

Ruth Little's summary report is currently being prepared for the web. Expect it to be available in January 2002, or earlier.

Wake County Survey

Between 1988 and 1991, the Wake County Planning Department surveyed the areas of the county outside the city's 1998 boundaries. Information about the survey is available on the county's Historic Preservation web page. Kelly Lally's survey was published by Wake County Government in 1994. The large format (8-1/2" x 11") 437 page book, titled The Historic Architecture of Wake County, North Carolina (ISBN: 0-9639198-0-6), has black & white photos and maps covering sixteen townships. It too is available in the Museum Gift Shop, or from Capital Area Preservation (919/833-6404).