Everything about Raleigh North Carolina totally explained
Raleigh (pronounced
raw-lee or
rah-lee) is the
capital of the
State of North Carolina and the
county seat of
Wake County, USA. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many
oak trees. It has a 2006 estimated population of approximately 356,321, making it the second most populous in North Carolina, after
Charlotte. The estimated population on
January 1,
2008 was 374,320 making Raleigh the 15th fastest growing city in the
United States.
Raleigh,
Durham, and
Chapel Hill make up the three primary cities of the
Research Triangle metropolitan region. The regional name originated after the 1959 creation of the
Research Triangle Park, located midway between the cities of Raleigh and Durham. The Research Triangle region encompasses the
U.S. Census Bureau's Combined Statistical Area (CSA) of Raleigh-Durham-
Cary in the central Piedmont. The estimated population of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary CSA was 1,635,974 as of
July 1,
2007, with the Raleigh-Cary
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) portion estimated at 994,551 residents.
While almost all of Raleigh is located within
Wake County, a small portion of the city extends into neighboring
Durham County. The towns of
Cary,
Garner,
Wake Forest,
Apex,
Holly Springs,
Clayton, and
Knightdale are some of Raleigh's nearby
suburbs.
In 2008,
Forbes magazine named Raleigh no. 1 out of the "Top 200 Best Places For Business And Careers."
History
18th century
In December 1770,
Joel Lane petitioned the
North Carolina General Assembly to create a new county. A month later, the bill authorizing the formation of Wake County passed. The county was formed from portions of
Cumberland,
Orange and
Johnston counties and named after Margaret Wake Tryon, the wife of Governor
William Tryon. The first county seat was Bloomsbury.
Raleigh was chosen as the site of a new state capital in
1788, and it was officially established in
1792 as both the new county seat and the new state capital. The city was named in November 1792 for
Sir Walter Raleigh, sponsor of the
Colony of Roanoke, the "Lost Colony," commemorated at the
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on
Roanoke Island, North Carolina.
The city's location was chosen, in part, for being within ten miles (16 km) of Isaac Hunter's Tavern, which was known to be popular with the
state legislators of the time. No known city or town had existed on the site before it was chosen as the capital. Raleigh is among the few cities in the United States that was planned and built specifically to serve as a
state capital. Its original boundaries were formed by North, East, West and South streets.
The
North Carolina General Assembly first met in Raleigh in December 1794, and within one month, the legislators officially granted the city a
charter, with a board of seven appointed
commissioners (elected by the city after 1803) and an "
Intendant of Police" (which would eventually become the office of
Mayor) to govern it. In 1799, the
N.C. Minerva and Raleigh Advertiser became the first newspaper published in Raleigh.
John Haywood was the first Intendant of Police.
19th century
In 1808
Andrew Johnson, the nation’s seventeenth
President, was born at Casso’s Inn (since moved to the
Mordecai Square Historic Park) located between Morgan, Fayetteville and Willington streets. His father,
Jacob Johnson, was a porter at the
State Bank of North Carolina, the oldest surviving commercial building in Raleigh. The city's first
water supply network was completed in 1818, although due to system failures the project was abandoned. The next year saw the arrival of Raleigh's first volunteer
fire company and in 1821 a full-time fire company was formed. On
June 23,
1831 a fire destroyed the
State Capitol. Reconstruction began two years later with quarried
granite being delivered by the first railroad in the state. Raleigh celebrated the completions of the new Capitol and new
Raleigh & Gaston Railroad Company in 1840.
In 1853, the first
State Fair was organized by the North Carolina Agricultural Society and held at a site east of Raleigh. The first institution of higher learning in Raleigh,
Peace College, was established in 1858. The
Peace College Main Building was used as a
military hospital during the
Civil War. After the War began, Governor
Zebulon Baird Vance ordered the construction of
breastworks around the city as protection from
Union troops. During General
Sherman's Carolinas Campaign, Raleigh was captured by Union
cavalry under the command of General
Hugh Judson Kilpatrick on
April 13,
1865. After the
Confederate calvary retreated west to move their wounded soldiers and remaining supplies, the Union soldiers followed, leading to the
Battle of Morrisville. The city was spared significant destruction during the War, but due to the economic problems of the post-war period and
Reconstruction, it grew little over the next several decades.
With emancipation after the war,
African-Americans in Raleigh were able to be educated and became involved in local politics. With the help of the
Freedmen's Bureau, whose regional offices were housed at Peace College's Main Building, many
freedmen migrated from rural areas to Raleigh to have a chance at city opportunities and live in a community.
Shaw University, began classes in 1865, making it the first historically black college established in the South. Located in the
East Raleigh-South Park Historic District, it was chartered in 1875. Shaw's
Estey Hall was the first building constructed for the
higher education of black women. Established in 1881,
Leonard Medical Center of Shaw University was the first four-year
medical school in the country for African-Americans, as well the first four-year medical school in North Carolina. With the government and educational institutions, a substantial black professonal class began to develop in the city.
In 1867,
Episcopal clergy founded
St. Augustine's College for the education of
freedmen. In 1869 the Reconstruction state legislature approved setting up the nation’s first school for blind and deaf African Americans, which opened in Raleigh.
In 1868 Governor
William Woods Holden appointed new Raleigh Commissioners, including the first African Americans who served in that position: James Henry Harris, editor of the
North Carolina Republican and Handy Lockhart. Black professionals began to build homes in the area, then known as the Third Ward. The
Pope House, built by Dr. Pope, is one of the few remaining examples of these homes.
St. Paul A.M.E. Church, built in 1884, was the first independent
congregation of African Americans in Raleigh. It is the oldest black church in Wake County.
In 1874, the first
Federal Government project in the South following the Civil War was the
Federal Building constructed in downtown Raleigh. In 1880, the
News and
Observer combined to form
The News & Observer. During the 1880s,
Fayetteville Street was paved, land was donated for
Pullen Park, and the Raleigh
Chamber of Commerce was formed.
Additional educational institutions were added in the late 19th century, helping build the middle class in Raleigh. The North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now known as
North Carolina State University) was founded in 1887 as a
land-grant college. In 1894,
Rex Hospital opened, with a nursing school that was the first in the state. Baptist Female University (now known as
Meredith College) opened in 1891.
As a sign of its self-promotion, in 1899 Raleigh adopted a city flag. The city flag was created as a reciprocal gift to the
USS Raleigh, after the crew of the cruiser presented the city with a small cannon captured during the
Spanish-American War. The cannon now sits on the front lawn of the Fire Department’s Keeter Training Center. Raleigh residents flocked to see another sign of progress with construction of the city's first
skyscraper, the Tucker Building.
In 1900 the white-dominated state legislature followed the example of other
Southern states and passed a new
constitution, with provisions for voter registration that effectively
disfranchised most blacks and many poor whites. Added to earlier statutory restrictions, the state succeeded in reducing black voting to zero by 1908. Among the numerous ill effects was that after a decade of white supremacy, whites lost memory of and appreciation for the thriving
black middle class that was developing in cities such as Raleigh. It wasn't until 1965 that most blacks in North Carolina would again be able to vote, sit on juries and serve in local offices.
20th century
In 1912, Bloomsbury Park opened with the now historic
carousel being the most popular ride. The next year Raleigh citizens adopted the
commission form of government. During the
World War I time period, an
influenza epidemic killed 288 citizens in Raleigh and the state lost a total of 5,799 men in the War, the third highest in the nation.
Curtiss-Wright Flying Field opened in 1929, making it the first airport in the city. That same year, the
stock market crash that led to the
Great Depression resulted in six Raleigh banks closing.
During the difficult 1930s, the city provided recreational and educational programs, and hired people for public works projects. In 1932,
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium was dedicated. The
North Carolina Symphony, founded the same year, performed in its new home with
Cab Calloway and his orchestra playing at the dedication. The
Civilian Conservation Corps constructed the Crabtree Creek Recreational Demonstration area (now known as
William B. Umstead State Park) from 1934 to 1937. In 1939 the General Assembly chartered the Raleigh-Durham Aeronautical Authority to build a larger airport to be convenient for both Raleigh and Durham. The result was
Raleigh-Durham International Airport, where the first commercial flight took off on
May 1,
1943 by
Eastern Air Lines.
As a center of government, businesses and colleges, Raleigh had long had an educated and politically sophisticated black middle class. Despite state constitutional provisions that had disfranchised most black voters since the early 1900s, the Negro Voters League was formed in 1931 to promote black voter registration; by 1946 they'd succeeded in getting 7,000 black voters in the city registered. In 1947, Raleigh citizens adopted a
council-manager form of government, the current form.
Although located a few hours from the coast, Raleigh still experienced significant damage from
Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Two years later,
WRAL-TV became the first local television station. With the opening of the
Research Triangle Park in 1957, Raleigh began to experience a faster population increase and by the end of the decade the population was reaching 100,000.
As the
Raleigh City Museum states:
» No other national event impacted Raleigh more profoundly than the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and '60s. After years of Jim Crow rule in the South, local students and activists - through marches, lunch counter sit-ins and public protests - helped give rise to fundamental social change as new laws were enacted to protect the rights of all citizens.
Following passage of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965, political participation and voting by African Americans increased rapidly. In 1967
Clarence E. Lightner, a well-regarded community leader, was elected to the City Council. In October 1973 Lightner was elected Raleigh’s first mayor by popular vote. He was also the first African American elected mayor of a southern state capital, and the first African American elected mayor by an electorate that was predominantly white (84 percent of the population.)
After 10 years of discussions, the Raleigh City and Wake County schools merged in 1976 to become the
Wake County Public School System, now the largest school system in the state and 19th largest in the country. Population increases led to highway construction to try to improve traffic flow. During the 1970s and 1980s, the
I-440 beltline was constructed, easing traffic congestion and providing access to most major roads throughout the city. The first
Raleigh Convention Center (replaced in 2008) and Fayetteville Street Mall were both opened in 1977. Fayetteville Street was turned into a pedestrian-only street to try to spur business growth, but the plan was flawed and business declined.
In 1991 the two largest skyscrapers in Raleigh were completed, First Union Capital Center and Two Hanover Plaza. In addition, the
Walnut Creek Amphitheatre opened and First Night Raleigh, an annual New Year's Eve celebration, was first celebrated. Two years later, the city suffered a major drought that resulted in
Falls Lake, the primary source of water for Raleigh, to reach its all-time low. In 1996, the
Olympic Torch spent the night in Raleigh while on its way to the
1996 Summer Olympics in
Atlanta, Georgia and was welcomed with a large celebration. That same year,
Hurricane Fran struck the area, causing massive flooding and structural damage. In 1999, The
RBC Center arena opened in to provide a venue for the
National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes and
NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team.
21st century
Raleigh started out the new millennium with a storm that dropped 25.7 inches of snow, the largest snowfall in the city's recorded history. In 2001, the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium complex was expanded with the addition of the
BTI Center for the Performing Arts, Meymandi Concert Hall, Fletcher Opera Theater, Kennedy Theatre, Betty Ray McCain Gallery and Lichtin Plaza. Fayetteville Street was reopened to vehicular traffic in 2006, and the main street was also developed with a new high-rise office building, condos and restaurants. In 2008, the
Fayetteville Street Historic District was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
During the first eight years of the new decade, Raleigh's population grew by 100,000 people (35%), causing increased traffic problems and school shortages. With the opening of parts of
I-540, a new 70-mile loop around Wake County, traffic congestion was eased, although the complete loop won't be finished for at least another 15 years. To address the school shortage, many public schools were switched to
year-round schedules and temporary
buildings were constructed to accommodate the nearly 7,000 new public school students enrolling each year.
Law and government
Raleigh operates under a
council-manager government. The city council consists of eight members; all seats, including the mayor's, are open for election every two years. Five of the council seats are district representatives and two seats are citywide representatives elected
at-large. Historically, Raleigh voters have tended to elect
conservative Democrats in local, state, and national elections, a holdover from their one-party system of the late 19th century.
City Council
- Charles Meeker Mayor
- Nancy McFarlane (District A, north-central Raleigh)
- Rodger Koopman (District B, northeast Raleigh)
- James West (District C, mayor pro tem, southeast Raleigh)
- Thomas Crowder (District D, southwest Raleigh)
- Philip Isley (District E, west and northwest Raleigh)
- Russ Stephenson (at-large)
- Mary-Ann Baldwin (at-large)
Crime
In 2007, 22
murders or non-negligent cases of
manslaughter were reported within Raleigh's
city limits, per the
Federal Bureau of Investigation's
Uniform Crime Reports.
Mayor
Charles Meeker is a member of the
Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a
bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The coalition is co-chaired by
Boston Mayor
Thomas Menino and
New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg.
Raleigh averages a rate of 469.2
motor vehicle thefts per year per 100,000 residents, below the average rate of 528.4 motor vehicle thefts per year per 100,000 residents for all metropolitan areas in North Carolina.
According to the Uniform Crime Reports, crime in Raleigh has steadily decreased in recent years. In
2004, there were 580 reported incidents of
violent crime and 3,768 reported incidents of
property crime reported per 100,000 population. Nationally there were 466 violent crimes and 3,517 property crimes reported per 100,000 population, while U.S. cities with a population between 250,000 and 500,000 residents reported 978 violent crimes and 5,631 property crimes per 100,000 population, all well above Raleigh's reported rate.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau, Raleigh occupies a total area of 115.6
square miles (299.3
km²), of which 114.6 square miles (296.8 km²) is dry land and 1.0 square miles (2.5 km²)(0.84%) is covered by water.
Raleigh is located in the northeast central region of North Carolina, where the
North American Piedmont and
Atlantic Coastal Plain regions meet. This area is known as the "
fall line" because it marks the elevation inland at which waterfalls begin to appear in creeks and rivers. As a result, most of Raleigh features gently rolling hills that slope eastward toward the state's flat coastal plain. Its central Piedmont location situates Raleigh about three hours west of
Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, by car and four hours east of the
Great Smoky Mountains of the
Appalachian range. The city is from
Richmond,
Virginia; from
Washington, D.C.; and from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Climate
Raleigh enjoys a moderate
subtropical climate, with moderate temperatures in the spring, fall, and winter. Summers are typically hot with high
humidity. Winter highs generally range in the low 50s
°F (10 to 13
°C) with lows in the low-to-mid 30s°F (-2 to 2°C), although an occasional 60°F (15°C) or warmer winter day isn't uncommon. Spring and fall days usually reach the low-to-mid 70s°F (low 20s°C), with lows at night in the lower 50s°F (10 to 14°C). Summer daytime highs often reach the upper 80s to low 90s°F (29 to 35°C). The rainiest months are July and August.
Raleigh receives an average of 4.6" of
snow in winter.
Freezing rain and
sleet occur most winters, and occasionally the area experiences a major damaging
ice storm.
Cityscape
Main Article:
See Raleigh Neighborhoods
Raleigh is divided into six major geographic areas, each of which use a Raleigh address and a
ZIP code that begins with the digits 276.
Old Raleigh ("Inside the Beltline") is home to historic neighborhoods and buildings such as the
Sir Walter Raleigh Hotel built in the early 20th century, the restored City Market, the
Fayetteville Street downtown business district, as well as the
North Carolina Museum of History,
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences,
North Carolina State Capitol,
Peace College, the
Raleigh City Museum,
Raleigh Convention Center,
Shaw University, and
Saint Augustine's College. The neighborhoods in Old Raleigh include Cameron Park, Boylan Heights, Country Club Hills, Five Points, Glenwood, Brooklyn, Hayes Barton, Moore Square, Mordecai, Belvidere Park, Woodcrest, and Oakwood.
East Raleigh is situated roughly from Capital Boulevard near the
I-440 beltline to New Hope Road. Most of East Raleigh's development is along primary corridors such as
U.S. Route 1 (Capital Boulevard), New Bern Avenue, Poole Road, Buffaloe Road, and New Hope Road. Neighborhoods in East Raleigh include Brentwood, New Hope, and Wilder's Grove. The area is bordered to the east by the suburban town of
Knightdale.
West Raleigh lies along
Hillsborough Street and Western Boulevard. The area is bordered to the west by suburban
Cary. It is home to
North Carolina State University,
Meredith College,
Pullen Park,
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church,
Cameron Village, Lake Johnson, the
North Carolina Museum of Art and historic
Saint Mary's School. Primary thoroughfares serving West Raleigh, in addition to Hillsborough Street, are Avent Ferry Road, Blue Ridge Road, and Western Boulevard.
North Raleigh is an expansive, diverse, and fast-growing area of the city that's home to a large number of established neighborhoods along with many newly built
subdivisions. The area generally falls North of the I-440 beltline. It is primarily suburban with numerous large shopping areas such as the recently renovated
North Hills Mall, the large
Crabtree Valley Mall and regional
Triangle Town Center. Primary neighborhoods and subdivisions in North Raleigh include Bedford, Bent Tree, Brookhaven, Crossgate, Falls River, North Hills, North Ridge, Stonebridge, Stone Creek, Stonehenge, Wakefield, Windsor Forest, and Wood Valley. The area is served by numerous primary transportation corridors including Glenwood Avenue (U.S. Route 70), Wake Forest Road, Millbrook Road, Lynn Road,
Six Forks Road, Spring Forest Road,
Creedmoor Road, Leesville Road, and Strickland Road, as well as the Interstate-540 Northern Wake Expressway.
South Raleigh is located along
U.S. 401 South toward
Fuquay-Varina and along
US 70 into suburban
Garner. This area is the least developed and least dense area of Raleigh (much of the area lies within the Swift Creek watershed district where development rules limit housing densities and construction), South Raleigh is home to the only remaining
gristmill in
Wake County, the historic
Yates Mill. The area is bordered to the west by
Cary, to the east by
Garner, and to the southwest by
Holly Springs. Neighborhoods in South Raleigh include Lake Wheeler, Swift Creek, Riverbrooke, and Enchanted Oaks.
Southeast Raleigh is bounded by downtown on the west,
Garner on the southwest, and rural
Wake County to the southeast. The area includes areas along Rock Quarry Road, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and New Bern Avenue. This area is very diverse, with new suburban developments to poor inner-city neighborhoods. Many of the older neighborhoods are historically black and date back to the end of the
Civil War. Neighborhoods include Chavis Heights, Raleigh Country Club, Southgate, and Biltmore Hills.
Walnut Creek Amphitheatre (also called Alltel Pavilion) is one of Raleigh's major outdoor concert venues and is located on Rock Quarry Road.
Economy
Raleigh's industrial base includes electrical, medical, electronic and telecommunications equipment; clothing and apparel; food processing; paper products; and pharmaceuticals. Raleigh is part of North Carolina's Research Triangle, one of the country's largest research parks and a major center in the United States for
high-tech and
biotech research, as well as textile development. The city is a major retail shipping point for eastern North Carolina and a wholesale distributing point for the grocery industry.
These companies are based in Raleigh or have significant facilities and operations in the city:
Alcatel-Lucent
Siemens Power Transportation & Distribution Division
Progress Energy
Red Hat
IBM Corporation
ABB Asea Brown Boveri
First Citizens Bank
Golden Corral
RBC Centura Bank
Lenovo
Cisco Systems
Carquest
Nortel Networks
Martin Marietta Materials
Eaton Corporation
Demographics
| Historical populations |
Census
year |
Population |
|
| 1800 |
699 |
| 1900 |
13,643 |
| 1910 |
19,218 |
| 1920 |
24,418 |
| 1930 |
37,379 |
| 1940 |
46,879 |
| 1950 |
65,679 |
| 1960 |
93,931 |
| 1970 |
122,830 |
| 1980 |
150,255 |
| 1990 |
212,092 |
| 2000 |
276,093 |
| 2008 |
374,320 |
As of the 2000 United States census, there were 276,093 people and 61,371 families residing in Raleigh. The population density was 2,409.2 people per square mile (930.2/km²). There were 120,699 housing units at an average density of 1,053.2/sq mi (406.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 63.31% White, 27.80% African American, 0.36% Native American, 3.38% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.24% of other races, and 1.88% of two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.01% of the population.
There were 112,608 households in the city in 2000, of which 26.5% included children below the age of 18, 39.5% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.5% were classified as nonfamily. 33.1% of all households were individuals living alone, of which 6.2% were someone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size in Raleigh was 2.30 persons, and the average family size was 2.97 persons.
Age-wise, Raleigh's population in 2000 was evenly distributed with 20.9% below the age of 18, 15.9% aged 18 to 24, 36.6% from 25 to 44, and 18.4% from 45 to 64. An estimated 8.3% persons were 65 years of age or older, and the median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females aged 18 or older, there were 96.6 males aged 18 or older.
The median household income in the city was $46,612, and the median family income was $60,003. Males earned a median income of $39,248 versus $30,656 for females. The median per-capita income for the city was $25,113. An estimated 11.5% of the population and 7.1% of families were living below the poverty line in 2000. Out of the total population, 13.8% of those under the age of 18 and 9.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Education
Higher education
Public
North Carolina State University
Wake Technical Community College
Private
Meredith College
Peace College
Shaw University
St. Augustine's College
Private, for profit
ECPI College of Technology
School of Communication Arts
Strayer University
In addition, the Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law has announced that it'll move to move to downtown Raleigh from the nearby town of Buies Creek by 2009.
Primary and secondary education
Public schools
Public schools in Raleigh are operated by the Wake County Public School System. Observers have praised the Wake County Public School System for its innovative efforts to maintain a socially, economically and racial balanced system by using income as a prime factor in assigning students to schools.
Charter schools
The State of North Carolina provides for a legislated number of charter schools. These schools are administered independently of the Wake County Public School System. Raleigh is currently home to nine such charter schools:
Casa Esperanza Montessori School (K-6)
Hope Elementary School (K-5)
John H. Baker, Jr., High School (9-12)
Magellan Charter School (3-8)
PreEminent Charter School (K-8)
Quest Academy (K-8)
Raleigh Charter High School (9-12)
SPARC Academy (K-8)
Torchlight Academy (K-6)
Private and parochial schools
Culture
Museums
African American Cultural Complex
Contemporary Art Museum
North Carolina Museum of Art
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
North Carolina Museum of History
Raleigh City Museum
Marbles Kids Museum
J.C. Raulston Arboretum
Joel Lane House
Mordecai House
Pope House Museum
Performing arts
The Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek hosts major international touring acts. The Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts complex houses the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, the Fletcher Opera Theater, the Kennedy Theatre, and the Meymandi Concert Hall. During the North Carolina State Fair, Dorton Arena hosts headline acts. Theater performances are also offered at the Raleigh Little Theatre, Long View Center, Theatre in the Park, and Stewart Theater at North Carolina State University.
Raleigh is home to several professional arts organizations, including the North Carolina Symphony, the Opera Company of North Carolina, the North Carolina Theatre, Broadway Series South, and Carolina Ballet. The numerous local colleges and universities significantly add to the options available for viewing live performances.
Visual arts
North Carolina Museum of Art, occupying a large suburban campus on Blue Ridge Road near the State Fairgrounds, houses one of the premier public art collections located between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. In addition to fine collections of American Art, European Art and ancient art, the museum recently has hosted major exhibitions featuring Auguste Rodin (in 2000) and Claude Monet (in 2006-07), each attracting more than 200,000 visitors. Unlike most prominent public museums, the North Carolina Museum of Art acquired a large number of the works in its permanent collection through purchases with public funds. The museum's outdoor park is one of the largest such art parks in the country. The facility is currently undergoing a major expansion, which is scheduled for completion in 2008.
Sports
Professional
The National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes franchise moved to Raleigh in 1997 from Hartford, Connecticut (where it was known as the Hartford Whalers), though the team's first two seasons were played in the nearby city of Greensboro, North Carolina, while its home arena, Raleigh's RBC Center was constructed. The Carolina Railhawks of the United Soccer Leagues also play in neighboring suburban Cary.
The Hurricanes are the only major league (NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB) professional sports team in North Carolina to have won a championship, winning the Stanley Cup in 2006, over the Edmonton Oilers. Prior to the arrival of the Carolina Hurricanes, several other professional sports leagues had failed franchises in Raleigh including the Arena Football League, the World League of American Football, the United States Basketball League with the Raleigh Cougars, and the Women's United Soccer Association (in nearby Cary). The Carolina Courage women's soccer team also won a professional championship, the Founders Cup in 2002.
The Research Triangle region has hosted the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Nationwide Tour Rex Hospital Open since 1994, with the current location of play at Raleigh's Wakefield Plantation.
Amateur
The North Carolina Tigers, an Australian Rules football club in the United States Australian Football League (USAFL) and competing in the Eastern Australian Football League (EAFL), are based in Raleigh.
Raleigh is also home to the Carolina Rollergirls, an all-women flat-track roller derby team that's a competing member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). The Carolina Rollergirls compete at the North Carolina State Fairground's Dorton Arena.
Leisure
The Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department offers a wide variety of leisure opportunities at more than 150 sites throughout the city: of park land, of greenway, 22 staffed community centers, a BMX championship-caliber race track, 112 tennis courts among 25 locations, 5 public lakes, and 8 public swimming facilities.
The J. C. Raulston Arboretum, a part of North Carolina State University, houses an impressive year-round botanical collection and is open free to the public.
Transportation
Air
Raleigh-Durham International Airport (IATA: |RDU, ICAO: |KRDU), located northwest of downtown Raleigh via Interstate-40 between Raleigh and Durham, serves the city and greater Research Triangle metropolitan region, as well as much of eastern North Carolina. It is a focus airport for American Airlines and a hub for American Eagle Airlines. The airport offers service to more than 45 domestic and international destinations and serves approximately 10 million passengers a year. The airport is currently tripling the size of Terminal C, planned for completion in 2010.
Designated routes and highways
Interstate Highways:
- I-40
- I-440 Beltline, makes a loop around the central part of the city. Officially, the southernmost section of the Beltline, upon which Interstate 40 travels, doesn't carry the Interstate 440 designation, though many road signs haven't been updated to reflect the truncation. Visitors and even some long-time residents are sometimes confused by the terms "Inner Beltline," "Outer Beltline," and "Outer Loop." The Inner Beltline and Outer Beltline both refer to I-440, with "inner" describing the route's clockwise lanes of travel and "outer" referring to its counter-clockwise travel lanes. (Inner/Outer labeling). Cardinal directions are posted on the route along with the Inner/Outer designations; however the cardinal directions will change as you drive along the curvature of the circular route. ("Outer Loop" refers to the I-540 arc that traverses North Raleigh to the north of the I-440 Beltline.)
- I-540, also known as the Northern Wake Expressway, sometimes referred to as the "Outer Loop"
United States Highways:
- U.S. Route 1, known north of downtown Raleigh as Capital Boulevard
- U.S. Route 64, business route known in East Raleigh as New Bern Avenue, bypass (freeway) route known as the Knightdale Bypass
- U.S. Route 70, known in North Raleigh and north of downtown Raleigh as Glenwood Avenue, and south of downtown Raleigh as South Saunders Street
- U.S. Route 264, cosigned with U.S. Route 64 through East Raleigh
- U.S. Route 401, portions also known in Raleigh as Capital Boulevard and Louisburg Road
North Carolina Highways:
Intercity rail
Amtrak's Carolinian, Piedmont and Silver Star offer daily service between Raleigh and:
Charlotte, with intermediate stops including Greensboro.
New York City, with intermediate stops including Richmond, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; Baltimore; and Philadelphia.
Miami, with intermediate stops including Columbia, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, as well as Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa, Florida.
See NCDOT ByTrain
for more information.
Public transit
Public transportation in and around Raleigh is provided by the CAT, Capital Area Transit (CAT), which operates 37 bus fixed routes and an historic trolley line within the city, and the Triangle Transit Authority (TTA), which offers scheduled, fixed-route regional and commuter bus service between Raleigh and the metropolitan area's other principal cities of Durham, Cary and Chapel Hill (where TTA connects with the respective local urban transit systems), as well as to and from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Research Triangle Park and several of the region's larger suburban communities.
Raleigh city planners, in conjunction with other government agencies throughout the metropolitan area, currently are conducting a feasibility study on whether or not to construct a light rail and/or commuter rail system for the Research Triangle region. An attempt was made to gain support for such a proposal earlier in the decade, however in 2006 the TTA announced those plans had been placed on indefinite hold due to a lack of local funds and a recommended denial by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to Congress for matching federal funding. The Special Transit Advisory Commission (STAC) has proposed raising the local sales tax by a half cent to fund the project. The STAC estimates the population of the Triangle region will double in size over the next 20 to 25 years and that rail transit is one of the solutions to the inevitable continued increase in traffic volumes and congestion due to the region's burgeoning growth.
Bicycle
The mountains-to-the-sea North Carolina Bicycle Route 2 travels through the city of Raleigh, as does the Maine-to-Florida U.S. Bicycle Route 1. North Carolina Bicycle Route 5, the Cape Fear run, connects nearby suburban Apex to the coastal city of Wilmington, North Carolina, and closely parallels the route of the Randonneurs USA (RUSA) 600km brevet route. .
Most public buses are equipped with bicycle racks, and some roads have dedicated bicycle-only lanes. Bicyclists also may use Raleigh's extensive greenway system, with trails throughout the city.
Media
Print media
There are several newspapers and periodicals that serve the Raleigh market:
The News & Observer, a large daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company.
The Raleigh Chronicle, a free locally owned online daily newspaper
Independent Weekly, a free weekly newspaper (published in nearby Durham)
Carolina Journal, a free monthly newspaper
Raleigh Downtowner, a free monthly magazine
The Blotter, a free monthly literary journal
Television
Broadcast
Raleigh is part of the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville Designated Market Area, the 28th largest broadcast television market in the United States. The following stations are licensed to Raleigh and/or have significant operations in the city:
WUNC-TV (4, PBS) licensed to Chapel Hill, owned by the University Of North Carolina
WRAL-TV (5, CBS): licensed to the city of Raleigh, owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company
WLFL-TV (22, CW): licensed to the city of Raleigh, owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
WRAZ-TV (50, Fox): licensed to the city of Raleigh, owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company
WNCN-TV (17, NBC): studios located in Raleigh, licensed to the town of Goldsboro southeast of Raleigh; owned by Media General
WTVD-TV (11, ABC): licensed to the city of Durham. News bureau located located in Raleigh. owned by ABC (Walt Disney Company)
WRDC-TV (28, My Network TV) licensed to Durham, owned by Sinclair Broadcasting
WRAY-TV (30, Independent/Jewelry TV) licensed to Wilson, owned by Multicultural Broadcasting
WUVC-TV (40, Univision) licensed to Fayetteville, owned by Univision.
Cable
Raleigh is home to the Research Triangle Region bureau of the regional cable news channel News 14 Carolina.
Online
The Raleigh region hosted North Carolina's first online television station, RTP-TV (Research Triangle Park Television), which broadcasted news and programs of regional interest over the Internet until ceasing operations in 2006.
Broadcast radio
Public and listener-supported
WKNC-FM (College Rock), operated by students of North Carolina State University
WSHA-FM (Jazz), operated by Shaw University
WCPE-FM (Classical)
WUNC-FM (National Public Radio, North Carolina Public Radio) operated by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Commercial
WDCG-FM
WQDR-FM
WBBB-FM
WRAL-FM
WWMY-FM
WPTF-AM
WRBZ-AM
WQOK-FM
WFXC-FM
WFXK-FM
WRVA-FM
WKSL-FM
WRDU-FM
WNNL-FM
Sister cities
Raleigh is twinned with several cities:
Compiègne, France.
Hull, England.
Rostock, Germany.
Notable Raleighites
Further Information
Get more info on 'Raleigh North Carolina'.
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