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Raleigh is the capital of the State of North Carolina and the county seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees, though pine trees are the dominant species. It has a population of approximately 359,332, making it the second most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte and the 51th largest city in the United States. Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill make up the three cities of The Triangle. This name comes from the 1959 creation of a research park Research Triangle Park, located mostly within Durham County. The Triangle is an urban region, equivalent to the U.S. Census Bureau's Combined Statistical Area of Raleigh-Durham-Cary. Its estimated total population as of 2006 was 1,565,223. The estimated Raleigh-Cary metropolitan statistical area population, as of 2006, is 994,551. While almost all of the city limits is located in Wake County, a few small portions of Raleigh are actually in Durham County as a result of annexation.
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Raleigh Culture
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Museums
Downtown: North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh City Museum, Exploris, Playspace, Historic Oakwood, birthplace of President Andrew Johnson
West Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, J.C. Raulsten Arboretum
South Raleigh: Harley Davidson Bikes Museum
Performance
The Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek hosts major touring musical acts. The Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts encompasses the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, the Fletcher Opera Theater, the Kennedy Theatre, and the Meymandi Concert Hall. During the NC State Fair, Dorton Arena, itself an architectural wonder when constructed, hosts headline acts. Theater performances are also offered at the Raleigh Little Theatre, Theatre in the Park, and Stewart Theater of NCSU.
Raleigh is the home of several professional arts organizations, including the North Carolina Symphony, the Opera Company of North Carolina, the North Carolina Theatre, and Carolina Ballet. The numerous local colleges and universities significantly add to the options available for viewing live performance. Raleigh is also home to the North American Brass Band Association's 4 time Youth Division Champion Triangle Youth Brass Band.
Art
North Carolina Museum of Art, occupying a large suburban campus on Blue Ridge Road, near the State Fairgrounds, houses arguably the premier public art collection between Washington and Atlanta. In addition to fine collections of American, European, and ancient art, the museum has hosted major exhibitions featuring Rodin (2000) and Monet (2006-2007), attracting over 100,000 visitors each. Unlike many prominent museums, the NC Museum of Art received a large number of the works in its permanent collection through purchases with public funds. The attached "Museum Park" is one of the largest such parks in the country.
The museum is currently undergoing a major expansion, which should be completed in 2008.
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Raleigh Education
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Higher education
* North Carolina State University
* Meredith College
* Peace College
* School of Communication Arts
* Shaw University
* St. Augustine's College
* Wake Technical Community College
* ECPI College of Technology
Public education
Public education in Raleigh is provided by the Wake County Public School System. Raleigh is home to 134 schools in the system (84 elementary (K-5), 28 middle (6-8), 17 high (9-12), and 5 special/optional schools).
Charter schools
The State of North Carolina also provides for a certain number of charter schools. These schools are administered separately from the Wake County Public School System. Raleigh has 10 charter schools:
* Casa Esperanza Montessori School (K-6)
* Exploris Middle School (6-8)
* Hope Elementary School (K-5)
* John H. Baker, Jr., High School (9-12)
* Magellan Charter School (4-8)
* PreEminent Charter School (K-8)
* Quest Academy (K-8)
* Raleigh Charter High School (9-12)
* SPARC Academy (K-8)
* Torchlight Academy (K-6)
Private education
* Al Iman School
* Cardinal Gibbons High School
* Friendship Christian School
* Montessori School of Raleigh
* Neuse Baptist Christian School
* North Raleigh Christian Academy
* Raleigh Christian Academy
* Raleigh Latin High School
* Ravenscroft School
* Saint David's School (Previously St. Timothy's - Hale)
* Saint Mary's School
* Saint Thomas More Academy
* Saint Timothy's School
* Trinity Academy of Raleigh
* The Trilogy School
* Wake Christian Academy
* Word of God Christian Academy
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Raleigh History
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Raleigh was chosen as the site of a new state capital in 1788, and was officially established in 1792 as both the new county seat and the new state capital. It was named in November 1792 for Sir Walter Raleigh, sponsor of the Colony of Roanoke, which was also known as the "Lost Colony" (today, the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site).
The site was chosen for being within ten miles (16 km) of Isaac Hunter's Tavern, which was apparently popular with the legislators of the time. No city or town existed on the site before it was chosen to house the capital. Raleigh is one of the few cities in the U.S. planned and built specifically to serve as a state capital.
The North Carolina General Assembly first met in Raleigh in December 1794, and within one month, the legislature officially granted the city a charter, with a board of seven appointed commissioners (starting in 1803, elected by the people) and an "Intendant of Police" (what would later be called "Mayor") to govern it. John Haywood was the first Intendant of Police.
Despite being spared destruction in the Civil War, Raleigh grew very little from its original 1792 size until the introduction of streetcar lines in the 1920s, the establishment of the Research Triangle Park in the 1950s, and a freeway known as the Beltline (I-440/US-1/US-64) in the 1960s. IBM became an influential force in Raleigh in the 1960s, and greatly influenced the city's growth.
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Raleigh Lifestyle
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Raleigh is divided into at least five geographic areas, each of which use the Raleigh address and postcode, starting with 276.
Olde Raleigh ("Inside the Beltline") is home to many 20th-century neighborhoods, the City Market, Fayetteville Street Mall (re-opened as a thoroughfare in mid-2006), North Carolina Museum of History, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina State Capitol, Peace College, Raleigh City Museum, Raleigh Convention and Conference 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 along Capital Boulevard near the I-440 beltline to New Hope Road. Most of East Raleigh's development is along established corridors such as US 1 (Capital Blvd), New Bern Ave, Poole Rd, Buffaloe Rd, and New Hope Rd. Enloe High School and Southeast Raleigh High School are both in this area. It is bordered to the east by the town of Knightdale.
West Raleigh is near Hillsborough Street and Western Boulevard. The area is bordered to the west by the town of Cary. It is home to the North Carolina State University campus, Meredith College, Pullen Park, and Cameron Village. Also in West Raleigh are Avent Ferry Road, Blue Ridge Road, Lake Johnson, the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh Little Theatre, Theatre in the Park, St. Mary's School, and Municipal Rose Garden.
North Raleigh is a large area containing many established neighborhoods along with many newly constructed sub-divisions. It begins North of the I-440 beltline. It is a suburban location with shopping areas (such as the renovated North Hills Mall). Neighborhoods and communities in North Raleigh include Bent Tree, Brookhaven, Crossgate, North Hills, North Ridge, Stonebridge, Stone Creek, Stonehenge, Wakefield and Wood Valley.
South Raleigh is along U.S. 401 South toward Fuquay-Varina and US 70 into Garner. This is the least developed and least dense area of Raleigh, and is home to the last gristmill in Wake County, Yates Mill. It 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, Penny Road and Riverbrooke.
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Raleigh News
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Search for "Raleigh NC" - Authorities to work highway safety program - HendersonvilleNews.com
| Published: Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 4:30 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 12:06 a.m. The Henderson County Sheriff's Office, along with other local law enforcement agencies, will be working ... |
- Weight-loss camps invite families to come along - Ventura County Star
| It took Kelsey Galer four weeks at a weight-loss camp to lose 9 pounds. It took her dad just three days to start acting like a "dork." "He wears his pedometer around all the time," said Galer. |
- First On-line Rating System for Entreprenuers to Determine Potential... - PRWeb
| This latest initiative, Entrello , began accepting entries today from entrepreneurs interested in getting an objective indication of their company's potential for investment. |
- Go Pirates - Washington Daily News
| For those of us who love East Carolina football, we are like children on Christmas morning. |
- Wide-boat bill becomes a law - Washington Daily News
| By TED STRONG Staff Writer RALEIGH - In less than an hour Wednesday morning, the N.C. General Assembly swept away years of precedent, overriding Gov. |
- Nation/world news in brief - Worcester Telegram & Gazette
| Idaho child killer sentenced to death BOISE, Idaho - A longtime sex offender was sentenced to death yesterday for the 2005 kidnapping, torture and murder of a 9-year-old northern Idaho boy after federal jurors ... |
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Raleigh Transportation
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Air
Raleigh-Durham International Airport is just northwest of Raleigh on I-40 between Raleigh and Durham.
Roads & Highways
* Interstate highway: I-40, I-440 Beltline, I-540
o The Beltline makes a loop around the city. Visitors and even long-time residents are frequently confused by the terms "Inner Beltline," "Outer Beltline," and "Outer Loop." The Inner and Outer Beltline (both I-440) are the same road; "inner" and "outer" refer to the positions of the lanes of traffic, the Inner Beltline being inside of the Outer Beltline (Inner/Outer labeling). The Inner Beltline runs clockwise; the Outer is counter-clockwise. Often, cardinal directions are posted along with the Inner/Outer designations; the directions however are not uniform throughout the beltline.
o United States Highways:
+ U.S. Route 1 (known in parts of Raleigh as Capital Boulevard)
+ US-64 (Business route: New Bern Avenue, Bypass route: Knightdale Bypass)
+ US-70 (known in parts of Raleigh as Glenwood Avenue, and S. Saunders St)
+ US-264 (cosigned with US-64 through east Raleigh)
+ U.S. Route 401 (part of Capital Boulevard, and Louisburg Road)
o North Carolina Highways:
+ N.C. 54 (known as Chapel Hill Road and Hillsborough Street, ends at I-440)
+ N.C. 50 (known as Creedmoor Road)
+ N.C. 98 (known as Durham Road, constitutes far northern limit of Raleigh)
Public Transit
* Passenger Rail: Amtrak Carolinian, Piedmont and Silver Star offer daily service to
o Charlotte, with intermediate stops including Greensboro;
o New York City, with intermediate stops including Richmond, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia; and
o Miami, with intermediate stops including Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa.
o See NCDOT ByTrain.
* Local Bus
o Within Raleigh, the CAT, or Capital Area Transit system, operates 37 bus routes and 1 trolley line
o The Triangle Transit Authority operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Cary, Durham and Chapel Hill.
Other
* Bicycle: Most public buses are equipped with bicycle racks, and some roads are equipped with bicycle lanes. Bicycles can also use Raleigh's extensive Greenway System, with trails found throughout the city.
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Raleigh Weather
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Raleigh has a moderate subtropical climate, with moderate weather in the spring, fall, and winter. However, summers can be hot and humid. Winter temperatures generally range from highs in the low 50s°F to lows in the upper 20s-mid 30s°F, though 60 °F degree weather is not uncommon. Spring and fall days are usually in the low to mid 70s°F, with nights in the 50s°F. Summer days are often in the upper 80s and low 90s °F with very high humidity. The rainiest months are July and August.
Raleigh receives little or no snow during most winters.
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