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Warehouse District (Raleigh, North Carolina)

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Former warehouses in the Raleigh Warehouse District

The Warehouse District is a major downtown district in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Warehouse District is a growing arts, restaurant, nightlife, and entrepreneurial district located three blocks west of the Raleigh Convention Center. The district consists of six blocks of spacious red-brick buildings, most of which are repurposed warehouses, factories and depots. A LGBT-friendly district, it includes Raleigh's historic gay village, located between Dawson Street and Harrington Street, and is often referred to as the Raleigh Gayborhood.

History

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The Warehouse District was built initially as an industrial zone due to its proximity to the rail lines several blocks West of downtown Raleigh.[1] The warehouse, depot, and factory buildings fell out of use in the mid 1950s.[1] Many of the buildings were in a state of disrepair by the late 1970s and early 1980s when artists, designers, and performers began making use of the spaces again, including a young David Sedaris.[2] By the late 1980s much of the district had found use as galleries, studio space, poetry reading space, and woodworking shop.[1]

Nightlife venues came to the district in the form of The Berkley and the Capital Coral, Culture Club, and Fallout Shelter in the mid to late 1980s.[3] Capital Coral, which opened at 313 Hargett Street in 1976, was Raleigh's first gay bar for men.[4] The bar, originally a country western bar and later a disco nightclub, was a member's only club that did not permit entry to women unless they were accompanied by a male member.[4] In 1979, The Front-Page Newspaper was started by Jim Baxter, catering to the LGBTQ community and advertising local bars, nightlife, and businesses.[4] The paper was later operated out of White Rabbit Books & Things, a LGBTQ book store operated by John Neal on West Martin Street, from 1991 until its last press in 2006.[4][5] In 1991, Legends NightClub, an 18+ gay club, opened in the district.[6] The club's owners, Tim Bivens and Matt Cozzi, sold Legends in 2020 for $4.3 million to CityPlat.[6] Bivens stated that the deal was to ensure "the long-term surivial of Legends as an ongoing business."[6]

Trolley Pub Raleigh

Today the Warehouse District is home to several restaurants in addition to nightlife and art venues.[7] The district now features several craft beer establishments including Crank Arm Brewing, Boylan Street Brewpub, Tasty beverage Company, and Brewmasters Bar & Grill.[8]

The 2010s saw a surge of business growth in the district. In 2011, the Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh moved into a 20,000-square-foot warehouse in the district.[9][10] Citrix opened a 550-employee division headquarters in the former Dillon Supply building in 2014.[11] HQ Raleigh, a co-working space with 45 businesses, announced its move to Warehouse District in 2013. Local business leaders said the district was, 'starting to create an entrepreneurial reputation."[12]

Events

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  • 'CueGrass Festival - Annual BBQ, beer, and bluegrass festival held in the Warehouse District.[13]
  • First Friday Gallery Walk - Gallery crawl held the first Friday evening of each month.[14]
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  • Crank Arm Brewing
    Crank Arm Brewing
  • Citrix headquarters construction (2013)
    Citrix headquarters construction (2013)
  • Contemporary Art Museum
    Contemporary Art Museum
  • The Pit BBQ
    The Pit BBQ
  • Videri Chocolate Factory
    Videri Chocolate Factory
  • The Raleigh Depot
    The Raleigh Depot
  • Boyette's Automotive Performance Machine Shop
    Boyette's Automotive Performance Machine Shop

References

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  1. ^ a b c Daniel, Diane (April 12, 2013). "Old Warehouses Go Beyond Storage in Raleigh, N.C." The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2024 – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ^ "Raleigh Warehouse District - Development of a "Gayborhood" 1970-Present · LGBT Identities, Communities, and Resistance in North Carolina, 1945-2012, by David Palmer and His Students · OutHistory". outhistory.org. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  3. ^ "Goodnight Raleigh | a look at the art, architecture, history, and people of the city at night". goodnightraleigh.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Fordham, Heather (June 28, 2021). "Rainbow flags still fly in Raleigh's 'Gayborhood' decades later". Spectrum News. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  5. ^ "The Warehouse District: Hidden History of Raleigh's LGBTQIA+ community". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Jenkins, Aminah (August 19, 2022). "Legends Nightclub Faces Uncertain Future". The Meredith Herald. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  7. ^ "Warehouse District | Raleigh, NC 27601". www.visitraleigh.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  8. ^ "Food". raleighwarehousedistrict.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  9. ^ "Years in the works, Raleigh's Contemporary Art Museum opens". Indy Week. April 27, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  10. ^ "Festivities to celebrate Raleigh's Contemporary Art Museum". WRAL.com. April 2, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  11. ^ "Citrix's move downtown could transform Raleigh's warehouse district".
  12. ^ Lauren Ohnesorge (August 7, 2013). "HQ Raleigh relocating to downtown's Warehouse District". Triangle Business Journal – via bizjournals.com.
  13. ^ "Cuegrass.com". Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  14. ^ "First Friday". Retrieved May 1, 2024.

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