Raleigh's LGBTQIA+ Historic Places: A Closer Look
Raleigh's LGBTQIA+ Historic Places: A Closer Look
As a part of Raleigh’s LGBTQIA+ Historic Context Study Phase I, the consultant provided a preliminary roster of the city’s existing and lost historic LGBTQIA+ places. The roster includes the street address (when known), site type, and earliest known or most prominent decade the space was associated with Raleigh’s LGBTQIA+ community.
The Phase II consultant is now contracted to take a closer look at about 20 of these existing LGBTQIA+ historic places. We anticipate receiving a short summary with the specific history of each place, a current photograph, and a preliminary evaluation of the site’s historic significance within the context of Raleigh’s larger LGBTQIA+ community. We will use this information as we determine next steps to recognize Raleigh’s historic LGBTQIA+ places.
The City’s preservation planning staff is seeking public input about which of these preliminary roster sites should get a closer look. We want to know which places are most important to the larger LGBTQIA+ community. Which places are you curious to know more about? Where would you like to see the project’s limited resources be focused?
Below, we have listed every place on the preliminary roster that meets the following criteria:
We know the street address.
The building is still standing.
The associated LGBTQIA+ use dates before the year 2000.
Select your Top 5 choices from each site type category. The City’s Preservation Planning Staff, in consultation with the Phase II project consultant, will select the final 20 sites for additional research based on your feedback. We will use this data for any City efforts toward physical recognition of Raleigh’s LGBTQIA+ historic places out in the world. We’ll also consider how to share information about the spaces that, while still standing, may not have a current association with the LGBTQIA+ community.
Don’t see a LGBTQIA+ historic place listed that you want to tell us about? Use the blank field at the bottom of the survey to let us know. Be sure to include the street address if you know it – this helps immensely when trying to find out more through archival collections, city directories, historic maps, and aerial photos.
Remember that only places meeting the criteria listed above have been included in this survey. We have identified many more places that do not meet the research criteria for this project phase but will be included in the final roster. We intend to document demolished buildings and places currently known by name only through future planning efforts, such as online mapping, exhibits, and presentations.
Not all LGBTQIA+ historic places we have found so far can or should receive traditional historic designation. Rank the possible alternative forms of recognition we've considered below.