Jump to content

Raleigh photos


Raleigh-NC

Recommended Posts


  • Replies 524
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I am glad you caught this monsoon... A lot of people fail to see that this is a new development and lots of greenery had to be destroyed in order to create a better infrastructure for the entire community. They finished planting more trees, so the roads will eventually look much better after 5-10 years. As far as the brick goes... they've done a great job. I just wish they had mixed the homes more. Oh well, what can you expect?

I like the way the townhomes look, on the western side of Capitol Park. There is LOTS of brick there:

25705034.jpg

25705039.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

M. Brown: you didn't miss it, obviously :) Seriously, though, Glenwood South was a complete metamorphosis. Not only it was nearly ignored, but the pedestrian activity was nearly zero. Today, Glenwood South is a much busier place (although the photos don't show that), with a much cleaner look and a great future ahead. In the evening, the place comes alive. Keep in mind that while most renovations are finished, the influx of new businesses continues and we'll hopefully see a lot more activity when the Paramount, a 10-story condos building, already under construction, and if the proposed mixed-use 14-story Reynolds Building becomes reality. There are plans and visions for the roads to the east and west of Glenwood Ave, but it will take time to see the fruits of the city's labors. This area is definitely on the rise.

For more photos look into Part II.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pretty soon I will present more neighborhoods, but what needs to be considered is that Raleigh's center is not a huge area that grew over the years. The center is large and comfortable for a city with 320,000 residents, but the fact is the urban sprawl removed a lot of people from there, long before Raleigh surpassed 250,000 residents. Back then, there was no need for urbanization and density. Today, even though the outskirts of the city still see lots of growth, Raleigh gets a lot more infills and increases its density rate. Capitol Park and Village at Pilot Mill are not the answer, but set the tone for future patterns. That is, sidewalks on both sides, buildings closer to the street, garages in the back, or on-street and good road connectivity. Mixed-use is planned as a later phase, but for now we need to set some guidelines and demonstrate that they work better than sprawl. Only then the developers may choose to support a more urban feel, or a less suburban one, in this case.

Sean, allow me to "steal" text and images from the actual page, so you can get a better feel of what was there before:

halifaxcourtpredemopic1.jpg

halifaxcourtpredemopic2.jpg

halifaxcourtpredemopic3.jpg

Before HOPE VI: Halifax Court. The former Halifax Court (pictured above) was constructed in two phases during the 1930s and 1950s and was comprised of 20 barracks-style buildings set into terraces. Halifax Court did not offer amenities such as parking, air conditioning, heating controls or personal space.

Its barracks-style design, long terraces and back yards with clotheslines facing the surrounding streets made it stick out from the surrounding community. Visibility between terraces was extremely limited making them the ideal location for drug dealing and other crime. The long terraces, in addition to the large oak trees located throughout the site, made lighting the common areas difficult. Fire hydrants were located at the ends of buildings and special length hoses were required to reach the interior sections of the terraces creating an increased concern for fire safety. Parking was inadequate and removed from the apartment entrances. Some residents were forced to park over 300 feet away from their unit. The retaining walls, terraced grounds, second floor bathrooms and buckling sidewalks, made Halifax Court inaccessible to the mobility impaired. The streets inside the complex did not meet City requirements for width and curbing. Traffic flowed around the community, rather than through it, adding to the isolation of the complex.

In addition to major design flaws, Halifax Court suffered from a variety of severe system deficiencies including root-riddled sewer lines, out-dated electrical systems, leaky interior plumbing, eroded building foundations and sidewalks, cracked concrete floors, extensive plaster damage to the interior walls, and inadequate roof ventilation. Heat and hot water for all the units were provided by a central boiler system that, due to persistent blockages, did not allow for uniform heating of the units. Proximity of a unit to the central boiler room dictated its internal temperature.

The seriously flawed design in addition to the general state of disrepair made renovation an impractical and inefficient solution to the problems at Halifax Court. Demolition and revitalization were the best alternatives.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As evidenced through various Raleigh-focused threads, the City of Oaks is not known for its dense urban feel and atmosphere. However, it does have a small wealth of older neighborhoods, some of which are historic, with old urban residential feel. In this part (Part II of the DT Raleigh residential neighborhood series) we will take a short and incomplete tour around Oakwood, which is located on the east side of Downtown Raleigh, and not far from Capitol Park and Village at Pilot Mill. I don't think I could do a better job presenting the history of this area, so please forgive me for using the official Historic Oakwood site's own words:

Oakwood is the only intact nineteenth century neighborhood in Raleigh. The neighborhood was built in the dense woods of Northeast Raleigh known as

Link to comment
Share on other sites

great hood! metro has it right- this is dilworth/myers park in charlotte. its really amazing how similar raleigh and charlotte are as far resedential hoods and retail. raleighnc- how far is oakwood from the core? or is it in the core (i.e. the wards in charlotte).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

(sorry if you already saw this over at SSP!)

I snapped a few pictures today and since I was in North Raleigh I took a page from Raleigh-NC's playbook and ventured up to the 6th level of the Rex Hospital's (or whatever it is) parking deck. I'm not sure if it could have been any hazier, but i got this anyway:

ralpanc.jpg

Wide:

haze1.jpg

Close:

haze2.jpg

Over towards the Six Forks/I40 area:

haze3.jpg

A few downtown:

haze4.jpg

haze5.jpg

haze6.jpg

haze7.jpg

haze8.jpg

haze9.jpg

haze10.jpg

haze11.jpg

haze12.jpg

I wasn't going to take this one, but what the hey he was sitting there:

haze14.jpg

My recently repaired ride, just a block from where it was damaged:

haze13.jpg

These are from the other night... a rare angle of this cluster:

night15.jpg

night16.jpg

night17.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awesome thread!!! Flash's photography skills are clearly demonstrated here. Somehow, I could never take such great pictures.

I loved this photo... Two Progress Plaza doesn't look as fat/wide from this angle and it blends nicely with the rest of the towers:

night16.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sean, some areas will eventually become run down and [financially] depressed. Otherwise, the acquisition price will be prohibitive. Following the decay of those areas will be revitalization and progress. It is more like a 50-100 years cycle, but I may be very wrong. In the case of DT Raleigh, we have LOTS of revitalization plans in place. Some neighborhoods resist, while others are anxious to see the plans get delivered ASAP. This type of efforts is common across all US cities, I think. SLC, however, has lots of gems of urbanity, while Raleigh lacks a similar urban fabric. Hopefully, the everchanging infrastructure will mature and developers will be encouraged to build with good urban guidelines in place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oakwood is actually a downtown neighborhood, just a few blocks from Fayetteville Street Mall (the actual core of DT Raleigh). The transition is smooth as you go from Oakwood to some more historic homes along Blount Street, to the center of downtown. It is a lovely neighborhood, with walkability and preservation as its major strengths. The area is far larger than one may think from these photos, but it still under redevelopment. Personally, I wish I had money to buy a house there, but this won't happen any time soon :( Actually, I work 2 blocks from Oakwood and I can walk there any day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice photos!

I remember the thread on your car getting damaged. It's good to see it repaired now. I'm sure when the weather gets better and the trees are green, you'll take even more amazing photos!

I'm in Georgia and this area is starting to get those extremely high pollen counts people warned me about when I said I wanted to go to UGA for college. It's good though, because it's starting to look like spring. :P About two weeks ago, the tree pollen was in the extreme on the Atlanta news. :o

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.