-Contributed by Esther Hall
One of the questions we are frequently asked is “Why did you create a new preservation organization? Didn’t Raleigh already have one?”
As part of our “Preservation 101” series, we’d like to help familiarize you with a few of the various preservation groups working and advocating together in our city, county, state, and country.
Why Preservation Raleigh?
It’s true that Raleigh has had the RHDC for many years, but their role with the city is different, in that they are not able to advocate and they are appointed by the City Council. There are also limits to the kinds of advocacy a city commission can engage in without City Council authorization. In 2023 a group of former commissioners saw that the need for independent city-wide advocacy had become acute. In a collaborative spirit, RHDC Commissioners voted to spin off the non-profit from the Commission, appointed new board members, and then resigned from the non-profit board. The nonprofit’s name was changed to Preservation Raleigh, continuing its tradition of adapting to the times to meet present and future needs. Our board members are experienced in corporate governance and have been actively involved in historic preservation service as RHDC Commission Chairs, nationally-recognized preservation professionals and volunteers, and community advocates.
Other preservation groups work within Wake County and North Carolina in a variety of ways. Read below to learn more about these groups. Preservation Raleigh is working with each of them in some capacity, and welcome future preservation partnerships.
Our Preservation Partners
We are pleased to highlight the groups we are proud to call partners in our efforts to preserve Raleigh’s architectural inheritance.
Raleigh Historic Development Commission
The Raleigh Historic Development Commission serves as the City Council’s official historic preservation advisory body to identify, preserve, protect, and promote Raleigh’s historic resources. Established in 1961, the RHDC consists of twelve members, appointed by the City Council to overlapping two-year terms. Members have a demonstrated interest or training in fields related to historic preservation and reside within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (at least one-quarter must live or own property in designated historic overlay districts or historic landmarks).
More info: https://raleighnc.gov/planning-and-development/raleigh-historic-development-commission
Capital Area Preservation
Capital Area Preservation, Inc. (CAP) traces its beginnings to the first stirring of a grass roots preservation movement in Raleigh and Wake County of the late 1960s.
Under a partnership arrangement, signed by the County government and CAP in 2003, CAP operates the county’s preservation program and provides staffing services to the Wake County Historic Preservation Commission (WCHPC). Since assuming responsibility for the program, the number of landmarks in the jurisdiction of the WCHPC has increased from 23 to 75.
More info: https://capitalareapreservation.com/
Wake County Historical Society
The Wake County Historical Society was organized in 1957. The mission of the society is to preserve the history of Wake County and to educate the public about the important events that occurred in Wake and surrounding counties. The society offers interesting programs, tours, trips, social events, an annual meeting, and a newsletter. Its projects have helped to preserve and/or restore many historic aspects of Wake County. If one appreciates the past, he or she will be better able to understand the present and influence the future.
More info: https://www.wakehistory.com/
Preservation NC
Founded in 1939, The Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina Inc. (known as Preservation North Carolina or PNC) is North Carolina’s only private nonprofit statewide historic preservation organization. Its mission is saving historic places important to the diverse people of North Carolina. It enjoys a national reputation, having been cited by the National Park Service as “the premier statewide preservation organization of the South, if not the Nation” and the National Trust for Historic Preservation as “the model organization of its kind.” Cathleen Turner is the Regional Director of Preservation North Carolina’s Piedmont Office based in Durham
NC Modernist
North Carolina is one of the largest concentrations of Modernist houses in America! NCModernist is a 501C3 nonprofit educational archive providing donors, volunteers, and advocates information and organization to document, preserve, and promote North Carolina’s legacy of exceptional residential Modernist architecture. NCModernist is an influential community of architecture fans continually hosting wildly popular Modernist events, giving thousands of people access to the most exciting residential architecture past and present. We are the oldest and largest group dedicated to Modernist residential design in North Carolina.
More info: https://www.ncmodernist.org
National Trust for Historic Preservation
For more than 70 years, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has led the movement to save America’s historic places. A privately funded nonprofit organization, we work to save America’s historic sites; tell the full American story; build stronger communities; and invest in preservation’s future.
More info: https://savingplaces.org/
Other NC Preservation Organizations
North Carolina Preservation Consortium
The North Carolina Preservation Consortium (NCPC) is an independent, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to the preservation of collections in libraries, museums, archives, and historic sites; monuments, memorials, and outdoor art; archaeological sites and collections; historic and cultural architecture; and private collections of family treasures.
More info: https://ncpreservation.org/
North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office
The North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office assists private citizens, private institutions, local governments, and agencies of state and federal government in the identification, evaluation, protection, and enhancement of properties significant in North Carolina history and archaeology. The agency carries out state and federal preservation programs and is a section within the Division of Historical Resources, Office of Archives and History, North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR). The office serves as the staff of the state historic preservation officer, who is the NCDNCR Deputy Secretary for the Office of Archives and History, and as staff of the North Carolina Historical Commission in the review of state and federal development projects that might affect historic North Carolina properties.
More info: https://www.hpo.nc.gov
The North Carolina Office of State Archaeology
The Office of State Archaeology (OSA) serves North Carolina’s citizens through programs that identify archaeological resources on land and beneath state waters. OSA archaeologists and staff are specialists with decades of academic training and practical experience, which we apply to gather and share knowledge about the vast time range — more than 14,000 years — of North Carolina’s historic experience.
More info: https://archaeology.ncdcr.gov/