Avery Council Upchurch (December 22, 1928 – June 30, 1994) was
Mayor of
Raleigh, North Carolina from 1983 to 1993. His term in office was the longest of any mayor of Raleigh in the 20th century and corresponded to a period of rapid growth of the city.
Upchurch was born in
Wake County,
North Carolina and moved to Raleigh as a teenager. He operated two
filling stations in the city before entering politics. Having served on the Planning Commission and on
Raleigh City Council prior to election as Mayor, his administration focused on expansion of infrastructure such as:
* streets,
* water supply and sewage treatment,
* curbside recycling,
* downtown parking,
* the
Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek
Alltel Wireless was a wireless service provider, primarily based in the United States. Before acquisitions by Verizon Wireless and AT&T, it served 34 states and had approximately 13 million subscribers. As a regulatory condition of the acquisiti ...
,
* renovation of Raleigh Memorial Auditorium (now incorporated in the
Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts is the main venue for the performing arts in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The naming rights to the center currently are held by Duke Energy (formerly Progress Energy), which purchased them from the city in ...
),
* planning for the expansion of the
Raleigh Convention Center, and
* initial study of a new sports arena later built as the
RBC Center.
*
He was noted for his unpretentious style and his consensus approach to problem solving.
Upchurch elected not to run for a sixth term. Within months of retiring from office, he contracted
cancer and died. The headquarters of Raleigh city government was subsequently renamed the Avery C. Upchurch Government Complex in his honor.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Upchurch, Avery C.
Mayors of Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh City Council members
1928 births
1994 deaths
20th-century American politicians
Deaths from cancer in North Carolina