Raleigh Court is a Roanoke,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

located in southwest Roanoke along U.S. 11 (Memorial Avenue/Grandin Road). It borders the neighborhoods of Greater Deyerle on the west, Wasena on the east, Cherry Hill, Mountain View and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

on the north and Franklin-Colonial and Grandin Court on the south. Today the neighborhood is accessed from the downtown areas via the Memorial Bridge across the

Roanoke River The Roanoke River ( ) runs long through southern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina in the United States. A major river of the southeastern United States, it drains a largely rural area of the coastal plain from the eastern edge of the App ...

. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Raleigh Court has a population of 11,200 residents.

History

The Raleigh Court area saw its first residents in the 18th century as part of the Scotch-Irish migration into the area. Remaining relatively rural in character, by 1906 a land development company was formed to subdivide and develop the area. Development of the area would occur quickly, with the

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

reaching the area in 1915 its subsequent growth resulted in its annexation by the city from

Roanoke County Roanoke County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 96,929. Its county seat is Salem, but the county administrative offices are located in the unincorporated Cave ...

in 1919. The development of the neighborhood would reach its peak in the 1920s with the completion of the Memorial Bridge and the full emergence of the

Grandin Village The Grandin Road Commercial Historic District, also referred to as Grandin Village, is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places located in the Raleigh Court neighborhood of the independent city of Roanoke, Virgini ...

as the commercial center of the neighborhood. It was also during this time the name Raleigh Court emerged as the name of the area, taking its name from the Raleigh Court Corporation that bought and sold the majority of the land in the neighborhood. On July 31, 1948, streetcar service to the area was abandoned, which also marked the end of streetcar transit altogether within the city of Roanoke. With the closure of the streetcar, the area continued to develop and evolve for the accommodation of the automobile. With threats to the viability and quality of life within the neighborhood by the 1970s, the Greater Raleigh Court Civic League was formed and in 1981. As a result of their advocacy efforts and collaboration with city agencies, Raleigh Court was declared Neighborhood of the Year by Neighborhoods USA in 1992. The

Apartment Building on Windsor Avenue and Brunswick St. Apartment Building on Windsor Avenue and Brunswick St., also known as the Windsor Avenue Apartment Building, is a historic apartment building located in the Raleigh Court, Roanoke, Virginia, Raleigh Court neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was ...

was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2010.

References

External links

Raleigh Court Neighborhood Plan

Greater Raleigh Court Civic League
{{Roanoke neighborhoods Neighborhoods in Roanoke, Virginia Streetcar suburbs