The Warehouse District is a major downtown district in

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. The Warehouse District is a growing arts, restaurant, nightlife, and entrepreneurial district located three blocks west of the Raleigh Convention Center. The district consists of six blocks of spacious red-brick buildings, most of which are repurposed warehouses, factories and depots. A LGBT-friendly district, it includes Raleigh's historic

gay village A gay village, also known as a gayborhood or gaybourhood, is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Gay vil ...

, located between Dawson Street and Harrington Street, and is often referred to as the Raleigh Gayborhood.

History

The Warehouse District was built initially as an industrial zone due to its proximity to the rail lines several blocks West of downtown Raleigh. The warehouse, depot, and factory buildings fell out of use in the mid 1950s. Many of the buildings were in a state of disrepair by the late 1970s and early 1980s when artists, designers, and performers began making use of the spaces again, including a young

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. By the late 1980s much of the district had found use as galleries, studio space, poetry reading space, and woodworking shop. Nightlife venues came to the district in the form of The Berkley and the Capital Coral, Culture Club, and Fallout Shelter in the mid to late 1980s. Capital Coral, which opened at 313 Hargett Street in 1976, was Raleigh's first

gay bar A gay bar is a Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...

for men. The bar, originally a country western bar and later a disco nightclub, was a member's only club that did not permit entry to women unless they were accompanied by a male member. In 1979, ''The Front-Page Newspaper'' was started by Jim Baxter, catering to the LGBTQ community and advertising local bars, nightlife, and businesses. The paper was later operated out of White Rabbit Books & Things, a LGBTQ book store operated by John Neal on West Martin Street, from 1991 until its last press in 2006. In 1991, Legends NightClub, an 18+ gay club, opened in the district. The club's owners, Tim Bivens and Matt Cozzi, sold Legends in 2020 for $4.3 million to CityPlat. Bivens stated that the deal was to ensure "the long-term surivial of Legends as an ongoing business." FLEX, another gay bar, is located in the district. Trolley Pub Raleigh

Today the Warehouse District is home to several restaurants in addition to nightlife and art venues. The district now features several craft beer establishments including Crank Arm Brewing, Boylan Street Brewpub, Tasty beverage Company, and Brewmasters Bar & Grill. The 2010s saw a surge of business growth in the district. In 2011, the Contemporary Art Museum of Raleigh moved into a 20,000-square-foot warehouse in the district.

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opened a 550-employee division headquarters in the former Dillon Supply building in 2014. HQ Raleigh, a co-working space with 45 businesses, announced its move to Warehouse District in 2013. Local business leaders said the district was, 'starting to create an entrepreneurial reputation." Maeve, a 20-story 297-unit apartment building, opened in April 2025. Capital Square bought 1.1 acres at 319 West Lenoir Street in 2021 and developed the property using funding from CSRA Opportunity Zone Fund VI, LLC. $100 million was spent in what was considered a low income district.

Events

* 'CueGrass Festival - Annual BBQ, beer, and bluegrass festival held in the Warehouse District. * First Friday Gallery Walk - Gallery crawl held the first Friday evening of each month.

Gallery

File:Crank Arm Brewing.jpg, Crank Arm Brewing File:Citrix Headquarters in Raleigh.jpg, Citrix headquarters construction (2013) File:Raleigh Contemporary Art Museum.jpg, Contemporary Art Museum File:The Pit BBQ.jpg, The Pit BBQ File:Videri Chocolate Factory.jpg, Videri Chocolate Factory File:The Raleigh Depot.jpg, The Raleigh Depot File:Boyette's Automotive Performance Machine Shop.jpg, Boyette's Automotive Performance Machine Shop

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Warehouse Gay villages in North Carolina LGBTQ culture in North Carolina LGBTQ history in North Carolina Neighborhoods in Raleigh, North Carolina Shopping malls in Raleigh, North Carolina Transportation in Raleigh, North Carolina Brick buildings and structures in North Carolina