Village District (formerly Cameron Village), was the first

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

to be developed in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

. Development was started in 1947 when J.W. York and R.A Bryan bought of undeveloped land two miles west of downtown Raleigh, near the North Carolina State University campus. The "village" was to consist of a shopping center,

apartments An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are man ...

, and single family homes. The area was renamed to Village District in 2021 to distance itself from the slave owning Cameron family, who owned Stagville Plantation, that it was originally named after.

History

The shopping center opened in 1949 as Cameron Village, and quickly became the premier shopping area in Raleigh. It is also considered the first shopping center to be built between

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. The shopping center is an open-air shopping mall, but unlike a

strip mall A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...

, the stores are divided into blocks with some on two levels. Several parking decks were built in the 1960s, although most of these were removed in later renovations, to give a more open feel. Cameron Village grew quickly, and by 1950 the community had 65 stores, a movie theater, more than 600 homes and apartments, and over 100 business/professional offices. Downtown Raleigh, which had been the primary shopping location in the Raleigh area, started to see a decline in business as consumers gravitated toward the convenient parking of Cameron Village. The Occidental Life Insurance Company Building was added to Cameron Village in 1956. It 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 ...

in 2003. On January 28, 2021, Cameron Village shopping center was renamed to Village District, after 71 years of using the "Cameron Village" name, due to the previous name being named after a

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

owner.

Neighborhood Association

Residents of the single family homes, condominiums, and apartments in Village District are represented by the Cameron Village Neighborhood Association. Meetings are held quarterly to discuss issues related to traffic, zoning, construction, and other matters.

Entertainment

In the 1970s, “ The Village Subway,” an underground area, formerly used as a bomb shelter in the Cold War, was converted into an entertainment and music venue that included shops and restaurants. It was located beneath the current

The Fresh Market The Fresh Market is an American chain of supermarkets based in Greensboro, North Carolina. History The Fresh Market was founded by Ray and Beverly Berry on March 5, 1982, in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Berrys' idea was to develop a better gr ...

and the Oberlin Regional Library (formerly Cameron Village Regional Library). Nightclubs such as The Frog and Nightgown, The Pier, and Cafe Déjà Vu opened and attracted many regional and national upcoming performers as diverse as

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...

, Barry Manilow, and

R.E.M R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternativ ...

. “The Village Subway” existed for about 12 years; however, most establishments closed during the 1980s.

Currently

The Fresh Market,

Harris Teeter Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc., also known as Harris Teeter Neighborhood Food & Pharmacy, is an American supermarket chain based in Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. , the chain operates 261 stores in seven South Atlantic states ...

Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, a ...

, and a

Wake County Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

Public Library branch serve as anchors. The shopping center has been expanded and renovated several times, including a restyling in the mid-1980s and another in the early 2000s. Today, Village District has over 100 stores including over a dozen restaurants like The Flying Biscuit Cafe and the world's first two-story Chick-fil-A.

References

External links