neighborhood
City Center
Raleigh is rife with culture. Museums such as Exploris, the Natural History and North Carolina Archives each offer an outstanding overview of our City and State's history through the arts and its artists. From Bloomsbury Estates, you are just minutes away from it all. Scattered throughout City Center are numerous independent art galleries housing the works of some of our City's finest artists and those yet to be "discovered" and treasured.
Museums
North Carolina Museum of History
Permanent exhibits and artifacts in this modernist structure tell the history of North Carolina's vastly
diverse people, folk life, and progress. Here you'll find Richard Petty's NASCAR race car and the
Confederate Ironclad Albemarle's smokestack. Visiting exhibits are also available for your pleasure
and education.
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
The four floors showcase our state's rich natural history and our environmental place in the world.
Housed in the modern structure you'll find dinosaur and whale skeleton exhibits, gemstone collections,
hands-on activities, movies, galleries, café, and museum store offer visitors of all ages plenty to
experience.
The State Capitol
In this building where decisions are made, you might glimpse politicians hard at work. Under the circa
1840 97 _ -foot high copper dome, the legislative chambers, The Supreme Court/Cabinet of Minerals
Room, and the State Library are open to public view.
The Executive Mansion
Also open for guided seasonal tours, the Executive Mansion is splendid example of Queen Anne Victorian
architecture. Completed in 1891, many building materials including native oak and heart pine were from
North Carolina. Look closely at the handmade bricks, and you will see initials of the men who made them.
Exploris
The only museum of its kind, Exploris is a museum of the world designed for children and their families.
The 84,000 square-foot museum features exhibits highlighting environmental issues, population,
technology and cultural geography.
BTI Center
World-class performing centers such as the BTI Center for the Performing Arts are home to nationally celebrated musicians, dancers, and actors whose performances thrill and delight even the most seasoned theatre patron. Fletcher Opera Theater, Meymandi Concert hall and Kennedy Theater, and Memorial Auditorium constantly offer the very best in entertainment and culture.
City Market
Located at 200 Block East Martin Street, the 1914 Spanish Mission-style building is home to some of the City's most established eateries and specialty shops, and vibrant City Center is just minutes away.
Fayetteville Street
The Fayetteville Street Renaissance Project is opening up the City's central street to ease vehicular traffic flow in Raleigh's heart, providing a grand vista of the Capitol, and adding more parking and open spaces for art and outdoor dining. Other street improvements call for converting Hargett and Martin Streets to two-way traffic as part of Raleigh's renaissance.
