From the Raleigh Historic
Districts Commission's "Design Guidelines for Raleigh Historic
Districts"
Adopted by RHDC: June
19, 2001
Adopted by Raleigh City Council: June 19, 2001
Effective Date: July 22, 2001
Excerpt is from pages 76 and 78.
Excerpt is from section entitled
"The Special Character of the Boylan Heights Historic District"
"Before its development beginning in 1907, the property which is now Boylan
Heights was once a large wooded site. From its apex at Montfort Hall, the
land slopes steadily downward toward the east, south, and west. Instead of
the right angle grid of streets common to Raleigh's earlier development, Boylan
Heights was platted with the city's first curvilinear grid, designed to respond
to the sloping topography of the site. At the neighborhood's request, and
in recognition of the neighborhood's unique design and special character, City
Council designated Boylan Heights as a historic district in 1984.
"The primary north/south street is South Boylan Avenue, which enters the
neighborhood at the railroad bridge and runs southward in an "S" curve
for six blocks where it feeds into Western Boulevard Extension. Other
streets in the district were by design less grand than Boylan, though equal
among themselves. Cutler Street curves parallel to Boylan Avenue one block
to the west, while Kinsey and Florence streets define the eastern boundary of
the district. The major east/west streets are McCulloch, West Cabarrus,
West Lenoir, West South, and Dorothea Drive. The extent to which streets
were influenced by the hillside site is shown in West Lenoir and West South
streets which are continuations from Raleigh's original grid. They begin
as direct east/west connectors but curve sharply northward around the base of
the hill.
"In the middle of the southeast quadrant of the property was the Boylan
Springs Park, which later became the school site (now Project Enlightenment).
Designed as an essential feature of the suburb, its cool, spacious shadiness
gives a welcome contrast to the density of the street facades in the
neighborhood.
"The neighborhood has quite sharply defined borders: the railroad and
Central Prison on the northwest; Rocky Branch, the Dix grounds, and now Western
Boulevard Extension to the south; a sharp grade change and industrial uses on
the east. These boundaries have isolated the neighborhood over the years,
yet they have also helped preserve the neighborhood and its innovative
subdivision design from intrusion of industrial or commercial uses.
"Because of the curvilinear plan, Boylan Heights has many
irregularly-shaped lots. The typical frontage is 30 to 50 feet with an
average lot depth of 130 feet with a 15-30 foot front yard setback to the
building. The blocks are bisected by service alleys. The curving
streets crate a psychologically slowed pace, and therefore, a pedestrian
predominance that is enhanced by the density of scale and changes in elevation
and appearance. The service alleys encourage a sense of community by
offering opportunities for back door contact while, at the same time,
maintaining individual privacy. The alleys also are lined with numerous
accessory buildings, which lend a rhythm of mass and space to the rear yard area
of houses. Recent years have seen the construction of increasing numbers
of rear yard wooden privacy fences, segmenting lots and reducing the flow of
space behind houses.
"Large, mature deciduous and evergreen trees fill many lots. Shade
trees line the street rights-of-way, which have also been planted with dogwoods
or crepe myrtles. Wooden electrical and telephone poles carry wires
throughout the neighborhood along streets and down alleys, supporting standard
"cobrahead" street lighting fixtures. Front yards are generally
lawns from street sidewalk to house, usually open without an enclosing fence.
Boylan Avenue's prominence is reinforced by a deeper than average front yard
setback. Front porches found on virtually every residence throughout the
district link house to street. Foundation plantings are common.
Because of the gently-sloping hillside location of the district, a few masonry
and stone retaining walls can be found within the district adjacent to walks and
alleys or between houses. The paving material of choice and prestige for
walks and curbs in the district was concrete, which at the time of the
subdivision's development in the early 20th century, had recently been made more
readily available and economical by the introduction of nearby concrete plants.
"Into this graceful setting was fitted an architectural fabric that was
traditional, subdued and generally harmonious, and which remains substantially
intact. Its spatial composition was carefully planned. To create the
ideal middle class suburb of 1907, the original deeds of sale incorporated
clauses that required adherence to a plan for the arrangement of homes.
Building zones were created that placed a minimum value on construction costs.
The most expensive homes, at a value of at least $2,500, were built near
Montfort Hall on Boylan Avenue. Dwellings on the secondary streets such as
Kinsey and Cutler were to cost at least $2,000, and the least expensive homes on
streets that made up the outer fringes of the subdivision like Lenoir and South
streets.
"Thus, there are tall, substantial (but architecturally conservative),
large wood-framed dwellings in Boylan Heights (predominantly Queen Anne/Colonial
Hybrid, Colonial Box or Foursquare, and Dutch Colonial) along Boylan Avenue in
particular, which as a result has an air of dominance in the neighborhood.
Nevertheless, it might be said that Boylan Heights is the suburb of the
bungalow. Generous numbers of this popular style house descend the
hillside flanking the Boylan Avenue spine. The bungalow's infinite variety
of scale, size, shape, and detail can be seen in Boylan Heights and demonstrates
the form's importance as a staple for housing the rising middle class.
"The high density produced by small lots creates a feeling comparable to
that of Oakwood; the diverse house sizes, trees, and sidewalks comprise a
complex pattern of scale, changes in elevation, and privacy. The
predominance of wood, of bungalows and vernacular classical and colonial revival
houses reflects a populace that was traditional, lower middle to middle class,
upwardly socially mobile, living in homes that ranged from substantial to modest
and occasionally cheap in construction quality. The pedestrian scale of
Boylan Heights, established by the original sidewalks, streets, trees, and
service alleys, is still maintained. The wide, curving sweep of Boylan Avenue
presents a promenade of trees and receding house facades. This sort of
grand entry provides a focus for the neighborhood and reflects the ambitions of
it original residents, to create a place of beauty and elegance, spaciousness
and trees."
