Hill's Raleigh (North Carolina) city directory [1931], Part 2

Author: Hill Directory Company
Publication date: 1931
Publisher: Hill Directory Co.
Number of Pages: 770

USA > North Carolina > Wake County > Raleigh > Hill's Raleigh (North Carolina) city directory [1931] > Part 2

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Peace, a junior Presbyterian college for girls, was opened in 1872. It offers special courses in art, sciences, music and ex- pression. A number of new and modern buildings have been added in the past three years and the enrollment has grown rapidly.

The North Carolina School for the White Blind was estab- lished by legislative enactment in 1845. The present plant was completed in 1923 at a cost of $1,300,000. It is a standard high school and the only one of its type in the United States with this rating. It specializes in vocational training.

The well-equipped and modern public school system of Raleigh has eighteen buildings, including two high schools. In the past ten years bond issues totaling $2,300,000 have been voted to provide new buildings. The excellent public school system here reflects great credit upon this city.

Shaw University, founded in 1865, is the oldest institution in the South for the education of colored men and women. The University has eleven buildings. Degrees of A. B. and B. S. are conferred.

St. Augustine College (Episcopal) for colored men and women was opened in 1868. It has 110 acres of land in the northeast

section of the city. St. Agnes Hospital is operated in con- junction with this institution.

The State School for the Negro Deaf and Dumb, established in 1868, is located in the southeastern part of the city.

Commercial Advantages

Raleigh is both a distributing and trading center for a large territory. It is neither east nor west in North Carolina. It stands at the cross-roads logically situated to serve economically a wide area, with ease of access to the industrial Piedmont and to the agricultural East.

Its rapid development as a wholesale center is emphasized by the fact that there are seventy-six such establishments here doing an annual business of $12,500,000. For the same reason that it is a good wholesale center it is also rapidly increasing as a location for headquarters offices to serve both this and adjoining States.

Nine large modern fireproof office buildings provide more than 1,000 offices.

Its importance as a retail shopping center is shown by the fact that this volume of business in 1930 was approximately $23,401,823, as compared with $33,750,000 in 1923. This trade is drawn from an area of twenty-five to fifty miles, embracing a population of 650,000. It has a potential trade territory of twenty-nine counties, which produce one-half of the $320,000,000 total farm resources of North Carolina.

Raleigh has many fine stores offering a wide variety of mer- chandise.

One of the city's greatest assets is its transportation facilities. It has the advantage of having three separate railroads-it is located on the main line of the Seaboard Air Line from New York to Florida, on the Southern connecting with its main line from New York to New Orleans, and the main line of the Norfolk Southern. Twenty passenger trains pass in and out of the city every twenty-four hours. With its central geographical location it is important to the manufacturing cities of the north and east. The two bus lines here operate eighty buses in and 1

out of the city daily. These lines and their connections cover the entire State on convenient and regular schedules. There are 2,000 miles of hard-surfaced roads within a hundred-mile radius.

It is the headquarters of the Carolina Power and Light Com- pany, which supplies current to 223 cities and towns in North and South Carolina. The rates in Raleigh and communities served by this company are in line with the lowest obtained in the South and for large consumers very attractive rates are offered. Over the ten-year period the Carolina Power and Light Company has developed its electric horsepower from 47,000 to 195,000.

Gas is supplied by the Raleigh Gas Company, offering splendid service and reasonable rates.

The city water pumping capacity is 7,000,000 gallons per day (twenty-four hours) and the consumption is 3,032,000. Many improvements have been made to provide an adequate supply for present and future needs, including a new pumping station, reservoir, filtration plant and water lines.

The city is in the center of a rich farming country, producing a great variety of crops, including corn, cotton, small grain, tobacco and truck. The Department of Commerce shows the value of farms in Wake County to be $23,704,963. This is the second highest in the State. An adjoining county with a farm value of $25,777,998 leads the State.

Raleigh is an insurance center. It is the home office of five insurance companies, all of which are rapidly growing. These companies are the Durham Life Insurance Company, Occi- dental Life Insurance Company, North Carolina Home In- surance Company (Fire), Atlantic Fire Insurance Company and the Capital Life Insurance Company. Many of the large insurance companies of the country including life, fire, health and casualty companies, maintain headquarters or general State agencies in Raleigh. There are 786 officers and employees in the insurance companies. These receive annually a total of $1,396,200.

A modern airport of 280 acres is maintained by the Curtiss- Wright Flying Service. A well-equipped flying school is con- ducted on this field. It is one of the two airports in the South

especially approved by the Department of Commerce for a flying school. This field is an important air terminal on the New York-South American air trunk line.

Industry and Income

Raleigh has forty-two industries, with a capital investment of $4,105,400, and the annual output amounts to $7,058,940. There are 1,481 workers in these plants and the annual payroll is $1,786,604.

In addition, and related to industrial pursuits, there are 1,624 persons employed in other than manufacturing industries, and the combined payroll for this group is $2,496,714. This classification includes public utilities, railroad shops, highway repair depot, and other industrial workers.

Five hundred and forty-one officers and teachers are employed in the colleges within the city of Raleigh, with a total annual payroll of $1,040,608.

The third largest group payroll is in North Carolina State departments, where there are 939 employees, receiving annual salaries amounting to $1,698,902.

The employees of the insurance companies located here, including the home companies and branch officies, receive annually in salaries $1,396,200.

A summary of the groups already indicated makes a total of 4,585 employees and an annual payroll of $7,022,828.

Raleigh is interested to secure additional industries. One particular factor highly favorable to this proposed expansion is the electric power resources in this section. The Carolina Power and Light Company, with headquarters here, has two hydro-electric plants and one steam plant to serve this territory. Over a ten-year period this company has developed its electric horsepower from 47,000 to 195,000.

What to See in Raleigh

As a center for tourists during the winter months, Raleigh, located at the forks of two national highways, has become a

city of prime importance. Some indication of this is reflected in the hotel registration, which averages from 25,000 to 30,000 during the winter months. The city abounds in historic tradi- tions and the thousands of visitors enjoy visiting the following places of interest:

Historic old State Capitol Building, famous for the beauty of its architecture.

State Museum and Temporary State Art Museum.

State Hall of History.

Four famous colleges: North Carolina State College of Agri- culture and Engineering, Meredith College, Peace, and St. Mary's.

President Andrew Johnson's Birthplace (near State College).

Four points of special beauty: Christ Church, Dix Hill, Country Club, Federal Cemetery.

Seventy-five-acre Virgin Forest (three miles northeast of Federal Cemetery).

Governor's Mansion and Grounds.

Public Libraries: State Library, Raney Library (with chil- dren's section). Open to public all day.

Institutions for Negroes: Shaw University and St. Augustine's College.

Monuments and public memorials on Capitol Square and in State Department buildings include a replica of Houdon's famous statue of George Washington and memorials to the fol- lowing North Carolinians: Senator Z. B. Vance, Governor Charles B. Aycock, Dr. Chas. D. McIver, Henry L. Wyatt, Worth Bagley, "O. Henry," Chief Justice Ruffin.

Chamber of Commerce Welcomes Inquiries and Visitors

The Raleigh Chamber of Commerce is a substantial, well organized and representative body. The membership co-

operates in a wide variety of activities in commercial develop- ment. A function of particular importance is the information service which has careful supervision. Inquiries given careful and prompt consideration and visitors are welcome.

Offices in Sir Walter Hotel Building.

A Good Place to Live

Raleigh is a modern city of the new South, which combines old Southern charm with modern enterprise and progressiveness.

Raleigh is recognized as one of the best cities of residence in the Southeast, offering an exceptionally wide variety of recrea- tional advantages.

The Carolina Country Club has a splendid eighteen-hole golf course and the city has a municipal golf course of eighteen holes.

It has thirteen public park areas well distributed over the city. There are three well equipped and modern motion picture houses. It has league baseball with a team in the Piedmont League, and Riddick Athletic Field at State College. The city manifests keen interest in both sports and recreation.

Raleigh is exceptionally well cared for in hotels. There are seven hotels, with a capacity of 1,005 rooms. This includes such hotels as the Sir Walter, Carolina, Bland, Raleigh, Mansion Park and Giersch.

It is recognized as the convention city of North Carolina. This is substantially borne out in the fact that this city enter- tained eighty-three State and interstate conventions and meet- ings during 1930.

The five luncheon clubs of the city and the Woman's Club, a civic organization, contribute to the fine community spirit here. These organizations are: Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Civitan and American Business Club. Raleigh has a well-equipped and well-organized Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A.

StabilityA Permanency

Do you realize that a City Directory advertisement is a testimonial to the per- manency, the stability, of the advertiser?

That's the sort of concern all of us want to patronize, because we know when they sell us merchandise they are behind it in every way, today, tomorrow, and for the years to come.

"Fly-by-night," "fire-sale" and other temporary or """get-rich-quick" concerns rarely appear in the City Direc- tory.

And it is a noteworthy fact that the concerns which advertise one year in the city directory are there again next year. 90% of directory advertising is renewed.

Directory advertising is profitable. In connection with the class- ihed business headings it is doubly effective ..

May we explain how and why it will pay you ?

The Publishers of this Directory'

MORE GOODS ARE BOUGHT AND SOLD THROUGH THE

CLASSIFIED BUSINESS LISTS OF THE DIRECTORY THAN ANY OTHER MEDIUM ON EARTH

CLASSIFIED BUYERS' GUIDE

OF THE CITY OF

RALEIGH (NORTH CAROLINA)

1931

RO BONO PUBLICO ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICAN

1898

DIRE DIREC DIREC AIRCODIRECDIREC

Hill's Raleigh (North Carolina) city directory [1931], Part 2

Author: Hill Directory Company Publication date: 1931 Publisher: Hill Directory Co. Number of Pages: 770

Author: Hill Directory Company
Publication date: 1931
Publisher: Hill Directory Co.
Number of Pages: 770