Oakwood, Raleigh, N.C.

ALTHOUGH IT TAKES ITS NAME FROM A NEARBY CEMETERY filled with fallen Confederate soldiers, historic Oakwood is a vibrant community and the only remaining intact 19th-century neighborhood in Raleigh, N.C. Raleigh was planned from its conception to be the state’s capital, and its statehouse buildings were quickly followed by colleges, businesses, and residences befitting a capital city. Begun soon after the end of the Civil War, Oakwood was the first completely residential neighborhood built in the city. The community’s architectural styles describe the arc of changing tastes in the latter part of the 19th century, progressing from Neo-Classical to French to Victorian to Queen Anne and back again to Neo-Classical. The homes’ architects, most of them local, strove for correctness and attention to form in their designs, and yet they included modifications particularly suited to Southern climes and proclivities. Steeply pitched roofs and deep overhangs help cool the interiors of the homes. And almost every house in Oakwood possesses at least one porch; many have several.