What you might not realize when walking down the sidewalks of Raleigh’s Village District is that some of the best memories sing from 10 feet beneath the pavement.
The Village Subway, also known as the Raleigh Underground, home of multiple bars and eateries, lies under the streets in what was supposed to be an entrance to a subway for transportation. Today, many have no clue about the historic treasure hidden beneath our feet. The venue closed shortly after it opened, with little to no acknowledgement of either event.
40 years after its closure, it’s time to bring the Raleigh Underground back. A place where local bands and young artists alike can perform through a vibrant community space would be incredible for our community if revitalized.
Under the Village District’s freshly paved roads and designer bricks lies a rich history which few people have heard about. The shopping center, formerly known as Cameron Village, opened in 1949 with three stores and one restaurant. During this time, people enjoyed the idea of having a shopping center more decentralized than the shops within downtown Raleigh.
Karen Nowell, whose family owned one of the original stores in the inception of what was then The Cameron Village Shopping Center, shared a map of where the Village Subway used to enter, slanting down behind what is now Fresh Market and Talbots. Pictures and diagrams of the subway and its many parts are shown within the book Nowell found in her grandmother’s attic, “Cameron Village: A History 1949-1999,” including an elevator to go down to the underground.
“It hasn’t been run for a long, long time,” Nowell said. “I don’t think people know about it, a lot of these basements have history.”
Its proximity to residential areas was its attraction, and even today, many who live around the area often walk to the restaurants and bars which surround the District from their homes. This convenience and walkability even to downtown remain some of its biggest reasons for success, as well as early developers such as the York family, who still frequent the restaurants in the District to this day.
Nowell recounted the spaces and historical culture of the district, as well as potential for more late-night activities in its spaces.
“It’d be cool [to see the underground active] because it’s gonna be at night time, it wouldn’t interfere with the traffic,” Nowell said.
Not only were food and drinks made and exhibited in The Village Subway, the talents of artists like Jimmy Buffet, David Bowie, the GoGos and Iggy Pop all performed in the underground space, with emphasis on the growing punk music age of the 80s. Local bands such as Arrogance, The Fabulous Knobs and Th’Cigz continuously brought music and energy into this space and community of Raleigh’s music scene.
“The opening night crowds were wonderful,” Nowell said. “They got Teddy Wilson, Billy Tomlin, Bette Midler.”
It is absolutely baffling to me that this venue was so short-lived, only about 12 years of operation, yet Raleigh still housed so many musicians and artists in a space now abandoned beneath our feet. Few people remember it even exists, despite being walking distance from NC State.
While a lot of the work to reopen the Village Subway is on businesses and developers, our interest as a community is needed to bring culture and rhythm back into these spaces. Remembering its history is our first step in redeveloping its potential.
With no area quite as unique as an underground music venue, Raleigh needs this energy back. Having even just one part of the large space reopened and known about would allow for a booming space and unite those from various communities.
