So what is the big deal about replacing old Raleigh?

From Raleigh Architectural Survey Phase 2

SIGNIFICANCE:

The significance of the private family dwellings in Raleigh lies in the rich diversity of their forms and shapes. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century dwellings reveal the variety of socio-economic patterns. In general, the surveyed domestic architecture of the previous century is more common and vernacular indicating the existence of ordinary citizens. As the new century slowly dawned, the dwellings take on the appearance of popular styles emulated from books and magazines. Hence, the 1920s and 1930s houses are less regional in character and style and more mainstream in appeal to the average homeowner.

Individually, the houses are not significant but as a collection of streetscapes, neighborhoods, and suburban development they take on greater meaning. The "American Dream" of individual home ownership was pursued on many levels by peoples of various means. The wide range of dwellings offered several kinds of specialized habitations for the poor and the wealth. In a sense, the diversity of the houses document the spatial differentiation of residential development of Raleigh society in the early twentieth century.