Fourth Ward Entertainment District

The Fourth Ward Entertainment District was created to honor the unique role the people of Raleigh’s Fourth Ward played in making the arts and culture of Raleigh what they are today. Memorial Auditorium in the Fourth Ward hosted many notable music acts including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and James Brown among others. The creation of this district is an acknowledgement of the fact that long before there was a Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex, the residents and venues of the Fourth Ward were shaping the arts and culture of Raleigh.

The Convention and Performing Arts Complex staff engaged with members of the Fourth Ward Neighborhood Association and the broader community to receive their guidance in the creation of the district’s visual identity. This led to things like color selections, with purple symbolizing royalty, green symbolizing abundance, red symbolizing vibrancy, and gold symbolizing ancestry.

We strongly encourage people to learn more about the full history of the Fourth Ward Neighborhood from its former residents by visiting FourthWardHistory.org or The Magic of the Fourth Ward: A Journey Through Time and Culture exhibit at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts. It is our hope that this area’s designation as the Fourth Ward Entertainment District will help to preserve and amplify these important stories in Raleigh’s history.