Family discovers Raleigh house used to be owned by beloved mayor

I knew when we first bought our house over a decade ago that it had once been owned by the former Mayor of Raleigh, Avery C. Upchurch (December 22, 1928 – June 30, 1994). Many may recognize his name from the Municipal Complex buildings located in downtown Raleigh which house the headquarters of the Raleigh city government.

Upchurch served as mayor of Raleigh from 1983 to 1993, the longest term of office for any Raleigh mayor in the 20th century. His tenure corresponded to a period of rapid growth for the city, though he is often simultaneously recognized as a mayor of the people.

Mayor Upchurch and his family lived in our little unassuming, quirky brick ranch house in northwest Raleigh for the duration of his mayorship.

I’d heard some fun stories about the former mayor from several neighbors, including longtime residents who lived in the neighborhood at the same time as Mr. Upchurch.

For example, one neighbor shared that many local big-wigs regularly met in our basement and backyard, smoking cigars and talking business. It’s a great backyard for hosting, so I could easily picture these get-togethers. All of a sudden, our little home just felt a tiny bit cooler.

Another neighbor told me that he would see Upchurch’s wife, Margaret, sweeping out the carport every single afternoon. I immediately understood Margaret’s plight. Upon moving into our home, I quickly learned that the slightest breeze would blow every leaf within a quarter mile radius into the carport. I promise, that’s only a slight exaggeration. Unfortunately, it would appear I am not as diligent about the leaves as Mrs. Upchurch, though I give it a valiant effort.

A few years ago we began the process of renovating our basement. We are mostly DIY’ers, so every house project tends to take us a long time to actually complete.

In the process of tearing down some walls and removing a large built-in storage closet in the basement, we came across a massive pile of news clippings. They were articles that Upchurch had been featured in during his mayorship.

Some of my favorite stories and vignettes from the archives include:

"Avery was the kind of person who everybody liked," said Clay Rhodes, a plans examiner in the city's inspections department. "It didn't matter if you worked in the mail room or emptied the trash or cleaned the bathroom. Avery had time for you, and in most cases knew you by your first name."

Avery C. Upchurch was a charismatic, easy-going, down-to-earth man. He was always smiling. He regularly brought candy to the people in the office.

When Raleigh garbage collectors failed to pick up a woman's trash, she complained to Mayor Avery C. Upchurch. He drove to the woman's house and picked up the garbage himself.

Chapman recalled that a few years ago, his daughter, who was 12 at the time, had told Upchurch that the city should have a movie theater located downtown on Fayetteville Street Mall. Chapman said both he and his daughter were taken aback when Upchurch wrote a detailed letter explaining why that might be difficult. "He took the time to write a letter to a 12-year-old. That's the kind of person he was," Chapman said.

"He earned the title of Raleigh's drive-in mayor," said his friend G. Wesley Williams, former executive director of the Raleigh Merchants Bureau. "You could drive into the service station and have a conference with the mayor without having an appointment, and he always had time to talk."

On Christmas Day 1983, during an unusually bitter cold spell, police found a man had frozen to death outside a downtown building. As soon as he heard it, Mr. Upchurch stopped his own Christmas Day observance with his family and came downtown to see what he could do.

Sadly, within months of retiring as mayor, Avery C. Upchurch was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus and died on June 30, 1994, at the age of 65.

It still gives me a sense of awe to think of how much time the former mayor spent in our home alongside other local politicians working to make things happen for his beloved city.

I am planning to frame a few of the newspaper clippings we found buried under the storage closet in our basement. I love the idea of having a small piece of our home’s history hanging on the wall. I am also excited to honor the man that gave so much of his life to serving the city of Raleigh and its residents.

Avery C. Upchurch will always have a place in our home, the house he loved so very much.