Published in 1972 from survey work completed in 1968, “Raleigh West” captures North Carolina’s capital at a revealing moment in its late twentieth-century transformation. Produced by the United States Geological Survey at the precise 1:24,000 scale, the map presents Raleigh not as an abstract civic symbol, but as a living landscape of streets, creeks, campuses, parks, railways, and expanding neighborhoods. The distinctive pink urban tint spreads across the city’s developed areas, contrasting with the green of parkland and the fine brown contour lines that describe the Piedmont’s rolling relief. It is a portrait of a Southern capital in motion, balancing older radial routes and rail corridors with new suburban growth pressing outward from the historic core.

The USGS was uniquely suited to make such a map: its quadrangles were designed for accuracy, utility, and a disciplined visual clarity that has made them enduring documents of American geography. Here, the agency’s cartographic language is both technical and elegant. Contour lines trace the subtle undulations around Raleigh’s stream valleys, while roads, institutional grounds, water features, and wooded areas are carefully distinguished through color and symbol. The result is a richly layered topographic record, one that rewards close reading. Raleigh’s terrain is not mountainous, but the map reveals the importance of small elevation changes, drainage patterns, and transportation corridors in shaping where people built, studied, traveled, and gathered.

Raleigh itself appears as a city organized by its major arteries: Hillsborough Street stretching westward past North Carolina State University and Meredith College, New Bern Avenue leading east from the center, Glenwood Avenue angling toward the northwest, and Capital Boulevard asserting the infrastructure of a growing metropolitan region. Western Boulevard and South Saunders Street hint at industrial and commuter patterns, while Person Street and East Maynard Street help define the more intricate urban fabric. Cameron Village, one of the region’s influential mid-century shopping and residential developments, appears within this matrix of postwar change. The map quietly documents the automobile age reshaping Raleigh’s everyday geography.

Waterways and green spaces give the sheet much of its character. Crabtree Creek and its tributaries cut across the landscape, their valleys shaping road alignments and pockets of settlement. Lake Johnson, west of the city, appears as an important recreational and hydrological feature, while Pullen Park marks one of Raleigh’s cherished civic landscapes near the university district. To the northwest, William B. Umstead State Park forms a broad preserved expanse, a striking contrast to the surrounding urban and suburban development. The Neuse River system and the broader Piedmont drainage network remind the viewer that Raleigh’s growth has always been conditioned by water, slope, and woodland.

As a historical document, “Raleigh West” is especially compelling because it records the city before the full metropolitan acceleration of the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The map preserves a Raleigh of established rail lines, expanding campuses, emerging commercial corridors, and still-visible rural margins. It shows how infrastructure connected neighborhoods to state government, higher education, recreation, and regional commerce, while also revealing the physical limits imposed by creeks, lakes, and parkland. For anyone interested in Raleigh, North Carolina urbanism, or the cartographic art of the USGS, this map offers a finely observed snapshot of place: measured, understated, and rich with the evidence of change.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Raleigh, NC
• Lake Johnson
• Pullen Park
• William B. Umstead State Park
• Neuse River
• Crabtree Creek
• Haw River
• Hillsborough Street
• New Bern Avenue
• Western Boulevard
• Glenwood Avenue
• Capital Boulevard
• Cameron Village
• South Saunders Street
• Person Street
• East Maynard Street
• North Carolina State University
• Meredith College
• Multiple railways and roadways throughout the area

Historical context & cartographic details

• Map title: Raleigh West
• Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of Raleigh, North Carolina and the surrounding area.
• Created in 1968 and published with a 1972 imprint.
• Shows key features and infrastructure of Raleigh during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
• Features colorful shaded relief and contour lines to represent terrain and elevation.
• Pink shading likely indicates urban areas or developed land.
• Depicts hills, valleys, water bodies, and other geographic features characteristic of the Raleigh region.
• Reflects Raleigh’s late twentieth-century urban development and expansion.
• Uses colors to denote land uses and elevation changes, providing a comprehensive view of the area’s terrain and built environment.

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.