Featuring more than 400 photographs and 30 maps, the guide is organized by counties, which are grouped geographically. Sections typically begin with the county seat and work outward with concise entries that treat notable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. The text highlights key architectural features and trends and relates buildings to the local and regional histories they represent.
A project of the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office of the Division of Archives and History, the book reflects more than twenty-five years of fieldwork and research in the agency's statewide architectural survey and National Register of Historic Places programs. Two future volumes will cover western and piedmont North Carolina.