High Point has quite a few notable textbook examples of residential architecture. The Wilson House at 425 Hillcrest Drive is a rendition of the landmark home known as Tudor Place in the Georgetown section of Washington DC. The Zollicoffer House at 1207 Johnson Street (image, right) studiously follows the design philosophy of Frank Lloyd Wright.…
DetailsThe North State Milling Company at 816 South Elm Street is an excellent example of an early twentieth-century industrial site. The company was founded in 1912 and manufactured plain and self-rising corn meal and flour, hen scratch, bran, and feed for livestock. Grain was brought to the site by truck and by rail where it…
DetailsAny building with the scale, history, and gravitas of the L. Richardson Preyer Federal Building on Market Street has a few stories to tell. With a recent Insider Tour sponsored by Preservation Greensboro, a few interesting secrets long forgotten were revealed about the stature and past of the building. Architectural historians consider the structure to…
DetailsSally Quinn’s heartfelt essay about her foray into historic preservation reminds us of the value of place, history, and authenticity. Her East Hampton, New York home, Grey Gardens, is the setting of a recent HBO film about the life of its previous inhabitants…inspired by a now-cultish classic documentary from 1975. “The first thing the contractor said was, “It…
DetailsHistoric districts are not museums. Buildings rise and (tragically) fall, streets get paved and restriped, sidewalks are refitted to correct cracks, and trees are removed when they die. Historic preservation, as we know, is less about the past and is all about the future. For historic districts, context is important. The materials in which buildings…
DetailsGreensboro’s proposed International Civil Rights Museum (originally F. W. Woolworth’s) located at 132 South Elm Street was constructed in 1929 according to plans drawn by architect Charles C. Hartmann. The two-story structure is carefully tailored and detailed by Hartmann, who earned a distinguished reputation in the Gate City by having designed such notable structures as…
DetailsThe Clegg Building was constructed in 1904 to designs by architect Frank A. Weston. Weston relocated his firm from Denver, Colorado to Greensboro under the expectation of a Gate City building boom, and the Clegg Building is one of many structures in the city by his hand. The two-story building at 123 South Elm Street…
DetailsThe adage “a stitch in time saves nine” is in reference to good management. A little preparation ahead of a project will likely avoid costly efforts resulting from a rush. Such is the case with the careful restoration ongoing at the Greensboro Historical Museum at 130 Summit Avenue, which will soon gain a management plan…
DetailsGreensboro’s architecture will enjoy the spotlight this week as the Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians gathers in the Gate City for its annual meeting. Attendees will discuss diverse topics related to architecture and history, and enjoy some of Greensboro’s treasured places along the way. Appropriate to Greensboro’s unique sensibility of its own…
DetailsThe Junior League of Greensboro held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the recently restored Historic Albright House at 3101 West Friendly Avenue. With the snip of scissors, the charitable organization became its own landlord, and owner of one of North Carolina’s most distinctive Junior League headquarters. The League itself is historic, incorporated in 1926 as…
DetailsThe Green Hill Gatekeeper’s Cottage, located on a triangle of land between West Fisher Avenue, Wharton Street, and Battleground Avenue is known for its frilly trim and high-pitched roofline. It makes a distinctive architectural statement to hundreds of daily northbound commuters. The future owner, John Lomax, will close on the property in late October. One of…
DetailsThe Senior Trainer for the organization Partners for Sacred Places, Sarah Peveler, visited Greensboro on Thursday for a familiarization tour of the Gate City’s religious sanctuaries. The visit was by request of Preservation Greensboro as part of a community-wide effort to facilitate local congregation’s efforts to manage and preserve their historic sites. Partners for Sacred…
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