Everything old may very well be new again if this summer’s trends in skyrocketing gas prices forcing us to rethink the design of Greensboro’s neighborhoods. For the first time in a generation, concerns related to convenience and proximity of our home to work and school take on increased significance and urgency and compel residents to…
DetailsLast evening, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners approved the designation of the Ludwick Summers House at 6420 Woellner’s Way near Gibsonville as a Guilford County Landmark property. Chairman Kirk Perkins presented a commemorative plaque to property owner Dr. Stanley Corbin upon approval. As early as 1748, “Deutsch” families moved to present-day Guilford and Alamance counties…
DetailsAfter years of work, High Point has a publication dedicated to the architectural history of the city. In efforts of transparency and full-disclosure, I am its author. I will receive no financial benefit in the sale of the book. The publication entitled “The Architecture of High Point, North Carolina” hit shelves in High Point last…
DetailsMasons have had a presence in Greensboro since shortly after the city’s founding, but few know about the history and architecture behind the façade of the fraternal organization’s impressive Temple at 426 West Market Street. The Masons that call this Temple home have deep roots in our community, having been chartered on March 1, 1821…
DetailsLong before Kirkwood became a neighborhood of tidy post-War housing, the area featured scattered semi-rural farms and estates with notable homes and varied recreation areas. Development of neighborhoods north of Cornwallis Drive began during the roaring 20s, and spurred by the success of Irving Park to the south. One by one, small family farms were…
DetailsCan we give new meaning to the name Greensboro? In April, Preservation Greensboro will host the National Preservation Institute’s workshop on combining efforts of green design with historic preservation. The session, entitled “Green Strategies for Historic Buildings” will be led by Boston architect Jean Carroon, AIA, LEED, principal of preservation at Goody Clancy. The April…
DetailsWhen constructed in 1844 -1846, A. J. Davis’s charmingly Spartan façade for Blandwood was groundbreaking not only for North Carolina, but for the United States. Researchers long ago established that Blandwood was among the earliest, if not the earliest, residence designed in the Tuscan style (there was no Italy in 1844 – Tuscany was a…
DetailsArchitecture enthusiasts have observed for some time that Greensboro’s progressive design prowess reveals itself in fits and starts. Periodically the avant-garde of North Carolina architecture (exemplified by A. J. Davis’s Blandwood 1844, Walter Gropius’s East Market Street Factory of 1944, and Odell Associates Burlington Industries Headquarters 1972 [destroyed]), some would opine that Greensboro has fallen…
DetailsThe answer to the title of this article depends on how you ask the question. Greensboro has been around for almost 200 years, and in that time houses have been modified, restored…and often have changed uses. Early preservation efforts resulted in the creation of museums, or involved relocation of buildings in order to preserve them.…
DetailsBlair Kamin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic for the Chicago Tribune, made many key points last month during his visit to the Gate City to challenge our thinking of architecture and urban design. Architecture matters to Greensboro’s citizens in many ways, both in defining our day-to-day lives, as well as the perceptions others have our…
DetailsIf you want a chance to peek into one of High Point’s classical homes, you will have a special opportunity on Saturday. The Junior League of High Point has just completed renovations to the Briles House on North Main Street in time for its 100th birthday. The neoclassical-style house is now the home of the…
DetailsOuch, that hurts. Greensboro fared poorly on two recently published lists by the American Institute of Architects of North Carolina ranking North Carolina’s Favorite Architecture (List A was solicited from the general public, list B was drawn from AIA members). Our beloved Jefferson Standard Building was the only mention, coming in at number 22 of…
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