Historic 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 voter’s rejection last month of a bond package to rescue Greensboro’s stadium built as a memorial to World War veterans has sent those dedicated to saving the 80 year old monument scratching their heads. How can the city-owned structure be conserved and reused with little in the way of appropriated funds, especially in a tight economy. More…
DetailsIn 1957, twenty three young women from Greensboro’s Woman’s College (today UNCG) oversaw the construction of a house at 2207 North Elm Street. In the process, the students learned about load-bearing construction, material qualities, and the challenges posed by new, state-of-the-art technology such as dishwashers, garbage disposals, and aluminum wiring. In the American South in…
DetailsEnvision the adobe walls of Santa Fe, or the red brick and copper-clad townhouses of Boston, or the streamlined pastel hotels of Miami Beach. Each place features signature qualities that distinguish one city from the next. Just as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) serves as a unique building-block for living organisms, cities have recognizable components in the…
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…
DetailsBlandwood Mansion, located on West Washington Street in downtown Greensboro, will soon get an old house as a new neighbor. The old house (image, above) is owned by the Zenke family, long-time supporters of the restoration of Blandwood Mansion as a period museum and civic landmark. Henry and Virginia Zenke were pivotal in the 1960s…
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…
DetailsLast week, the question was asked “What buildings in GSO really damage the urban environment to the point that they should be replaced?” The question was sparked by an article in the New York Times by architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff who proposed knocking down structures that not only fail to bring citizens joy, they actually work to…
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…
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…
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