For most of the twentieth-century, Greensboro was one of the region’s economic power-centers, fueled by three highly profitable manufacturing sectors: textiles, tobacco, and machinery. Corporate names such as Cone Mills, Lorillard Tobacco, and Carolina Steel were synonymous with the Gate City, and Greensboro grew as employment in the three sectors swelled. As recently as 1980,…
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…
DetailsThe fantasy of the theater was blended with the reality of history this past weekend at Blandwood Mansion, where five intrepid and talented actors portrayed members of the Morehead’s extended family as part of Greensboro’s Bicentennial Heritage Festival. Over 200 visitors were able to get a glimpse of the lives of the Morehead’s on the…
DetailsFuture-Perfect-in-Past-Tense grammatical terms were once the topic of discussion in the classrooms of Warnersville’s J. C. Price Elementary School, but today, the term describes a new direction planned by residents of the historically black neighborhood. Warnersville’s roots are deeply planted in Greensboro’s soil. Yardley Warner, for whom the settlement was named, was a Quaker missionary…
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…
DetailsIn the economic devastation that followed the Civil War, Greensborough’s reputation as a city of comfortable hotel accommodations was badly bruised. Earlier fine hotels such as the Southern Hotel on West Street and the Planter Hotel on East Street were becoming worn and did not meet the improved standards set by wealthy northern industrial and…
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…
DetailsFor those driving on Friendly Avenue in west Greensboro, it is clear that work is underway on one of Greensboro’s most highly anticipated restoration projects. Recent insights on the history of the Albright House have been confirmed by the removal of aluminum siding and interior plaster – part of the scope of work currently being…
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…
DetailsOften undervalued, an East Market Street building that reminds us of the early auto era is a step closer to listing on the National Register. The Carolina Cadillac Company building, located at 304 E. Market St., passed an important mile marker in the drive to earn a place on the National Register of Historic Places.…
DetailsBefore there was a Center City Park, before there was a Lindley Park, and even before there was an Irving Park, Fisher Park reigned as Greensboro’s premiere civic open space. It’s true that one of the secrets of Fisher Park is that it is the geographic center of Guilford County. This point featured prominently in…
DetailsThe Junior League of Greensboro may have a real treasure on their hands! Named to Preservation Greensboro’s inaugural Treasured Places Watch List in 2005, the Albright House has kept its history close to its vest. Drive-by estimates of age dated the two-story frame residence with a notable two-story portico overlooking West Friendly Avenue to the…
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