Joseph Marvin Hunt was born in Kernersville and was founder of the Hunt Brothers Plumbing and Heating Company. In 1902 he married Pattie Kirkman of Walker Avenue, and the couple began a family of five, including Joseph Marvin Jr., Kenneth, Eleanor, Ruth Adalaide, and Barbara. The Hunts ercted this eye-catching house at 810 Willowbrook Drive…
DetailsThe western quadrant of Greensboro grew quickly in the late nineteenth century. Residential and commercial growth followed jobs spurred by prime industrial sites adjacent to the North Carolina Railroad and thoroughfares with access to Jamestown and High Point. In 1893, the state established the State Normal and Industrial School (today UNCG) in the area, representing…
DetailsMost in Greensboro celebrate the fact that North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (A&T) is the largest historically black university in the nation, and most recognize it is a well-regarded public land grant university for research in areas of engineering, biomedical engineering, and technology. Fewer people realize that A&T’s campus is composed of a…
DetailsPreservation Greensboro held its 53rd Annual Meeting last evening at the Colonnade at Revolution Mill with 140 attendees. Accomplishments of the previous year were reviewed, along with preservation awards, and a keynote presentation by architect Eddie Belk. The gathering also served as the annual business meeting for the organization as new directors and officers were…
DetailsThe Gate City and the Motor City enjoy some similarities in terms of history and architecture. Today, the Gate City might benefit from a few lessons to learn from Detroit as it reinvents itself using its Twentieth-century industrial heritage. The Motor City is legendary as a manufacturing center. In the 1890s the city was known…
DetailsHistoric designations and related protections can be a confusing stew of terms that in some ways defy logic. For example, how can a locally recognized landmark property be more protected than a National Register property? Though much has been written about our historic preservation toolbox, a simple way to review options for saving properties in Greensboro is…
DetailsAdamsleigh, the sprawling mansion built in 1929 by textile magnate John Hampton Adams, was sold on November 7th. The Tudor-style estate in Sedgefield will celebrate its 90th anniversary in 2019, but the fate of the house will be decided by its new owners. Architect Luther Lashmit designed Greensboro’s grandest estate located at 3301 Alamance Road…
DetailsAnn Eliza Lindsay Morehead is better known by her married name, Mrs. John Motley Morehead. Morehead was the first North Carolina governor to serve two terms, and remains a high-profile figure in state history. However, his somewhat elusive wife led a fascinating life that in ways exceeded her husband’s in associations with Guilford County history,…
DetailsThe third of a three-part series reviewing the history of apartment housing in Greensboro. By 1940, Greensboro was evolving from a small city to a regional industrial and insurance center by experiencing dramatic increase in population – surging from 10,035 in 1900 to 59,319 in 1940. In growing into the 3rd largest municipality in North…
DetailsThe second of a three-part series reviewing the history of apartment housing in Greensboro. The completion of the Vick Apartments on East Fisher Avenue in 1919 – the first exclusively residential apartment building in the city – proved the market for non-single family housing was strong. A flurry of other apartment houses followed, including the…
DetailsThe first of a three-part series reviewing the history of apartment housing in Greensboro. As a county seat and college town during the nineteenth century, Greensboro saw little need historically for multi-family apartments. That began to change as the city attained great wealth through insurance, chemicals, and textiles, growing to become the fourth largest city…
DetailsGreensboro’s earliest buildings rarely soared to dizzying heights due to low market demand and frugal financial capital. Traditional building materials such as wood and brick generally limited construction height to three stories, except for an occasional courthouse cupola or church spire. Early images of Greensboro’s skyline show structures peeking around treetops, with rare architectural features…
Details
