New investigations made possible by digitized media and web resources such as newspapers.com have revised the historical record of three buildings along South Elm Street. These revelations have uncovered historical narratives that have been long forgotten but now can be used to enhance more appreciation of downtown Greensboro’s historical built environment. Much of our knowledge…
DetailsThe Sellars House at 917 North Elm Street in the Fisher Park neighborhood is among Greensboro’s best examples of Craftsman architecture. It stands along a section of North Elm Street once reckoned to be Greensboro’s Gold Coast, and also features an interesting link to African American heritage. The house was built in 1913-14 for Carl…
DetailsA concerned citizen notified Preservation Greensboro staff that a demolition permit had been issued on May 3 for the former Christian Advocate Publishing Company Building (now owned by an entity controlled by Greensboro’s Masonic Temple) at 429 W. Friendly Avenue downtown. This discovery set into a motion a frantic rush to avert demolition of the…
Details“Fisher Park was the first Greensboro suburb planned and developed around a park and one of the earliest park suburbs in North Carolina.” – Marvin Brown, 1991 Captain Basil John Fisher was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1851. Little is known of his life before his military career. He was a member of the 5th…
DetailsHillside sits at the head of the table that is Fisher Park at 301 Fisher Park Circle. Begun in 1928 and completed in the spring of 1929, the sprawling residence evokes a rambling English Tudor manor. The house is among a group of Greensboro houses that express the craftsmanship, design talent, and vast wealth that…
DetailsThe Minnie Lyon and Frank Leak house at 909 North Elm Street was built in 1913, and was designed by one of Greensboro’s esteemed architects, J.H. Hopkins. It has been vacant and a victim of neglect for the past ten years. It is more memorable to some for the temporary supports that buttress the front…
DetailsWhether it’s the “Three Bears’ House” or “Cinderella’s House,” people who know the Thompson House at 1101 Virginia Street are enchanted by its fanciful Old World style. It stands today as a well-preserved example of Period Revival architecture in the neighborhood. In October 1917, the Greensboro Daily News reported, “Mr. and Mrs. R.L. Thompson have…
DetailsStanding prominently on its hilltop lot, the Julius R. Pitts House at 114 West Bessemer Avenue is a classic example of Colonial Revival architecture. In March 1927, the Greensboro Daily News reported, “J.R. Pitts will build a $19,000 residence on the northeast corner of Bessemer Avenue and Carolina Street. The house will have nine rooms…
DetailsSlated for demolition as recently as 2010, the Sweeney-Penn House at 910 Magnolia Street was completely restored by its current owners. Today, it is an exceptional example of Craftsman architecture, emblematic of the rehabilitation that continues in Fisher Park. Margaret (Madge) and William LeRoy (Roy) Sweeney were natives of Nashville, Tennessee. The couple married in…
DetailsLocated at 429 West Friendly Avenue in downtown Greensboro, the Christian Advocate Publishing Company Building was among the earliest structures downtown recognized for significance in the city’s first historic architectural survey of 1976. Architectural Historian Ruth Little-Stokes wrote of the building in the survey “2-story brick commercial building with masonry main façade of dramatic Egyptian…
DetailsA grand Colonial Revival residence at 200 Fisher Park Circle, this house was built around 1913 for Mamie and Edgar D. Broadhurst, a justice of the peace and superintendent of public schools. Broadhurst began construction of his home overlooking Fisher Park as early as 1912 when he and several others petitioned the city to extend…
DetailsThe residence at 104 Fisher Park Circle is among the earliest in Greensboro to exemplify Craftsman architecture. The Craftsman “Bungalow” style began in Southern California, where South Asian and East Asian features were blended to create an exotic and innovative style well suited to sunny climes. In April 1913 The Greensboro Patriot announced, “Mr. and…
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