An architectural style called Brutalism? Just what were they thinking? Without a trained eye, Brutalist buildings are aptly named. Hard concrete walls, minimal windows, harsh lines and a scarcity of decoration are hallmarks of the style. Greensboro has several notable examples of the style, including the Governmental Plaza (image, upper right), arguably the best example of…
DetailsOne of Greensboro’s most interesting historic houses is getting a major makeover. The William Fields House at 447 Arlington Street near Southside was constructed between 1875 and 1879 (image, right). The two-story brick structure was designed in the Gothic Revival style of architecture, an unusual theme in the American South where steep-pitched roofs and narrow…
DetailsI have never heard someone from Charlotte say “I went to Greensboro the other day and their roller coasters are so cool.” I have never heard someone from Raleigh say “I was in Greensboro yesterday and the mall there is so cool.” I have heard people from both cities (and others) say “I was in…
DetailsThe year 2009 is turning out to be a notable year – in demolitions for downtown Greensboro. A few months ago, a two-story Queen Anne-style house was destroyed on Blandwood Avenue. On Easter weekend, the 110-year old Love House on Smith Street in Fisher Park was lost. Today, the old offices for Big Brothers Big Sisters…
DetailsThe North State Milling Company at 816 South Elm Street is an excellent example of an early twentieth-century industrial site. The company was founded in 1912 and manufactured plain and self-rising corn meal and flour, hen scratch, bran, and feed for livestock. Grain was brought to the site by truck and by rail where it…
DetailsAny building with the scale, history, and gravitas of the L. Richardson Preyer Federal Building on Market Street has a few stories to tell. With a recent Insider Tour sponsored by Preservation Greensboro, a few interesting secrets long forgotten were revealed about the stature and past of the building. Architectural historians consider the structure to…
DetailsTraipse the woods and old fields of the Carolina Piedmont in the month of March, and you will likely discover a lonesome cluster of daffodils randomly sited off the path. Those who work with historic buildings in the region recognize these flowers as reliable signs of settlement that might stretch 100 years or more into…
DetailsGovernor John Motley Morehead, whose home Blandwood is operated by Preservation Greensboro as a museum, would be pleased. North Carolina’s restored and historic railway stations, like ours here in Greensboro (image, right), might soon be getting a workout. With $8 billion of the recent Federal stimulus package reserved for the development of intercity high-speed rail service, our state’s prior investment in passenger rail service has positioned…
DetailsThrough an unprecedented public-private partnership in preservation, a pair of historic houses in downtown Greensboro might avoid destruction and find suitable new homes that will enrich two of Greensboro’s most historic neighborhoods. The joint effort of the City of Greensboro (Department of Housing & Community Development); the Preservation Greensboro Development Fund, Inc.; Greensboro College; the College…
DetailsA celebrated Greensboro residence in the Fisher Park neighborhood has been resurrected and recognized as an official county landmark. The Greensboro City Council has approved Guilford County Landmark designation for the 85-year-old C. P. Carmichael House at 314 Isabel Street in Fisher Park. The home was nearly lost to a disastrous fire in 2004, but…
DetailsThe Big Dig at Blandwood, part of the city’s Bicentennial celebrations, began today. The project seeks to explore the hidden history of Blandwood, the eighteenth century residence in downtown Greensboro that has housed early settlers, industrialists, and even a North Carolina governor. The dig is funded through the History Committee of the 2008 Greensboro Bicentennial…
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. The designation also recognized the history of Guilford County’s Germanic heritage. Many Americans…
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