From time to time, historic places can find reinvention through adaptive reuse that extends their utility into new capacities. Greensboro’s Cultural Center is an excellent example of this “new wine in an old bottle” model of community conservation. Formerly the home of the Greensboro Daily News at 200 North Davie Street, the reincarnated building rivals the…
The Katherine and Sidney J. Stern House at 1804 Nottingham Road was built around 1955-56 to designs drawn by Edward Loewenstein. One of Greensboro’s best examples of Mid-Century Modern architecture, the house features a butterfly roofline, large windows to admit natural light, Pecky Cypress siding, and hand-made brick. Katherine and Sidney Stern chose Loewenstein to…
Greensboro is best known – in architectural circles – for its flagship Italian Villa-style Blandwood Mansion, its signature Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Skyscraper, and its Art Deco-style Kress and Woolworth (International Civil Rights Center & Museum) buildings. However, to fans of modern architecture, Greensboro might represent a high-water mark in the region for its collection…
“Less is More” is the well-known edict of the German design school Bauhaus, and Walter Gropius was Bauhaus’s founder. In Greensboro, one building is attributed to the world famous designer that helped introduce modernist design principles to the American public. A native of Berlin, Gropius was an architect and art educator who founded the Bauhaus…
Among the homes of Hamilton Lakes, the Howard House at 3905 Henderson Road stands as an eye-catching example of Mid-Century Modernism. Built for Diane (1929-2009) and Will (1927-1996) Howard in 1955, the house has been substantially reconstructed in 2014-15 in order to address long-term challenges related to materials, drainage, and sustainability. It retains its original H-shaped…
The Mary and Norman Jarrard Residence at 616 East Lake Drive is one of Westerwood’s best exapmples of Mid-Century Modern Architecture. This unique home was built in 1969 for Mary and Norman E. Jarrard, an English professor at nearby A&T and Greensboro College. The home was designed by Jarrard himself, as inspired by his favorite designs…
Mid-Century modern design continues to make a solid comeback in Greensboro with the recently announced restoration of the Diane and Will Howard House on Henderson Road in Hamilton Lakes. The Mid-Century style was named for its period of influence in the mid-twentieth century, and represents an architectural movement to rethink traditional designs based on classical…
In 1955, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce launched a program entitled “Keep Greensboro Ahead”, which was intended to ensure that Greensboro remained an industrial and manufacturing powerhouse in North Carolina. The city was second only to Charlotte in population at the time and suburbs were expanding north and west of the city, fueled by new…
At first blush, the Mid-Century Modern-style Pickett house stands in contrast to the Colonial and Neoclassical-style homes in the neighborhood, but look beyond the simple lines and low-pitched roof to see how the large windows and exposed woodwork make this home a part of the Fisher Park family. Mary Thelma and William Earle Pickett likely…
City Council reversed the Zoning Commission’s approval to rezone property near the corner of North Elm and Cornwallis Drive to allow for condos, but questions linger over the future of the Commencement House, an historic property of modern design and historic significance. The rezoning request for the property would have cleared the way for two…
Recently, preservationists and neighbors close to the historic Commencement House at 2207 North Elm Street learned that a rezoning request had been filed for four properties along Elm Street and Cornwallis Drive. Real estate developer John Stratton anticipates requesting the property to be rezoned to CD-RS12 and removing all the homes on the properties, including…
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…