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…
High Point has quite a few notable textbook examples of residential architecture. The Wilson House at 425 Hillcrest Drive is a rendition of the landmark home known as Tudor Place in the Georgetown section of Washington DC. The Zollicoffer House at 1207 Johnson Street (image, right) studiously follows the design philosophy of Frank Lloyd Wright.…
In 1957, twenty three young women from Greensboro’s Woman’s College (today UNCG) oversaw the construction of a house at 2207 North Elm Street. In the process, the students learned about load-bearing construction, material qualities, and the challenges posed by new, state-of-the-art technology such as dishwashers, garbage disposals, and aluminum wiring. In the American South in…
The easy ones are the old ones, the grand ones, and the famous ones. The historic preservation movement has rarely been challenged in protecting superlative places. If it’s the oldest building in town, the grandest edifice, or if George Washington slept there, the preservation community receives the equivalent of a public opinion green light in…
High Point lost a leader in architectural design last Friday with the passing of Robert W. Conner, at the age of 93. Bob was a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where he was born on September 8, 1914. He grew up in Utica, New York, before attended Duke University, and later studied architecture at N.C. State…
When someone in Raleigh discovered that a friend of mine was involved in the Loewenstein Legacy project here in Greensboro in 2004, the Raleighite exclaimed “I hope Raleigh will be more like Greensboro one day!” In terms of appreciation of modern design, Greensboro has been at the head of the pack in North Carolina. Imagine…the…