The landmark house on Gorrell Street is most notable today as the Magnolia House Motel, a Green Book-era accommodation with deep roots in Greensboro’s Black community. Beyond its legendary hospitality, the Magnolia House has been witness to Civil Rights history, political history, and a growing celebration of Black history. The house itself was built in…
Historic preservation has served a central role in American history, and over the past 30 years, it held an increasingly relevant role in preserving sites of Black history in Greensboro. Non-profit and non-governmental organizations such as Preservation Greensboro can help to develop approaches to social equity and advocate for public and private funding to raise…
East Greensboro is a constellation of neighborhoods, many with a spectrum of African American connections. However, the heart of East Greensboro is within a triangle of seminal institutions including North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Bennett College, and Dudley High School. These institutions define a community that led North Carolina through the Civil Rights…
At its 54th Annual Meeting, Preservation Greensboro celebrated highlights of the past year by spotlighting ten activities that epitomize our organization’s coolest projects. 1. Preservation Strategic Planning In 2019, Preservation Greensboro provided strategic support to community partners seeking assistance in preservation. The past year included a partnership with the East White Oak School, a fascinating…
Once nearly forgotten, the childhood home of jazz legend John Coltrane is slated for preservation and extended new use as an historic site. John William Coltrane was born in 1926 to Alice Gertrude Blair and her husband John Robert Coltrane in Hamlet, North Carolina. The young family remained in Hamlet only two months before moving…
The Treasured Places Watch List is an advocacy and education program of Preservation Greensboro that promotes historic places with community partners with the goal of developing preservation strategies. Recognition to the Watch List is not legally binding nor is the program considered to be a shame campaign. Instead, the list is composed of properties that…
Most 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…
The Booker-Benton House is a rare surviving structure built by an African American family at the height of the Jim Crow Era, in the midst of the historically white College Hill neighborhood. The early history of the house centers on Julia Booker and her daughters Mattie and Louie. Julia Forney Booker was born around 1866,…
The First Baptist Church and the Kilby Hotel are cornerstones of the East Washington Street National Historic District, and their loss may not only threaten the historic designation of the neighborhood and related tax credits, but reveals a dysfunction in a community frequently cited for its can-do spirit. Like the Samuel E. Burford Auditorium on…