Restore Explore Connect: The Secrets of Fisher Park

Fisher Park was established in 1901 with a donation of 14 acres of land by British Army Captain Basil J. Fisher to the city of Greensboro. This gift resulted in Greensboro’s first public park, but the financial insolvency of Fisher’s estate in 1905 opened a land rush unequaled prior to that time. The rush was initiated by a group white collar bankers, attorneys, and insurance executives who chose prime lots overlooking the park for their grand new residences. The result was a picturesque streetcar suburb, planned around a central park of woods and brooks, surrounded by comfortable houses of classical and colonial proportions.

Many of Greensboro’s earliest architects enjoyed commissions in Fisher Park, included but not limited to Will Armfield, W. L. Brewer, A. Raymond Ellis of Hartford, Richard Gambier, Charles Hartmann, J. H. Hopkins, Raleigh James Hughes, Harry J. Simmonds, and Frank Weston. Few cities in North Carolina showcase such a well-chronicled array of designers from such an early date.

Learn more about the architecture and history of Fisher Park through a presentation by architect James S. Collins. With offices in Greensboro and New York City, Collins has enjoyed several commissions for restorations and new construction in Old Irving Park, and has an eye for detail, materials, and proportion. Collins will be joined by Winston-Salem landscape architect Jeff Allen who will touch on trademark features of the neighborhood including the work of legendary designers Robert Cridland and John Nolen. Allen has enjoyed many commissions for new gardens in Greensboro with an extensive knowledge of historical and contemporary garden design.

This FREE illustrated lecture will be held in advance of Preservation Greensboro’s Tour of Historic Homes & Gardens, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, May 20 and 21, 2017.