South of the railroad tracks are a variety of shops, galleries, and restaurants that were constructed beginning in the 1870s by Joseph Shields. Named Shieldstown, the structures overlooking South Elm Street featured brick storefronts sporting ornate iron- and stone-trimmed facades, and elaborate cornices. Today, the neighborhood and adjacent areas are a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood that…
Traces of nineteenth-century history linger on the edges of the Summit Avenue neighborhood (recently renamed Dunleath), but the greatest architectural legacy dates from the early twentieth-century. In 1898, industrialist siblings Ceasar and Moses Cone constructed a “magnificent boulevard” to ease transportation between their cotton and denim mills and the city center. Named “Summit Avenue” for…
Fisher Park was the first Greensboro suburb planned and developed around a park and one of the earliest park suburbs in North Carolina. British Army Captain Basil J. Fisher re-imaged a swamp and garbage dump into Greensboro’s most fashionable Gilded Era address in 1901 when he donated the lowlands for the city’s first park that…
College Hill has the distinction of being Greensboro’s best-preserved nineteenth century neighborhood. The narrow streets lined with Queen Anne cottages and charming bungalows are enhanced by offbeat boutiques and eateries that cater to a hipster clientele from nearby colleges. Packed with history and centrally located, College Hill blends quaint architecture with amenities to create one…
When it opened on Westover Terrace in 1929, the Greensboro Senior High School was heralded as the city’s $1,000,000 high school. It was built at the culmination of a wave of school construction across the city that represented community commitment to education. The new high school was the most expensive asset in the city’s school…
In 1922, developer A. K. Moore acquired a 212-acre tract of land with a unique location in Greensboro. The land was located at the western terminus of Market Street – the city’s primary east-west thoroughfare that provided an axis and direct access to the center of the city. In contrast to the man-made east-west axis…
Since its establishment as a primary and secondary school in 1873, Bennett College has grown to one of the most important Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in North Carolina. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it was one of the few schools in the city that provided education beyond the primary grades…
Beginning with the magnificent neoclassical Double Oaks Bed & Breakfast at 204 North Mendenhall Street, this tour will weave the history of Westerwood from the late nineteenth century to the present. Built on a hill just a west of Greensboro’s village center, the area was first developed in the 1890s as the home of B.…
As Greensboro grew to become the second largest city in North Carolina by 1970, the city gained affluence through income from textiles, cigarettes, electronics, banking, and insurance. Wealth and prosperity led to corporate confidence which translated into progressive designs that drew from global conversations on architecture. For the decades between 1930 and 1980, Greensboro was recognized…
Announced in 1914, West Market Terrace was developed by Greensboro realtor E. Colwell Jr. Encouraged by sales in the Fisher Park neighborhood, this new subdivision included 200 building lots with amenities such as broad concrete sidewalks, and “utility lanes” behind properties to preserve streetside aesthetics. Sixty lots were sold in 14 days, but development was…
This walking tour has been postponed to an undetermined date. South of the railroad tracks are a variety of shops, galleries, and restaurants that were constructed beginning in the 1870s by Joseph Shields. Named Shieldstown, the structures overlooking South Elm Street featured brick storefronts sporting ornate iron- and stone-trimmed facades, and elaborate cornices. Today, the…
This walking tour has been postponed to an undetermined date. Traces of nineteenth-century history linger on the edges of the Summit Avenue neighborhood (recently renamed Dunleath), but the greatest architectural legacy dates from the early twentieth-century. In 1898, industrialist siblings Ceasar and Moses Cone constructed a “magnificent boulevard” to ease transportation between their cotton and…