Greensboro's Treasured Places

Irving Park Looks to its Future

Is Irving Park to remain a neighborhood of lawns shaded by mature trees and classical homes with unusual architectural detail, or will it simply evolve into a collection of newly built McMansions attached to prestigious street addresses?

This is the question that will be discussed by Irving Park residents on Thursday evening, November 1st at 7:00 pm, First Presbyterian Church on North Elm Street.

One tool that is available for Irving Park residents to guide change in their neighborhood is the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay district, or NCO.
Use of the NCO was recently approved by City Council, and its use is being explored by a number of neighborhoods across Greensboro.

In Irving Park, a major concern seems to revolve around the practice of “teardowns” or the purchase of smaller homes and large lots that are scraped clear of structures and vegetation, to be replaced by new construction that often maximizes the lot (right). This often results in large residences, or multiple residences, that sit very close to neighboring property lines and appear out of scale compared to established houses.

According to the National Trust for Historic Places, teardowns can have a strongly negative impact on neighborhood property values. Throughout the nation, teardowns often destroy older homes that are part of a community’s character; the very character that drew residents to the neighborhood in the first place.

But teardowns can go further than destroying visual charm and character, as seen in this 1920s postcard of the neighborhood (lower right). Long-time Irving Park residents know that its diverse scale of house-size encourages a range of residents enjoying different chapters of their lives. Newlyweds need starter homes, then move to a larger house to raise a family, and return to a smaller home after retirement. Irving Park historically contained this full range of housing scales, but recent destruction of smaller homes is reducing that choice. Many new houses tip the scales at the larger side of the spectrum.

Teardowns can also result in negative economic impacts. Some real estate agents observe that properties purchased as teardown candidates are valued only for their land. Under normal circumstances, the value of the land is in addition to the value of a house and other improvements. Once the value of an old house is perceived to be less than that of the land it is built on, the house’s days are probably numbered.

For the Irving Park neighborhood, this information session will provide an opportunity for city staff to answer general questions planning tools such as NCO’s, including the process for creating an NCO district, possible areas of coverage, and the neighborhood’s ability to define and customize the guidelines for change. NCO’s are clearly not historic districts that focus on historic details; rather, the overlay district could help guide new construction projects throughout Irving Park such as additions, infill on unbuilt land, as well as teardowns. The future appearance of Irving Park is in the hands of its residents.

For more information on NCO’s, you may visit the city’s website.

Spooky Spots in Downtown Greensboro

We are an old city full of old places, and old places often feature ghosts. With Halloween on our minds this week, I have been asked to give the inside scoop on some of downtown Greensboro’s spooky spots.

First Presbyterian Burial Ground
One of downtown Greensboro’s eeriest spots is the First Presbyterian Burial Ground behind the Greensboro Historical Museum. The cemetery has a remarkable collection of funerary art that spans a period of American ranging from the utilitarian stones marked by the angel of death to deeply symbolic stones that depict the tragedy of life. In this single cemetery, stones typical of the colonial period, the romantic period, and the twentieth century can be seen within four acres.

Symbolism runs rampant in this cemetery; a virtual smorgasbord of Victorian Era dogma related to death. The autumn issue of Preservation Greensboro’s membership magazine Landmarks (above right) reviews this symbolism, ranging from the depiction of animals (lambs and birds) to hands, books, scrolls, flowers, urns, and even butterflies. Though a cemetery might not be your idea of a great hangout for an afternoon of fun, exploring the sculpture of this burial ground could keep you entertained for hours.

Blandwood Mansion
The former Governor’s home on West Washington Street is another famous haunt. Serving as Preservation Greensboro’s main office, the mansion has its share of unexplained occurrences. No, its nothing horrifying…but there are certainly footsteps in the halls, and occasional missing items such as pens and paperclips that are definitely there one minute, and gone the next…only to reappear moments later. The footsteps are those of a man, and he has yet to be identified. The playful games of hide and seek are often attributed to Letitia, the eldest daughter of John and Ann Eliza Morehead and Lady of the House during the Civil War. Blandwood is a fine old house, and we love our resident ghosts(s)!

Center Pointe
An interesting chapter of Greensboro’s history was unearthed by Greensboro News and Record writer Jim Schlosser, who wrote about Greensboro’s last execution on Halloween in 2005. According the Schlosser, a series of executions were held inside the Guilford County jail, beginning in the 1890s. Schlosser’s research found that Guilford's last jailhouse execution in 1907 was that of a black man, Frank Bohannon. Hangings were public spectacles in those days, and incited morbid curiosity as hundreds of onlookers who would gather outside the jail to be close to the execution. After 1907, executions were held in Raleigh in Central Prison. You can read more about this story here. The county jail was located on the land northwest North Elm Street and West Friendly Avenue, at the present location of Center Pointe condos project.

The Southern Railway Depot
The last spooky spot in downtown Greensboro is featured on a Youtube video posted in July. The premise of the video is that the Depot is cursed by ghosts, shadows, and unexplained events. Especially effective are the personal accounts of experiences with the hauntings, coupled with recordings of a ghostly voice. If you find yourself visiting the depot, don’t worry, the video is fictitious and done in the spirit of fun.

.

Other stories are profiled in this week’s issue of 99 Blocks Magazine, including tales of the Carolina Theater and McCoul’s Public House. Ghost stories are important to us all because they blend folklore, literature, culture, architecture, and drama. Stories document our shared community history, and provide depth and dimension to the community we call home. Maybe someone needs to sit down and document all these great ghost stories for the future. Future publication idea?

Take a Colorful Weekend Tour

Are you one of those folks who enjoy taking historic architecture tours of cities you visit, but know little of your own hometown?

If you are, a few seats remain available on the architectural coach tour offered through PGI this weekend. The coach tour will focus on the colorful Victorian architecture of the Gate City, reviewing examples of the style in Southside, College Hill, Aycock, and Fisher Park.

Greensboro grew from a courthouse-market town to a transportation center during the Victorian period, and the city has a fine collection of Victorian architecture to show for it! Tour guide Benjamin Briggs will demonstrate examples of Gothic Revival, Queen Anne, and Romanesque-style buildings in neighborhoods in every quadrant of the city. Examples include:

West Market Methodist Church, 1893
302 West Market Street
Designed by S. W. Foulk, this monumental church is among the best examples of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in the state.

L. A. Atkins House, c. 1899
400 Gorrell Street
Saved from imminent destruction in 2002, this house is one of only seven residences in the city with a turret.

Alphonso Perkins House, 1900-1905
640 MLK Drive
A handsome home occupied by the Vice President of Leaks-Halladay Company, dealers of carpets, paints, and wallpapers. It is typical of grand-style houses that once lined all of Greensboro's primary thoroughfares.

Lyndon Street Townhouses, 1905
195-201 Lyndon Street
Rendered in pressed brick with marble trim, these four townhouses are unusual for Greensboro, and offered a "big city" housing option for upper-income residents.

Boaz House, 1900
612 Fifth Avenue
One of the first homes built in the Aycock neighborhood, it is typical of Victorian style, with a variety of wall textures, window sizes, and rooflines.

Gatekeepers House, 1888-1889
700 Battleground Avenue
(pictured right) One of only three Gothic Revival structures remaining in Greensboro, this cottage was saved from destruction in 1973. Its gingerbread design is unusually rich for North Carolina.

Reservations are available through 10am on Sunday. Call Judi Kastner at 272-5003 ext 3, or send her an email to reserve your place. Tours cost $25 per seat for Preservation Greensboro members as well as their guests, and $35 for non members.

Greensboro: Got Architecture?

Ouch, that hurts.

Greensboro fared poorly on two recently published lists by the American Institute of Architects of North Carolina ranking North Carolina’s Favorite Architecture (List A was solicited from the general public, list B was drawn from AIA members). Our beloved Jefferson Standard Building was the only mention, coming in at number 22 of 23 favorite places.
Our railway station and even Blandwood (designed by one of three founding member’s of the AIA) were bested by such popular structures as the Charlotte / Douglas International Airport Parking Deck (image right: AIA NC website), tobacco barns, and a building destroyed seven years ago – the Catalano House in Raleigh.

High Point earned a mention with the Natuzzi Americas showroom on South Elm Street, and Winston-Salem won kudos for Graylyn Conference Center as well as Old Salem. Asheboro saw recognition of the African Pavilion at the NC Zoo.

Does this mean the Gate City pales in comparison to the architectural splendor of Charlotte and Raleigh, each receiving six and eight nominations respectively? I really don’t think so. However, both of those cities are far ahead of Greensboro in understanding the power of architecture and good design. Raleigh has developed an appreciation of architecture in being the home of the NCSU School of Design since 1948. Charlotte was hit over the head with the importance of good design with architect Robert A. M. Stern’s 1986 proclamation that Queen City was “the ugliest collection of third-rate buildings in America.” Through the years, the press in both cities has cultivated a population that has an appreciation of architecture and design. In contrast, the Greensboro News and Record has provided little coverage on design issues, focusing instead on historic preservation (and often on the conflicts therein).

So, there you have it: very poor representation for the Gate City in terms of awareness of architecture in a statewide context. Preservation Greensboro’s own polling confirms that the Jefferson Standard Building ranks high in the minds of our citizens as an important landmark…along with our collection of unique college campuses, South Elm Street, and our neighborhoods. That appreciation has not, evidently, translated to higher levels.

PGI continues to cultivate initiatives intended to raise public awareness of architecture and design in Greensboro; it’s part of our mission. As Tribune critic Blair Kamin said last Thursday “If all of your city’s buildings and public spaces are third-rate, then the image of your city is third-rate.” We don’t need to head off on that path. Greensboro can do much better than that.

Thanks to Mac Whatley for the link to the AIA NC site.

Taking Stock: Architecture Matters!

Yesterday’s symposium, Architecture Matters!, exceeded our expectations. Attendance was higher than we had anticipated, the crowd was passionate, and the accolades were enthusiastic. We estimate that over 400 participated in the day-long event. Blair Kamin provided our keynote address (right) in which he covered both Greensboro's and Chicago's architectural DNA [re: Donald Trump and his tower].

Well, for Preservation Greensboro’s small staff, this was a daunting project, and it took every bit of our attention for a few weeks to plan for this event. We are glad we did. It was a great investment for us and especially the community.

We could not have pulled it off without the support of our co-sponsors. Leading the way was J. Hyatt Hammond Associates/ Architecture + Engineering + Interiors. It was their largess that afforded our guest speaker, Blair Kamin, to help celebrate their 50 birthday. In addition, Downtown Greensboro Inc, The Craft Insurance Company, Fireman’s Fund Insurance, and the UNCG Department of Interior Architecture all contributed time, planning skills, funding, and volunteer staffing to make this event successful. Thank you!

We also could not have accomplished this event without our Preservation Greensboro volunteers and staff. Ashley Black, Julie Curry, Louisa Lauver, and Jane Levy each contributed in special ways. Our staff members Judi Kastner and Ashley Poteat devoted additional time and energy to this event. Thank you to all.

Now its time to take stock and let things calm down, however, I am heartened to see the broad interest in history and architecture in Greensboro. I hope we will have additional exciting plans to announce in coming months, especially in coordination with Greensboro’s Bicentennial.

In the meantime, thanks Greensboro for supporting this event. Without question its success proves that architecture matters to the Gate City.

Please DON”T reinvent the wheel!

Sometimes, you don’t realize that the greatest treasures are those you already have.

This morning, I have had the privilege of walking around downtown Greensboro with Blair Kamin, the architectural critic from the Chicago Tribune and keynote speaker of today’s program Architecture Matters: Downtown Greensboro and Beyond. Needless to say, his insights on the Gate City’s downtown are both perceptive and enlightening!

If you think our Chicago visitor would disregard Greensboro as a civic backwater – don’t. Kamin has been impressed with many things he has seen here. He described Blandwood as “fascinating,” the First Horizon Stadium as having “good connection with the street with careful detail,” and Southside as “a great model” for new urban development. However, our strongest point is on South Elm Street, described as “an authentic and vibrant street.” The buildings are historic and attractive, its scale is human, and the street life hums with activity from early morning to very late at night. South Elm Street is, essentially, what every American city wants their downtown to be. Greensboro should be giving lessons on how to create a vibrant downtown!

The success of South Elm Street is no mystery to citizens of Greensboro; most people recognize it is a much different place than it was just a few years ago. However, many limit their vision of how downtown Greensboro could grow and develop by not extending the success of Elm Street to other avenues downtown. Why couldn’t Greene Street, or Davie Street enjoy the same vibrancy as Elm? Why does the Elm Street north of Friendly Avenue turn into a dead zone after 5:00?

The answer is: it can. Greene Street has the greatest potential, sporting downtown icons such as the Carolina Theater and the Elon Law School (right). Unfortunately, these strong points are weakened by dead-spaces on the street, such as the massive parking decks at Friendly and Washington, the raised terraces of Governmental Plaza, and the high podium on which the Lincoln Financial Tower sits…all features that remove interaction with the street.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Large undeveloped lots still exist on Green Street around the Carolina Theater and behind the Civil Rights Museum that could hold street-smart development. With appropriate development that values foot traffic over auto traffic, the success of Elm Street could be shared with Greene, Davie, and many other streets. It takes good planning from the city coupled with visionary developers to make it happen.

So, Greensboro, please don’t reinvent the wheel in downtown development. Let’s use our own homegrown success as our pattern for the future of our downtown. South Elm Street is one of our greatest treasures…we should work towards spread the wealth.

Blair Kamin will speak this evening at 5:30 at the Empire Room at 203 South Elm Street. The event is free to the public.

Will High Point do what Greensboro can’t?

The last time Greensboro City Council created a new historic district, Ronald Reagan was president, Amadeus won the Academy Awards, and Michael Jackson was a pop sensation. The year was 1984 and the district was Aycock. Two historic districts had been created prior to the Aycock; College Hill in 1980 and Fisher Park in 1982. Since then, initiatives to establish historic districts in the Gate City have been nipped in the bud.

In contrast, as Greensboro’s historic district engines were cooling; High Point’s were just getting warmed up. The Furniture City’s first historic district was created on Johnson Street in 1986, followed by the Sherrod Park Historic District in 1991. Later today, the High Point City Council may establish the city’s third historic district around the West High Street neighborhood. The Nettie Brown House, above-right, is located within the possible new district.

Why did Greensboro cool off? Twenty-three years is a long time to go without growth, especially when other cities in the state have seen expansion of their districts.

Did it run out of historic neighborhoods? No, many inner city neighborhoods maintain resource that would likely qualify them as historic…including Westerwood, Irving Park, and Glenwood.

Did historic districts see negative ramifications from designation that hurt land values? No, in fact a study completed by the News and Record in 2004 saw the opposite. Home values increased twice as fast as the rest of the city since 1996.

Did homeowners find the Design Guidelines too restrictive compared to newer neighborhoods in Greensboro? Not likely, since nearly all new subdivisions today are created with tight covenants that restrict paint color, architecture, and even placement of equipment such as trampolines and swimming pools. Although there are neighborhoods with lesser (or no) restrictions, many home buyers prefer to invest in neighborhoods that have some level of assurance that neighbors will adhere to some appearance standards.

So what’s the problem with Greensboro? Some point to political leadership… witnessing a level of disinterest in elected officials in committing to historic designation that does not enjoy a full 100% approval rating from neighbors. Others point to bad press coverage, and a constant drumbeat of articles that highlight conflict in the districts rather than successes. Finally, others point to a lack of leadership in neighborhoods to spearhead historic district designation…a process that in some situations can lead to division and even animosity among neighbors. Westerwood went through this process in 2003, when the owner of this house on North Mendenhall Street (above-right) applied a wonderfully vivid palette to his home in protest of the district.

In the meantime, prospects for High Point’s newest district are 50-50. Proponents point to the city’s recent “Core City” plan, which encourages the conservation of historic resources such as those to be protected within the historic districts. Opponents point to landowners whose property might be forced into the district without their consent. Hopefully, High Point’s City Council will see the benefits of creating the city’s third historic district and continue momentum where Greensboro has left off.

UPDATE: The High Point City Council, I am told, approved the West High Street Historic District unanimously.

Guilford, the Heart of Preservation

Tired of partisan politics? Looking for a place where both parties can unite on a common issue?

Welcome to Guilford County!

On the topic of historic preservation, all three congressional members representing Guilford County agree: it’s a great thing! So much so, that our three representatives; Howard Coble (R-NC), Brad Miller, (D-NC), and Mel Watt (D-NC) are members of the 2007 Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus. Members of the Caucus unite to support and encourage the preservation and thoughtful redevelopment of historic places in their districts as a matter of national policy. The caucus also serves as a clearinghouse for members seeking information and sharing ideas on preservation issues and opportunities, including rehabilitation, tourism, revitalization of older districts, and American history. It’s icing on the cake that our own Brad Miller is a co-chair of the Caucus. Truly, here is the heart of historic preservation!

The Caucus will create and examine legislative proposals regarding historic preservation and history developed or introduced by Members to determine the need, effects and potential support. It will also create opportunities for Members and their staff to interact with preservation professionals and supporters through visits to historic sites, lectures, and seminars.

Maybe it’s our Guilford Battleground National Military Park, maybe it’s our fledgling International Civil Rights Museum. Maybe it’s our vibrant Old Greensborough Historic District. Perhaps it’s all of these things that encourage our leaders in Washington to continue their support of historic preservation.

In the meantime, pat yourself on the back, Guilford County. In the world of national politics, we are all in agreement that preservation is a good thing!

To learn more about the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus and their roster of members, please visit the National Trust's information website.