May is National Historic Preservation Month

Beginning next week, Preservation Greensboro Incorporated will celebrate the Gate City’s architecture and history through a variety of activities including neighborhood walking tours, free tours of historic Blandwood Mansion, a tour of Green Hill Cemetery and the beginning of the Bicentennial archeological dig on the grounds of Blandwood.

Greensboro will join thousands of individuals around the country in a nationwide celebration of 2008 National Preservation Month in May 2008. Orchestrated by by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, DC, this year's theme of the month-long celebration is “This Place Matters”.

Since the National Trust began celebrating historic preservation in 1971 to spotlight grassroots efforts in America, it has grown into an annual celebration. Preservation Greensboro has been celebrating Historic Preservation Month since the 1980s.

The following is a schedule of activities presented by Preservation Greensboro:

Wednesdays in May, 11am-2pm: FREE Tours of Blandwood Mansion: Tour Preservation Greensboro’s flagship house museum and see the restored main building and the two reconstructed dependencies, the law office and the kitchen of the home of former NC Governor John Motley Morehead.

Sunday, May 11, 2pm: “The Plants and the Planted”, $5. Tour historic Green Hill Cemetery and here about Greensboro’s famous citizens and the rich landscaping that surrounds them. Meet at the southern most gate on Wharton Street. Tour lasts about 1 ½ - 2 hours. Proceeds benefit Greensboro Parks and Recreation Cemetery Division.

Walking Wednesdays, 7pm, FREE Guided Tours of Greensboro’s Historic Neighborhoods:

April 30, Fisher Park: Meet at 7pm on the steps of Temple Emmanuel, North Greene and Florence Streets. Learn about homes designed by the city’s best architects during this tour of former swampland.

May 7, Westerwood: Meet at 7pm at Double Oaks, 204 North Mendenhall Street. Explore Greensboro’s early “back to nature” neighborhood, promoted as a place where residents were “Close to the Heart of Nature and to Greensboro!”

May 14, Downtown Greensboro: Meet at 7pm at the green bean, 341 South Elm Street. Find out why architectural historians consider Greensboro to be the best-preserved “big city” downtown in the state, with a special focus on modernism.

May 21, Historic Aycock: Meet at 7pm on the front steps of Aycock Middle School, 811 Cypress Street. Come learn abut the neighborhood that features a castle among other wide-ranging styles.

May 28, College Hill: Meet at 7pm at Tate Street Coffee House, 334 Tate Street. Learn how Greensboro’s first neighborhood blends quaint architecture with big-city amenities to create an energetic vibe.

May 26 – June 20: Bicentennial Archeological Dig at Blandwood, UNCG Field School. Funded by the History Committee of the Greensboro Bicentennial Commission, an archeological dig will be run as a field school by Dr. Linda Stine, Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The work will examine the back quadrant of the Blandwood property, bordered by McGee and Edgeworth Streets. Daily digging will occur Monday-Friday from 8:30am-2:30pm. Two Family Days are scheduled for June 7 and 14, 9am-12pm. Volunteers are invited to come and see how archeologists work. Please contact Dr. Linda Stine, 336-685-5996 for additional information on the dig.

Contact Preservation Greensboro for more information.