Greensboro's Treasured Places

Historic House in Fisher Park Saved from Destruction

The Preservation Greensboro Development Fund has sold the Sweeney – Penn House at 910 Magnolia Street in the Fisher Park neighborhood.  The house was purchased by Cheryl Pratt and Tracy Pratt, AIA and stands as one of Greensboro’s best examples of Craftsman design. The couple will commence a meticulous restoration of the property that has been vacant almost ten years.

The Sweeney – Penn House (image, right) was constructed around 1917. The first occupants were Madge and Roy Sweeney. Roy Sweeney was a traveling salesman. The couple owned the home only 18 months before selling it to Sue and John Thomas Penn. Thomas Penn was Vice President of Southern Atlantic Lumber Company, a wholesaler of North Carolina grown pine and oak. In 1921 the home was purchased by Emily and Charles McIver, the eldest son of UNCG founder of the same name.

Ordered to be demolished in 2009 by the City of Greensboro for its deteriorated condition, the Sweeney – Penn House was part of a complicated estate that was unsettled and therefore could not be sold to new owners. The Preservation Greensboro Development Fund worked with the owner of the property to finalize the estate and then sought qualified buyers to purchase and properly restore the home. After several truckloads of personal items were removed by volunteers, the house was featured on Preservation Greensboro’s 2011 Tour of Historic Homes showcasing Fisher Park and Aycock neighborhoods in May when hundreds enjoyed its distinctive architectural details (image, right). This summer, the Fund negotiated an agreement to sell the home to Greensboro residents Cheryl and Tracy Pratt. The couple will thoroughly restore the Craftsman-design of the house, including unusual latticework in the eaves and Arts and Crafts interior design elements.

The property was sold with a preservation easement attached to the deed that will require a working dialog between future property owners of the Sweeney – Penn House and Preservation Greensboro to ensure that the house and its charming details are refurbished and remain intact for future generations to enjoy. This is the first such property in Fisher Park to enjoy the protection of an easement, and the eighth in Guilford County. Other properties protected with in easements the county include the Bumpass – Troy House in College Hill and the Esther Barker House on Cedar Street.

According to Benjamin Briggs, Executive Director of Preservation Greensboro, “we are pleased that we have been able to save this house from demolition. It is one of the best examples of Craftsman architecture in the city. The Pratt’s promise to be wonderful stewards of this home that will now be the best protected in all of Fisher Park!”

The Preservation Greensboro Development Fund was initially formed in 1988 and completes its mission by acquiring ownership or other legal interests (such as preservation easements) in historic properties, or by identifying partners to rehabilitate and protect historic properties.  Its first project was the purchase and resale of the 1845 Troy-Bumpass House, a Greek Revival home in the heart of Greensboro’s College Hill historic district. The house was restored in 1992 and today serves the community as an inn under the jurisdiction of preservation easements. The second project involved the purchase of the 1855 D. P. Foust House, a Queen Anne farmhouse threatened by development of a golf course. The home was restored in 1993 and remains a private residence today with preservation easements in place.

Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes: Crutchfield House

From home, to boarding house, and back to a home – the Crutchfield House at 108 Cypress Street has served a number of families over its nearly 100 years of existence, and is a great example of a typical Aycock neighborhood home. 

Rebecca and James M. Crutchfield likely constructed this house in 1914. Crutchfield owned a plumbing, heating and repair business, as evidenced by an advertisement published in 1917: 

"The business has been established since the first of January, 1917, and Mr. J. M. Crutchfield is the sole proprietor. Although this is a comparatively new Company in this special field of industry in Greensboro, yet the concern is steadily forging ahead and has already secured a number of important contracts, one of which is Dr. J. W. Long’s new hospital. Mr. Crutchfield needs no introduction to the people of Greensboro as he was born and reared in this city and is well known in every quarter.” 

In 1917, the Crutchfields sold their home to Arah and Ralph B. Stuart before the property was purchased as the home of Margaret and Samuel Gordon West in 1930. Ralph Stuart was a clerk at the Tuxedo Cigar Store at the time he and Arah moved into the home. The West family was instrumental in founding the lumber wholesale company Pegram – West. R. C. Tilley purchased the house in 1961 and operated the property as a boarding house through a house manager by the name of Miss Charlotte. In 1995, Jinni and David Hoggard purchased the home and converted it back to single family use. 

The Crutchfield House is an early example of Craftsman architecture, featuring Asian-inspired pagoda-like rooflines, exposed rafter tails, a welcoming front porch, and large windows that admit copious amounts of sunlight. The floor plan includes a living room and dining room separated by battered posts and an unusual back hallway with rooms that may at one time have been rented.  The current large kitchen was created by combining several rooms and the pack porch. 

BE SURE TO LOOK FOR:

• Large windows that are typical of the Craftsman style admit lots of natural daylight
• Built-in units that flank the fireplace in the living room
• The first floor bathroom with white hexagonal tile floor, original pedestal sink, and period bathtub
• Pressed glass with star patterns found in the door in the back hall
• Built-in telephone stand in the upstairs hallway

This home was featured on Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes May 21 - 22 in the Fisher Park and Aycock Historic Districts.

Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes: Cannon Court

The city-dwellers that lived the Cannon Court enjoyed urban amenities within the heart of prestigious Fisher Park. Located at 828 North Elm Street, Cannon Court is representative of pre-war housing available to modest income households in Greensboro beginning in the early twentieth century. A selection of residential units are open for the Tour of Historic Homes!

Cannon Court was constructed in 1926 by Tatum’s Inc, a corporation formed by B. B. Tatum, C. L. Stafford, and Ruth and W. C. Boren Jr. The building featured six different unit plans spread over three floors and ranged in size from single-room studio apartments to larger two-room units with two-and-a-half baths. All units enjoyed then-modern conveniences such as galley kitchens, tiled bathrooms, shared steam heat, and separate utility entrances. Construction standards for pre-war apartment buildings were very high, and units sport hardwood oak floors, French doors, and deep plaster crown moldings. Exterior design was simple, including brick details and a handsome tile cornice that was possibly produced by W. C. Boren Jr.’s own Pomona Terra Cotta Company.

The building is one of several multi-family buildings built in Greensboro during the 1920s at a time when the economy was strong and housing supply was low. The building was popular with single professionals, retirees, and young couples who relied on the convenience of the streetcar that stopped just outside the building. Early occupants included:
A3 - Mary and Vernon Vaughan, traveling salesman
A4 – Elizabeth and Thomas Dodge, salesman
B1 - F. W. Coldwell, clerk at the O.Henry Hotel
B6 - Helen and Edward Bunch, a traveling salesman
C2 - Bertha and Boyd Barker, salesman with Morrison-Neese Furniture Company
C5 - Mrs. Evelyn Skinner, buyer for Meyer’s Department Store
C6 - Mrs. Fanny Moody, buyer for Meyer’s Department Store
D2 - Ruth and Clifton Bayliss, salesman
D5 - Florence Alderman, widow
E1 - Mamie and Bruce Hodges, building manager for Pilot Life Insurance
E2 – Ruth and William C. Boren, Jr, Vice President of Pomona Terra Cotta Company

BE SURE TO LOOK FOR:

• Original white hexagonal floor tiles and subway wall tile in some bathrooms
• Oversized porcelain kitchen sink in unit A4
• Picture rails used to preserve original sanded plaster walls from picture hooks
• Glass doorknobs throughout units
• Original electrical outlets in dining room floors for waffle makers and toasters!

This site was featured on Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes May 21 - 22 in the Fisher Park and Aycock Historic Districts.

Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes: Beasley House

This vernacular farmhouse-style Beasley House at 706 Fifth Avenue is among the first constructed in the Aycock neighborhood, and has been restored through the efforts of several owners over the past 25 years. Today, the house retains original details that are blended with modern improvements typical of many early Greensboro homes.

Harriette and William C. Beasley were the first to occupy this house, which stands among the first built in the Summit Avenue neighborhood, now known as the Aycock Historic District. The couple likely constructed the house in 1904, around the time they purchased the property from neighborhood developers and civic leaders Jeanette and Ceasar Cone. The Beasley’s lived in the home with their nine children: Edna, Austin, Henry, Marvin, Elizabeth, Roy, Evylin, Grace, and Margarette! William was a steam and gas plumber by trade. Later owners, Madge and W. L. “Roy” Sweeney lived in the home from 1913 till 1916 when they moved to the Sweeney – Penn House at 910 Magnolia Street in Fisher Park. Roy Sweeney was a travelling salesman and it was likely he and Madge who added the present-day dining room to the back of the house. The next occupants of the home were Carrie and Percy P. Turner, who occupied the house for 17 years. Percy Turner was a clerk with the Railway Mail Service. The house was renovated in the 1980s when it received an updated kitchen. Recent owners Christina and Robert Cantrell purchased the house in 2006 and have completed additional upgrades such as the second floor bathroom and walk-in closet.

The Beasley House takes a form that was familiar to North Carolinians at the time known as a triple-A form house. Named for the A-shaped gables to each side of the roofline matched by the third gable centered over the front door, the triple-A form was commonly used for farmhouses and moderate income urban housing between 1850 and 1900. Characteristic features of a triple-A form houses are symmetrical facades with a centered entry and a wide front porch. The Beasley House sports Neoclassical embellishments such as a denticulated cornice on the porch, attenuated columns upon brick piers that support the front porch, a front door flanked by sidelights, and a charming demilune windows in the central gable of the roofline.

BE SURE TO LOOK FOR:

• Aqua and Olive green tile surrounds in the Living Room
• Tortoise shell tile surrounds in the first floor bedroom
• Original carved newel post and turned balusters on the stairs
• “Bull’s Eye” trim in rooms that typifies carpentry of the late nineteenth century
• Restored pressed metal ceiling in the first floor bedroom was installed around 2000

This home was featured on Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes May 21 - 22 in the Fisher Park and Aycock Historic Districts.

Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes: Hewitt House

This grand home overlooking Fisher Park was once apartments, but a careful restoration project 10 years ago converted it back for use as a single family home, just as it was built nearly100 years ago.

When William A. J. Hewitt and his wife Jessie bought the prominent lot at the corner of North Elm Street and Fisher Park Circle in 1914, few houses stood in the surrounding neighborhood. Their grand two-story home with a soaring portico set a stylish pace for Fisher Park. Hewitt was from New York City and was president of the Morris Plan Industrial Bank, a local financial institution that made small loans to low and moderate income earners. Perhaps the location of his home across from Fisher Park inspired Hewitt to serve on the founding board of the Greensboro Camp and Playground Association in 1920. Though William Hewitt passed away in 1939, his wife Jessie remained in the house until 1950. At that time, the house was purchased by Dr. Hugh Hunsucker who subdivided the 6,000-square-foot house into apartments and his orthodontist's office. In 2000, the future of the house grew uncertain until Marti and Don Digby purchased the home and restored it back to a single family house, reinstating key architectural features and the surrounding landscape.

Designed by Hartford Connecticut architect A. Raymond Ellis (original drawings, right), the Hewitt House is an excellent example of Neoclassical Revival architecture, popularized by the classical porticos of the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago of 1893. The high Tuscan portico features a demilune window in its gable. Beneath the porch is a splendid Palladian window, one of the grandest in Greensboro. The frontispiece is classically inspired, including a six-panel door surrounded by sidelights and topped by an unusual pulvinated frieze and a scrolled or “swan’s neck” pediment over the entryway. Other details, including use of German weatherboards, louvered window blinds, and scrolled modillion cornice lend an air of dignity to the home.

The refurbishment of the Hewitt House was extensive. At one time the east porch was pulled apart from the main house and sat curiously in the side yard! Kitchens and bathrooms were updated, and the floor plan that once accommodated three rental apartments was configured back to its original plan. All restoration work was completed to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for rehabilitation, which earned the project state tax credits of 30% of the project cost.

BE SURE TO LOOK FOR:

• The grand staircase in the main foyer
• Black walnut pocket doors that provide privacy between the entrance hall and public rooms
• The denticulated wood cornice in the living room
• Reconstructed ca. 2005 mantle in the living room that replaces the original that was lost (image above)
• A graceful north-facing bow window in the dining room
• Colonial Revival fireplace with a Tripartite mantel in the library

This home was featured on Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes May 21 - 22 in the Fisher Park and Aycock Historic Districts.

Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes: Wilson Sisters Double House

Constructed around 1922 for sisters Minnie and Lillie Wilson, the double house at 675 Percy Street features mirror-image residential units that share a common party wall, and today provides an historic home with urban style.

Minnie and Lillie Wilson were never married and enjoying the middle years of their life when they purchased a tract of land on Percy Street and constructed their double house as an investment property. The sisters rented to several occupants over the duration of their ownership, including Fawnie and Roy Clemmons (Salesman at T&H Motor Company), Paulina Kinney and Mary Gainey (both nurses), and Henry and Lula Brooks (a field supervisor). Minnie and Lillie both lived into their 70s, and upon their deaths the house was sold to Ruth and Mont C. Wagoner, who owned the building for nearly 50 years as a rental property. Mont grew up in the neighborhood on Park Avenue, and served as a postal carrier for much of his life.

This Craftsman-style double house resembles a single-family American Foursquare from the street. Foursquares are ubiquitous across the country and feature a low pyramidal roofline, an oversized dormer window centered above the main entryway, a symmetrical two-story façade, and a front porch. The handsome house to the right of the Wilson Sister’s House at 681 Percy Street is an excellent example of a Foursquare.

Interior appointments are simple, but reflect the high quality of building materials available at the time. Heart pine flooring, harvested from stands of Southern Yellow Pine, graces the first level. Hand-toweled plaster walls are topped by picture rails from which hung wall art…as an alternative to driving picture hooks into fragile plaster.  Other notable features include original brass lighting fixtures with decorative frosted shades, glass doorknobs throughout the house, and an original medicine chest in the bathroom! The house was sold from Mont Wagoner to Mebane Ham in 2000, who has completed several upgrades such as a new deck to the rear of the house, new kitchen cabinetry, and upgrades to windows and the bathroom.

BE SURE TO LOOK FOR:

• Original brass light fixtures that have been restore
• Heart pine flooring throughout the unit
• Simple Craftsman-inspired stair balustrade and brick mantel
• Common entryway that links the two individual residences.

This home was featured on Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes May 21 - 22 in the Fisher Park and Aycock Historic Districts.

Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes: Pickett House

At first blush, the Mid-Century Modern-style Pickett house stands in contrast to the Colonial and Neoclassical-style homes in the neighborhood, but look beyond the simple lines and low-pitched roof to see how the large windows and exposed woodwork make this home a part of the Fisher Park family.

Mary Thelma and William Earle Pickett likely built this home shortly after purchasing the prominent lot in 1949. Although Fisher Park was suffering from urban expansion during a time before historic preservation had been cultivated here in Greensboro, the couple built a charming house with a simple floor plan that took advantage of its location overlooking the leafy park across the street. Earle owned a lamp shop which he operated from the basement of his home. In his spare time he devoted himself to membership with the Masons.

Mid-century modern architecture was a dramatic departure from the historically-inspired forms of that dominated Fisher Park during the first half of the Twentieth Century. Homes increasingly reflected their exterior surroundings and included large picture windows that overlooked lawns and often incorporated exterior spaces such as patios that were oriented towards private backwards. Interior spaces were also opened to blend living spaces for multiple purposes, such as combined kitchens, dining and living rooms.  Interestingly, his home was originally constructed of cinderblocks, but subsequent owner Paula White refurbished the house with materials more in keeping with the neighborhood. The house took its current appearance after a renovation around 2000.

BE SURE TO LOOK FOR:

• Picture windows overlooking Fisher Park
• Knotty Pine in the bedroom
• Bathroom storage created between wall studs
• Hidden stair from the kitchen to the lower level

This home was featured on Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes May 21 - 22 in the Fisher Park and Aycock Historic Districts. 

Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes: Tar Heel Manor

As Nellie and John C. Clapp's family grew prosperous, the couple purchased a prominent lot on stylish Summit Avenue in which to erect their home around 1904. The original form of the house included a simple pyramidal roofline embellished with four dormer windows on each elevation. Within a few years, the house was greatly altered in at least two ways. First, a refashioned façade incorporated a gambrel roofline topped by an elliptical window. Secondly, an earlier house possibly dating to the mid 1800s was relocated and attached to the rear of the house, adding a substantial amount of square feet. The original kitchen was converted into a study, and the kitchen was reinstated to the added wing. This might have been done to accommodate the extended Clapp family that included their son Ernest, the Clerk of the Guilford County Supreme Court, his wife Kate and their son Ernest, Jr.

The house remained unchanged through the Great Depression, when it was purchased by Charles D. Kellenberger for his daughter Ruth Kellenberger Shea and her two children in 1938. Ruth’s husband Frank Shea died of acute appendicitis in 1926. The large house accommodated Ruth Shea and her sons, and also allowed her to rent rooms to travelers when she established the house as an inn named “Tar Heel Manor”.

The house was well suited for use as an inn, being situated on the main highway, known as the Seminole Highway that linked Virginia and points north to Florida. Shea converted the house into 16 guest rooms by subdividing the original large rooms, each with its own radiator, sink, closet, and a suite of simple furnishings. Ruth was an accomplished woman in her own right, as a prolific writer on travel and tourism, as well as living abroad and making moves that documented trips to exotic places such as the Amazon River in Brazil. She passed away around 1997 and the old house was sold from her estate to current owner Mindy Zachary in 1999. Zachary immediately commenced a major restoration of the house that lasted through February 2011 that returned subdivided rooms to their original size, and created dramatic new spaces in portions of the rear wing that experienced heavy deterioration and neglect. Mechanical systems have been replaced, bathrooms reconstructed, and windows retained and repaired to make them energy efficient. 

BE SURE TO LOOK FOR:
• Original pocket doors leading from the entry hall
• Oak floors throughout the main living level
• Original mantels and trim
• Reconfigured kitchen space
• Book-nook on the balcony overlooking the kitchen

This home was featured on Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes May 21 - 22 in the Fisher Park and Aycock Historic Districts. 

Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes: The Felder House

Carefully restored in 2009, the Felder House at 1115 Virginia Street is the perfect blend of historic craftsmanship and energy efficiency, reminding us that the “greenest” building is the one already built!

The Felder House was constructed around 1919 by H. H. Felder, the president of the Felder-Briggs Company menswear store in downtown Greensboro. The Felder family only occupied the home for two years before selling it to Helen and W. S. Dickson. Dickson was the Advertising Manager for the Greensboro Daily News. The Dicksons were already Fisher Parkers living on East Hendrix Street when they moved to the Virginia Street house, where they remained for twenty-two years. Eva and J. Howard Gold called the house their home nineteen years throughout the 1950s and 60s. Margaret and Rick Luebke purchased the house in 1987, and have enjoyed twenty-four years in their home.

The Felder House blends two architectural styles; Craftsman and Tudor. The form of the house, with its side-gabled roofline, prominent oversized dormer window, and even its shingle siding are hallmarks of the Craftsman style of architecture. The Craftsman style was inspired by Asian designs and popularized in the early decades of the 20^th century as a simpler alternative to heavily ornamented Victorian homes. The Felder House also features elements of Tudor architecture, such as the half-timbered gable of the front dormer window, the prominent brick chimney, and the casement windows that grace the living room.

Over the course of the 2009 refurbishment, numerous features were brought back to life such as the original hardwood floors, the beautiful Craftsman-inspired fireplace, and even the historic windows.  At the request of homeowners Margaret and Rick Luebke, the project contractor Southern Evergreen improved the energy efficiency of the project by adding insulation, using Energy Star appliances, and rewiring. It has been certified as an Energy Star Home. The house was also a Certified Restoration, meaning all work was approved by the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation which earns homeowners a 30% income tax credit.

BE SURE TO LOOK FOR:

• The brick fireplace with tile flooring located within its own “inglenook”.
• Original wooden pocket doors are located off the living room, originally used to close unused rooms and create a sense of privacy.
• Historic Craftsman style windows that had been hidden for decades behind wallboard that allow natural daylight between the pantry and the butler’s pantry,
• The quarter sawn oak cabinetry in the kitchen is a nod to the popular materials used in homes during the period.
• Notice the very early example of a “Jack and Jill” style double bathroom that is available for use from both the guest room as well as the office.

This home was featured on Preservation Greensboro's 2011 Tour of Historic Homes May 21 - 22 in the Fisher Park and Aycock Historic Districts. 

Preservation Greensboro's Inuagural Tour of Historic Homes

Preservation Greensboro Inc. and our tour partner, Southern Evergreen – High Performance Homes, are pleased to announce the inaugural Tour of Historic Homes set for Saturday, May 21, 11:00am-5:00pm and Sunday, May 22, 1:00-5:00pm.  Ten homes with a special bonus house, throughout Fisher Park and Aycock Historic Districts will be featured on the tour.  Preservation Greensboro also thanks our presenting sponsor, New Age Builders.

Tickets will be available April 1. Tickets purchased before the event: $15, PGI Members $12. Tickets purchased during the tour, $20.  Tickets may be purchased at Blandwood Mansion from 9am till 5pm. Cash and checks only.

Participants will be excited to explore these two historic neighborhoods that contribute so much to the Gate City’s charm and character. The houses represented include architectural styles that range from casual Craftsman to grand Neoclassical Revival, and construction dates that span the years 1904 to 1949.

Tour goers will explore houses that have enjoyed comprehensive restoration projects, as well as homes that are available for the next big project. Just as historic preservation incorporates a diversity of housing, this tour of homes represents a cross section of our city.

Additional sponsors include: Double Hung, DLM Builders, Beacon Management, Well Spring Retirement Community, New Home Building Supply, Pella Windows and Doors, One Design Center, Contract Design, Carolina Custom Surfaces, Brooks Pierce, Porter and Company, Carruthers and Roth, ECS Carolinas, Carl Myatt Architect.

 

Preservation Greensboro Incorporated is the only local non-profit membership organization that helps protect treasured historic and architecturally significant places.  Established in 1966, PGI’s programs range from educational seminars and walking tours to annual awards and children’s activities.  Its subsidiary organizations include the Preservation Development Fund, Architectural Salvage of Greensboro, Blandwood Mansion and Museum Shop, the Blandwood Carriage House and the Blandwood Ball.

 

Over the next few weeks, information on each house will be posted to this site as well as our Facebook page. All eleven homes have great architecture and history, so keep coming back to learn more!

 

For more information on the Tour of Historic Homes or on becoming a member of Preservation Greensboro Inc., please visit our website: www.preservationgreensboro.org or call 336-272-5003.