Greensboro Daily Photo

Dr. George C. Simkin’s, Jr.

 

Dr. Simkins (1924-2001) was a Greensboro native. By profession, he was a dentist, but he also dedicated his life to the Civil Rights Movement and social justice. For 25 years, Dr. Simkins led the Greensboro branch of the NAACP.  He worked tirelessly for desegregation of Greensboro.  This statue is located on the northwest corner of governmental plaza. The sculptor is Maria J. Kirby Smith. The statue was made possible by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation.

The day we visited, a couple of young educators were taking selfie’s here at this statue. How encouraging that they were out interacting with a piece of art about an impactful Greensboro social justice figure. If you head down to visit Governmental Plaza now, you will see the plantings on the plaza in full bloom!

Sunday on South Elm

Yesterday people were out and about in Greensboro. Red Cinema was open, brew pubs had people all around, and Elm Street was hopping. The above photo was taken at the Green Bean and is a good example of people spending time outdoors. The weather was beautiful, sunny and not too hot. The temperature hovered in the 60s for most of the day. Downtown Greensboro has also added a evening event on Saturday evenings, part of Elm Street is closed off to cars so that pedestrians are able to walk freely along the street. With the warm weather, "Open Streets" is really gaining traction.

Here is a list of some of the events happening in downtown Greensboro. For example, tonight is open mic night at Stumble Stilskins. Tomorrow is the Run and Walk Club meet up at Little Brother Brewing and also Trivia Night at SouthEnd Brewing. We hope you have a great week and that you find good safe ways to engage with the people, places, and businesses of Greensboro- whether you are downtown or on the outskirts. Oh, and dress for fun. People watching is back!

Pope Mobile In Greensboro

Sundays, we usually post something related to religion or spirituality on GDP. Yesterday, we were headed to town for a photo shoot.  En route, the Weatherspoon Museum was calling our name. They have great art and the museum is free and open to the public. Visitors are required to sign in, for the purposes of contact tracing, if needed. As we were leaving, we noticed this Yaris, a subcompact Toyota, with a sun shield with a photo of the pope. If he saw this scene, Pope Francis would probably be smiling, the way he is on the sticker on the back-seat, driver-side of the vehicle. A quick walk around the car revealed additional Catholic, religious items on this NC-registered vehicle. We're betting it can be find in the parking of one of our local Catholic Churches today.

As you can see from the photo of South Tate Street in the background, the trees have just about leaved out. Happy Sunday!

 

Life Along McDowell Drive

Today, we take you to 1204 McDowell Drive in the Green Valley area of Greensboro. This neighborhood is between Friendly Center and the Tanger Bicentennial Garden. It is so beautiful this time of year with all of the azaleas and dogwoods in bloom. The 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house above was built in 1963, back in the days when the satellite neighborhoods (Lake Jeanette, Adams Farm, Carlson Farms, etc.) were not even on the radar screen.

In 1963, David Schenck was mayor and there was a Civil Rights march that year. This was the year that The Women's College changed its name to University of North Carolina at Greensboro.* Meanwhile, back at 1204 McDowell, it was a new street in a neighborhood with streets named after many of the counties of North Carolina.  In 1963, there was a family enjoying their new house and new beginnings in a very beautiful part of town. These azaleas look like they may have been planted since then; however, their pink and white beauty represents a view so common in the years of Greensboro.

Happy Saturday! You still have time to get out and enjoy the beauty of spring in Greensboro.

*reference and interesting timeline, here.

GTA Bus On Route #1 Heading East on McGee St

As we were leaving Just Be, yesterday afternoon, bus #782, the #1 West Wendover Avenue GTA bus was heading east on West McGee Street. It is one of the diesel-electric New Flyer XDE40 buses; it is clean, quiet, and a smooth ride. Today is Friday, a good day for taking the bus, and this one goes from Wendover, along Spring Garden, to town. Friday is always a great day to head to downtown Greensboro.

Notice the snappy ad for an ad on this bus and also worth mentioning is the reflection of the 300 block of South Elm Street in the windshield of the bus.  Can you spot the façade of the Green Bean Coffee Shop in the windshield? Everything looks better with a good dose of sunshine, including bus windshields!

Honk if you love Fridays!

100 S Mendenhall St.

This house at the corner of South Mendenhall and Market Street is one of the great historic beauties in College Hill. The above view is the Market Street side, not even the main entrance. However, this time of year, both sides of the house are so beautiful, especially with the trees leafing out, and the sun shining. That red tree looked like it was on fire as we ran past on our mid-day, 5K route yesterday.

In 1980, College Hill was designated the first historic district in Greensboro. In 1993, it was named to the National Register of Historic Places. That designation adds a very special feature to a neighborhood (reference and read more here). The above house is on the northernmost corner of College Hill, quite a welcome into the neighborhood! The colors of the house looked especially beautiful yesterday; they would have been deemed in compliance with the requirements of the historic district.  College Hill was settled in the mid 19th century by people, in many cases, affiliated with nearby Greensboro College. Even though this house is situated on one of the busiest streets leading into downtown Greensboro, when you are there, it is as if you are visiting a bucolic, country estate.

 

Jae-Mar at 102 Barnhardt Street, Just off South Elm

The last time we walked along Barnhardt Street in downtown Greensboro, we noticed that the building that the Jae-Mar Brass & Lamp Company building is for sale and that Jae-Mar is closed. This small, family business was started by James Forster in 1986. If you ever needed a lamp repaired or re-brassed, this was the "go-to" place in Greensboro. It is our hope that the Forsters are either happily retired or they have a new venture in the making. 

Looking on real estate sites, we learned that after being on the market for almost 100 days, the building has a sale pending. The single story, cinder block structure was built in 1949. It looks like it still has lots of life left in it. We will wait with great anticipation to see what it becomes. As the South Elm/Lewis Street area perks back up, 102 Barnhardt should prove to be a great location. If you want a little photo fun, see how many geometric shapes you find in this photo! Happy Wednesday!

Carved Seahorse on the Rotary Club of Greensboro Carousel

Last week when we featured the exterior of the Rotary Club of Greensboro Carousel, several people requested to see an example of the animals. Above is a photo of one of the most unique animals, a seahorse. If you look just behind the seahorse, you can see a hummingbird. There are 56 handmade animals, some of which are endangered species. They are carved from wood. There is so much of Greensboro in this carousel; a UNCG Spartan horse.and an NC A&T bulldog. 

Above the animals on the upper section of the carousel, there are paintings of scenes around Greensboro: Wrangler Jeans, New Garden Friends Meeting, Lebauer Park, Levi Coffin, O. Henry, Carolina Steele, The Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship and so much more. Soon, we'll feature some of the photos, too. This is a place of so much history and joy in Greensboro. We hope you get out to see it soon. The carousel is part of the 400- acre Battleground Parks District. Greensboro is so lucky to have these resources.