Greensboro Daily Photo

Charming Alley

You know a downtown area is healthy when there are charming alleys. Here is the alley located between Chakras Spa, Mary Contrary Boutique, and Simple Kneads Bakery. On a warm day, doors are opened, benches are placed outside. You can sit and enjoy a fresh pastry and tea, delight in your new hair cut, or ponder a purchase. Even on a dreary day, you can cut through to get to Elm Street faster! This view, and compact grouping of stores,  is about as close as Greensboro gets to European charm. Adding to the visual interest of this nook is the metal flower gate. We believe it was sculpted by Erik Beerbower, Greensboro's most famous metalworker. If you have a minute, his video is worth viewing, here!

This is our Monochrome Weekly shot which brings lookers to our city from as far away as meme-sponsor Alieni's New Zealand! Whether, local or from afar, Welcome! Sit back and look around a little bit, follow our links, and do post a comment. We maintain this site to promote our fair city and to build community.

 

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

Featuring an Episcopal church for our Sacred Sunday has been long overdue. Here we see St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, located at 2105 West Market Street. Although their website does not have a history section, we did learn that the church is over 100 years old at that it has at least 500 members. This brick, steepled structure is a traditional style, common throughout America. 

St. Andrew's is a bit hard to photograph as it is located on a busy street and the structure is long and skinny. However, we do like the way the steeple glistens against the blue sky. If you live in Greensboro, you realize this photo was taken a couple of weeks ago as, lately, the skies have been extremely overcast!

 

Greensboro Country Club Farm Course

After a major redesign and renovation, the Farm Course of the Greensboro Country Club has officially reopened. Here we see golfers out on [re]opening day the other week. The new course is beautiful and said to be amply challenging. Even if you do not belong to GCC, if you are a golfer, Greensboro has plenty of options for golfing-- at all price points!

 

Black Friday

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is much anticipated by retailers. Today marks the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season and the day retailers just may turn a profit for the year. The above photo is a scene from Four Seasons Town Center, our local indoor shopping mall. If you like chain stores, the convenience of parking your car once, and walking free from the elements, this is the place to be! 

We love the Willy-Wonkaesque view of our mall's elevator as it looks like it will magically pass through the glass ceiling and fly out into our Skywatch Friday sky!

 

Andrew Leopold Schlosser

Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go on this Thanksgiving Day. En route, we stumble upon this stone bridge in historic Fisher Park. The bridge is one of Greensboro's many stone structures crafted by Andrew Leopold Schlosser. Mr. Schlosser arrived from Germany in 1898 seeking a new life in America. He brought his his well-honed craft of stone masonry and immediately began using granite from the Mt. Airy, NC quarries, anchoring the stones with mortar and a distinctive technique that has people saying, "that must be a Schlosser house.. surely, Schlosser did that wall." From this tiny footbridge to the mighty stone mansion beside the First Presbyterian Church, Schlosser's structures are boldly distinctive. 

By 1902, Schlosser's stone masonry business was sufficiently underway and he was settled enough to bring his family to America to join him. Not unlike the pilgrims of Plymouth Rock, the Schlossers resettled and contributed to their community in a way that has them remembered today. 

On this Thanksgiving Day is you are living in the USA, we hope you are able to give thanks for all that you have and that you pause and reflect on your own family's journey to America. As for Mr. Schlosser, we are thankful that you crafted so many beautiful structures for us to enjoy in Greensboro. Finally, we hope that your biography and the documentation of your stonemasonry becomes more transparent on the Internet and, at the very least, someone establishes a Wikipedia entry for one of Greensboro's finest!

S is for Santa

Santa has already arrived at Four Seasons Town Center Mall. He seems kind and patient. He is really looking forward to hearing all of the dreams and requests of children over the the Thanksgiving weekend. We were a little shocked to see Santa in town last weekend; however, Christmas is just around the corner.  

We offer this photo for ABC Wednesday. "S" is this week's letter. We were planning on post this photo anyway, so, perhaps we should say "S" is for serendipity, not just Santa! 

 

Blue Beauty on Spring Garden

Walking by this blue beauty on Spring Garden Street in the College Hill neighborhood of Greensboro, we could still smell the fresh paint. The house was photographed the day after her facelift was complete. Near the banana tree house, and only a block east of UNCG, this abode with the oh-so-southern wraparound porch is charming, convenient, and spotless. What a setting! Imagine gentleman sitting on the upper balcony, pre-1968,  watching the young women stroll by-- back in the day when UNCG was for women only!

House Formerly Known as Zenke

In August, we brought you the Zenke House in its former location across from Blandwood Mansion in downtown Greensboro. Here we see the same house just a bit north on Cedar Street. Although the new owners don't yet have the structure restored to its original splendor, we can see that it has been given a foundation-- a permanent home-- and appears to have been here for a century. We haven't followed the saga of the other displaced Zenke structures but hope they have an equally happy ending. 

We're sharing this for Monochrome Weekly and will return in color when renovations and landscaping are complete!

Get Me to the Church on Time

For this week's Sacred Sunday shot, we feature a little flower girl leading her daddy into Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church for a wedding. Likely, they were running a little bit late and she didn't want to miss a minute. In my mind, she was singing the Lerner/Loewe song, "Get Me to the Church on Time." I can almost hear the lyrics, written for the 1956 musical, My Fair Lady, as I organize this post.

Mostly at Greensboro Daily Photo, we post photos of buildings for Sacred Sunday; however,we are quite aware that a house of worship is nothing but a piece of architecture without people. Hats off to this little girl and her papi.

Double C Farm Equine Facility

This Saturday, if you get out and explore Greensboro and Guilford County, you will be amazed at what you find. Here we see one of the ponies at Double C Farm and Equine Facility at 2111 Pleasant Ridge Road. This tethered pony was saddled up and resting in between rides during their recent fall festival. He seemed very gentle and accommodating as child after child was hoisted on his back for the jolly ride around the ring. 

Let us know what you are up to this weekend in your neck of the woods.

Pokeweed aka Pokeberries

Pokeweed is a native North American perennial. While some people say you can eat the leaves, this is only true for young leaves that have been boiled three times. Even then, toxin's remain. The leaves are used topically as a poultice. Perhaps the most famous pokeweed fact is that the Declaration of Independence of the United States was written with fermented pokeweed berry juice. Also, the ink was popular for letter writing during the American Civil War (1860's). Over time, the ink turns brown. Finally, giant leopard moth larvae devour the leaves. We love their beauty and lore but sure hate pulling them out of our yard!

We share this Sky Watch Friday picture today while winter has not yet kicked fall to the curb!

Ali Vincent-- Biggest Loser

The 2008, fifth-season winner of The Biggest Loser, Ali Vincent, tirelessly greeted fans and signed autographs last night at Barnes and Noble in Friendly Center. Our Barnes and Noble works diligently to bring authors and to host community events. In this case, Ali was selling copies of her book, Believe It, Be It, right and left, and the public had a chance to meet this inspirational person. Ali lost 112 pounds and has managed to keep her weight off. Her book is subtitled, The Biggest Loser Won Me Back My Life.

Our photo doesn't do Alo justice, her dress was really an energetic pink and when she smiled, her beautiful white teeth lit up the room. Still, we were happy to have been part of this event. If we were really journalists (and not just a mom and pop blog), we would ask Ali, a Mormon from Mesa Arizona, if she knows Stephanie Nielson, also a Mormon with ties to Arizona, and if she had the opportunity to meet Greensboro author and fellow Mormon, Orson Scott Card.

Road to Greensboro

Since gaining new readership lately, we felt it was time to feature downtown Greensboro again. Here we are, driving on West Market Street. We've just passed Greensboro College, and are heading into downtown. The Jefferson-Pilot, now Lincoln Financial,  building is the one on the left with the trianglular top. Market Street and Friendly Avenue are Greensboro's two east/west anchor streets. Elm Street is "Main Street," dividing the city into east and west. Seeing the dip in the road reminds us that our city is not completely level. We are, literally, the Piedmont or, the foot of the mountain, sandwiched between the coastal plain and the mountain regions of North Carolina. 

Salvation Army Select

On Friday, November 13th, The Salvation Army opened an upscale thrift-shop in the Lake Jeanette neighborhood of Greensboro. Several months in the making, students from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro collaborated with the Salvation Army on the design of the Salvation Army Select Store. One of the students' many artful touches is the trail of red shoes leading shoppers across the length of the strip mall to the entrance. Both man in the background and the one in the reflection on the right are following their wives into the store. The attractive boutique does not have the usual cluttered look of a thrift shop and the goods are name brands, clean, and neatly organized. Weather you are a shopper or looking for a place to donate gently-used clothing (for men, women, and children) do visit this collaborative venture that gives back to the community. To bring more worldwide visibility to this post, we are linking to Ruby Tuesday, in celebration of the "ruby slippers!"

Since 1865, the Salvation Army has been saving souls, one donation at a time.

Our Lady of Grace School

The weekend is over and children head back to school today. Our Lady of Grace School is a private, Catholic School, located on Chapman Street, just behind the church. Founded in 1953, OLG (as it is known locally) serves 370 children in grades K-8. 

We offer this photo for Monochrome Weekly. Emerging from the darkness of the tree trunk, the statue to the trio of people was just glowing in the sunshine this weekend. If you notice our other posts, we're really pretty obsessed with brilliant COLORS; however, sometimes you find something that was just meant for black and white!

First Moravian Church, Greensboro

Finally some sunshine this week and what better way to enjoy it than to get out and photograph our great city? For this week's Sacred Sunday shot, we feature the First Moravian Church of Greensboro at 304 South Elam Avenue. The church is about to enter its busiest season, Advent, and will host it's largest fundraiser, a candle tea, bake sale, and bazaar-- we believe the first weekend in December. At the tea, sip warm beverages, eat Moravian cookies, and learn about Moravian Christmas traditions. 

While the above building only dates to the 1950's, the Moravian Church is one of the earliest Christian denominations in the world, having been organized in 1457 about 100 miles east of Prague. The first effort to establish a Moravian Church in the United States was in Georgia in 1735. North Carolina's most famous Moravian settlement is Old Salem, about 40 miles west of Greensboro. We will visit the First Moravian Church for the tea and Old Salem between now and Christmas.

Whoo Hoo Truck

We like to feature vehicles unique to Greensboro. Well, the Whoo-Hoo mobile is about as unique as it gets. Greensboro artist Leanne Pizio has decorated this truck to resemble her pottery. Likely, if you see the Whoo-hoo-mobile loaded up with boxes, Leanne is en route to a show. Stop Leanne right then and there and buy something. We've featured her before (but not this great vehicle) and here is her website. We love local talent and great vehicles; this post has both. If you are a "vehicle person" click here and take a quick scroll!

Let us know if there is a "must see" vehicle in YOUR neighborhood. We've always got our camera with us. Smile. If you're reading this, you survived another Friday the 13th! Stop by tomorrow for Sacred Sunday. Which house of worship will we feature next?

Autumn Blaze Maple

These relatively young autumn blaze maples are part of the landscape in the new side of Friendly Shopping Center. Autumn blaze maples are known for being fast growing, disease resistant and thriving in zones 3-8. We don't usually find parking lots attractive; however, with the green and rust trees in the background, the mostly gray and red vehicles scattered throughout, and the puffy little green bushes, this cluster of red leaves just caught our eye! For this Skywatch Friday the 13th, we hope the cold, rainy, colorless sky will prove to be LUCKY! 

We can't wait to go back next year and see just how much the maples have grown.

Lucky 32

Lucky 32 Restaurant has been a Greensboro institution for twenty years. Here we see the painting of downtown Greensboro in the entrance hallway. Every time we sit on the bench just below the glass bricks on the left, we notice some new detail in this painting. Featured prominently is the Jefferson Pilot, now Lincoln Financial, Building. Lucky 32, located at 1421 Westover Terrace, always has an interesting menu, centered around Southern foods.

Freedom is...

November 11.. Veterans' Day... was originally designated to honor veterans from WWI. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. The holiday officially became celebrated as Armistice Day in 1938 and in 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the law to make the holiday honor Veterans of all wars. The above photo shows drawings of Greensboro elementary school students. Their collective effort reminds us that patriotism and appreciation for the servicemen who fight to defend our freedom starts young. May we all reflect on this day, regardless national origin and hope that the world may all find a way to live in peace.

Bananas on Spring Garden

With the banana tree in front, this place seems more like a sleepy, Florida bungalow than student housing on Spring Garden Street. Looks like something out of a Marjorie Rawlings novel. Remember The Yearling? The light is on. Gregory Peck (the dad in the movie version) must be waiting for son Jodie to come home.

We're going to watch this tree during the winter. It is unusual to see a banana tree so far north. One of the many delights of Greensboro is the diversity of the houses and plantings in our neighborhoods. Between the dark red trim and the red leaves on the tree to the left, we've joined Work of the Poet's Ruby Tuesday where everything is coming up RED!

North State Milling Co.

Today, we share a photo of the now-abandoned North State Milling Company located at 816 South Elm Street. Likely this is the best Lee Street view we'll have as the lot in front is currently under construction. This brick and wooden building, with metal silos, was built in 1912 and remains an outstanding example of early 20th-century industrial architecture. It is a slice of life in Greensboro as it used to be. If you want to read more, Preservation Greensboro writes about this treasured place. We keep hoping a national advertiser will feature it in an ad or that a movie will use it as a prop.

We are sharing this photo with our Monochrome Weekly friends.

Faithway Baptist Church

Faithway Baptist Church, 610 E. Lake Drive, sits at the edge of a city park/walking trail overlooking the area where Bryan Blvd. curves on into downtown. This church is within walking distance to the Lake Daniel and Westerwood neighborhoods. They've had the same pastor, James Bledsoe, for nearly 20 years.

Unfortunately the website for the church does not tell the history of the building and when we were on this night photo shoot, we didn't find a cornerstone with a date. The sign in front reads, "The truth shall make you free.. thy word is truth."  Actually, it reads,  "thywor  dis   truth" but we think they suffered a case of the shifting letters! Happy Sacred Sunday, Faithway! The light on the door looks like a cross!

On a sad note, this week, in Greensboro, a 14 year old boy took his own life. As you look at friends, relatives, strangers, young and old alike, please keep your words kind and inviting. Often it is not apparent who is troubled, self-loathing, and in pain. In closing, please pause to reflect on the week-- regardless of your belief system.

So Glad We're Here

This is a photo of the Anthropologie clothing store at Friendly center. In case you didn't notice, behind the word "glad," is a map of North Carolina. How nice to have a retailer express something so positive. We're happy to be here too. Let us know what you're up to this weekend. 

We just linked to the Weekend Reflections meme! 

High Point Furniture

If you have ever shopped for furniture in High Point, likely, you have seen this giant chest of drawers at Furnitureland South. It is at least four stories high. As you walk under it, you realize you are in the furniture capital of the world. This 40-year-old company, one of many industry-related venues in the area, represents over 500 companies in over a million square feet of space.

There is another great giant piece of furniture on Hamilton Street. If you ever make it to Greensboro, head a few miles Southwest and and visit this furniture mecca. People who sell and buy furniture here realize the value on the local commitment to the industry. Especially during furniture market weeks, we all put our hearts and energy into this important industry. Even though the sky is a little bleak in this photo, we are posting this on Sky Watch Friday because the blog gets so many visitors from around the world on skywatch days. Thanks for looking!

Tate Street in the Fall

After yesterday's gloomy photo, we just had to let the sun shine! This view of Tate Street shows fall's brilliant palette in a bustling area between two college campuses: The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Greensboro College.  Here we see, every parking space is full. People arre out enjoying this glorious day. Tate Street is a great place to get a quick bite to eat between classes, grab a cup of coffee, listen to music, and study into the wee hours. 

Imagine how lovely this view would be without that ugly pole chopping the photo in half! Real life is like that, though; poles and wires obstruct our view all the time. We gotta focus on the beauty and not the obstructions. After all, it is as if those poles frame the leaves and punctuate their transition from red to orange to yellow to green.

Holden Road in the Rain

Last week, we were driving from the southwestern to northwestern end of Guilford County. The rain was relentless; Haz-mat was cleaning up a spill on I-85.  This is the view from the passenger's seat as we made our ride home on Holden Road.We were all tired and wondering if we would make it home safely. Greensboro was a rainy and muddy mess. 

If you have a teenagers learning to drive, show them this picture and tell them this is the reason you take your drivers' education class seriously. This is one of many reasons why you CAN'T drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Here is our contribution to Watery Wednesday!

Zinnias in November

These zinnias, nearing the end of their growing cycle,  are still delighting people on Pleasant Ridge Road in Northwest Greensboro. We noticed them while taking photos at the fall festival at the Double C Farm this past weekend. We're taking note of flowering vegetation that is hardy in the late fall so that we can include them in our landscape. When these zinnias are in their full glory, the pink and orange combination must be simply stunning! As Greensboro succumbs to the browns and gray of winter, we're going to bring this photo to desktop! This photo is dedicated to our dear friend iJune who is under the weather!

Finally, if you haven't voted yet, please head to the polls and vote YES to support the expansion and renovation of the Natural Science Center. Even MORE beautiful flora and fauna can be part of your life at this Greensboro treasure.

Natural Science Center... YES!

We at GDP usually avoid being political. However, today, we're out encouraging people to vote YES! on the Bond Referendum for the Natural Science Center. Our family has used this community resource at every step of the way. We have visited and volunteered, participated in school field trips,  held birthday parties, shot photos, and gone there to get critters (found in our yard) identified. 

If the bond passes, the museum will be renovated and expanded, making an already great facility OUTSTANDING. We are all for these projects that benefit the whole community. If you are still unsure or considering voting no, please stop by the center this weekend and talk to someone about the bond. If you can't get there in person, at lease check out their website! Please get out and vote YES! tomorrow!

Church of the Covenant

The cornerstone on the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant reads 1914; however, the need for a Presbyterian church to meet the needs of the neighborhood between State Normal and Industrial College and Greensboro Female College (now UNCG and Greensboro College respectively) was established in 1894. The original wooden structure, completed in 1906, was replaced by this brick one in 1914. Greensboro architect Harry Barton designed this building with two equally grand façades with Ionic porticos to take advantage of the corner lot. The façade on the left faces Greensboro College and the one on the right faces the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. 

This liberal-minded church community bills itself as an inclusive, open-minded, home for your soul. In additional to more traditional services, they have extensive, inspirational music events. Over the years, with expansions, the building encompasses the major portion of the city block and has helped keep the Mendenhall/Walker Avenue area of College Avenue a spiritual haven for many. 

This is our contribution to what we have dubbed Sacred Sunday. Also, every first of the month, the 1,000+ City Daily Photo sites are invited to participate in theme day. This month's theme is: Doorways. Here we offer TWO!   Click here to view thumbnails for all participants