Sternberger School

One could learn much about the history of Greensboro just by studying the people our schools were named after. Sternberger School was named for Bertha Strauss Sternberger, the mother of Blanche (Mrs. Edward) Benjamin. Mrs. Sternberger was a prominent Greensboro citizen in the early 1900's and was the first woman on the city's school board. Her husband, Emanuel Sternberger, was one of the organizers and president of Revolution Cotton Mills in Greensboro. Together, they maintained a fabulous home in the neighborhood of Summit and Bessermer Avenues.

Daughter Blanche Sternberger Benjamin donated the nine-acre site for Sternberger School and it was constructed in 1946, making it the first school to be built in Greensboro after World War II. While the School has expanded from eight to twenty two classrooms over its sixty four year history, much of the character of the school remains the same-- from the deco style lettering above the entrance doors to the commitment to remaining a neighborhood school. The Benjamins were great philanthropists in Greensboro and lived down the road from Sternberger School on Northline Drive. See their home here. Today, we share this photo with Alieni's Monochrome aficianados.

 

Comments

[hip chick]

I like the composition in this picture. It is perfectly framed and all the different lines of the bricks and the doorways and even the roundness of whatever it is in the walk way make the picture very interesting.

[Dina]

It's nice to know where a school came from.
You made me realize that I didn't know whom my school in Chicago was named after. Now I see from the website that George B. Swift was a mayor of Chicago in the 1890s.
Thanks for the inspiration.

[Carver]

That makes a clean crisp monochrome. I like it and an interesting post as always.

[Dianne Swayne]

The link to their home on Northline drive sent me to the Blue Lustron house on Lawndale. Did this happen to anyone else? Love the picture, right down to the snowflakes in the window.

[B^2]

A rich history, indeed.

[David T]

Sorry for the misdirected link to Dianne and anyone else that ended up there. Although the Lustron homes are pretty cool, I don't think the Benjamins or Sternbergers called one home. Link is fixed now.

[terry]

it is so nice to hear the history of this old school.
and it is even better to know that it is still being used!
i looked at classmates.com to see if any of the students had registered and i see one student that attended the school.,sonny odom went 1953-55, and the most recent, Shelby Berard attended 2003-2007.
there are 64 student members on the site.
classmates is such a good site to look up your old school mates. i love it myself!
oh..the kids that went there! how nice that the building is still standing!
when my husband and i took a trip to rivers to my beloved manitoba, how sad it was to see that after the government closed the air force base [where the golden family had lived], that they had not only torn down all the houses, they had also torn down the old school!
NOT a pretty sight!
i am going to do some more studying on this school and on the great little lady bertha strauss sternberger who was so responsible for this school coming into being!
great post!...........love terry

[VioletSky]

I love the font!! Rather unusual for a school, I think.
This is a great post for reminding people that there is often an interesting history behind the naming of school (and other buildings). Too often, names are changed because the "history is not relevant any longer". balderdash.

[Dianne Swayne]

Thanks so much for fixing the link to their home. I love seeing the daily photos from around town and learning more history of my birthplace. The Lindley Park, Lindley schools, etc are another great area named for an influential man. Those were my old stomping grounds and on a recent trip to Greensboro I had a wonderful time driving around the area, and even take a stroll (heh, in the snow) around Lindley Park. Keep up the great work.