Today's photo features the old railway station downtown Greensboro on South Elm Street. You can still see the tracks beside it and they are still in use. It is not uncommon to have to stop here and wait for a train to pass. Fortunately, they are not usually too lone. However, every once in a while there can be a long wait. The above building was commissioned by the Southern Railroad Company and opened to passenger service in 1899.
By the 1920's, Greensboro had outgrown this building and the 1927, the new building on East Washington Street opened in 1927. Click here [for reference and] to see how this building looked in its glory days. The Richardson Romanesque style was even more impressive with the slate roof, dormers, and the lower overhang which resembled a wrap around porch. Now that changes have been announced for major upgrades for the nearby 500-block of South Elm Street, wouldn't it be nice to have this building returned to its original splendor. Greensboro already has the reputation for Elm Street's look of the past with amenities of the present and future. As the changes to the 500-block come our way, it will be interesting to see what becomes of the old train station.
Here is what Elsewhere Living Museum has planned for the area. Here is what is planned for individual properties. South Elm is changing before our eyes!
It rather reminds me of some railroad buildings I've seen in towns here, the same era of building, I expect. The place has character.
Posted by: William Kendall | Tuesday, September 02, 2014 at 11:55 AM