Downtown Greensboro, south of the railroad tracks, has always had a special character, and somewhat different from Greensboro north of the tracks. Jim Schlosser reminded us that there wasn't an underpass, as an option to get around a passing train, until 1927. In the early 20th century, you either had to plan your trips over the tracks between trains, or be content to wait it out. Part of the special character of South Elm Street was Southside Hardware, in the 500 block. Southside hardware opened in 1902 and remained in business for 93 years.
It was said you could find literally anything you needed at Southside Hardware. One such item was dynamite,. The owners of Southside didn't want to store dynamite in their store. To be safe, they built a dynamite vault and stored it outside. The above photo shows the brick dynamite vault, now a dormant host to ferns. Over the years the Southside Hardware customers dwindled. So much of their customer base no longer shopped at this downtown store.* Unfortunately, Southside couldn't compete with the big, suburban box hardware stores and their doors closed in 1995.
Ironically, the dynamite was never an issue, but in 1936, a tornado swept through south Elm Street and blew off the third floor of the hardware store- and they never added it back on. The funny thing about the dynamite vault today is that it sits right behind a dozen large City of Greensboro garbage cans. Were dynamite to explode, garbage would be strewn from South Elm to Gate City Boulevard and beyond! However, we've been assured there is no dynamite in the vault! It is so fun finding these relics from yesteryear in Greensboro. We featured the ghost sign of Southside Hardware on Greensboro Daily Photo in 2018. After reading Jim Schlosser's article below, we have learned even more of the history of Southside Hardware! Happy Wednesday! Happy exploring. If you want to see the vault, it is down the alley from Hudson Hill and the sign that says Coe Grocery.
*Read Jim Schlosser's article from 1995, here.
Weird to think of selling dynamite.
Posted by: William Kendall | Wednesday, August 25, 2021 at 10:14 AM