Greensboro Daily Photo

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade

In Greensboro, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade will start at 11 am on MJK Drive. The above photo features last year's parade. Here, we see the Dudley High School Marching Band near the end of the parade as it approached the convergence of MLK Drive and South Elm Street. If you are able to get away from whatever you are doing today, we urge you to attend the parade. It is a great time for people of all ethnicities and races to come together to support the notion of equality and service to community. The parade is always an upbeat and hopeful event, enjoyed by people of all ages. From a balloon-animal-making clown to floats, cars, horses, bands, scouts, fraternities and sororities and grand marshalls, churches and so much more, this event will be a great way to start the day.

This is the 25th year that the Greensboro Branch of the NAACP will sponsor the parade. There are four grand marshalls this year: Caroline Horton; Bishop George W. Brooks, former pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church; Attorney R. Steve Bowden; and City Manager Denise Turner Roth. If you don't go to the parade, at least try to attend something today in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Four Seasons mall is another place that will have lots of events. 

Riding into the Weekend.......

The Royal Limousine was in full swing last night, transporting people up and down Elm Street to this weekend's Second Annual BBQ festival at Festival Park (BBQ East West US 40 Fest). Imagine a double decker bus with a New Orleans jazz sound on the upper deck. That's what we were treated to yesterday and children, of all ages,  were mesmerized.  The above mobile, red block-of-fun brought a smile to everyone's face. How fun to see the JP building watching over us in the background on this glorious evening in downtown Greensboro.

Not only did Greensboro enjoy this bus at First Friday, we were greeted by Greensboro's own Madelyn Greco, internationally-award-winning body painter. She was on the Royal Limousine entertaining people, and promoting the BBQ festival,  with her fabulously painted body and her sassy burlesque attitude. Oh, from the activities for teens, adults, and everyone in between,  September's First Friday was simply magical... AND colorful. Here we see the fabulously decorated Ms. Moxy.....  What can today bring? BBQ? Food trucks? Family time? Enjoy, dear readers!

The Lincoln National Corporation Building

Let's start the week with a view of the iconic Greensboro building that we call the JP Building. We call it the JP Building because, when we first became acquainted with it, the business was known as Jefferson Pilot. In its current iteration, it is the Lincoln National Corporation. To be fair to Lincoln Financial Group, the marketing name for LNC, they have their own grand history. Named for President Lincoln because his name evoked 'integrity', LNC traces its roots to back to 1905 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. President Lincoln's son authorized the use of his father's name as well as an image of him.*

Seven years ago, in March 2006, Lincoln Financial Group acquired Greensboro's Jefferson Pilot, which was founded in 1968 when Jefferson Standard Insurance (founded 1907) and Pilot Life Insurance (founded 1903) merged. And since 2006, what LFG has bought and sold gets complicated and, if you are interested, it is worth reading the Wiki entry. Television, radio, and sports are involved.

We think an update on the above building and all its incarnations would make a great O.Henry Magazine story. Is there still a restaurant on the top floor? If so, can someone who doesn't work there eat there? Does it still look the same inside? What's been going on in this building that used to be the tallest between D.C. and Atlanta? We just may need to head down to 100 North Greene Street and try to learn more. In the meantime, around our house, we can't help but call it the old JP Building. Habits are hard to break. Happy Monday, dear readers. 

*reference

City Market

If you were wondering about the location of Downtown Greensboro's latest "pop-up" space, here it is, The City Market at The Railyard at South End. This space can be accessed behind Jae-Mar Brass Shop or all the way down at Lewis Street Antiques. It follows the southwest side of the railroad tracks. Every Third Thursday, there is free live music, artisan goods, and fresh foods.  This event was wildly popular last week. Hopefully, future Third Thursdays will be popular, too. They have replaced the Sunday Markets which never seemed to gain momentum last year.

Below, we feature a couple of more photos of the space to help you orient the location. Having the iconic JP/LF building in the background always helps. When the area isn't serving as City Market, it doubles as a parking lot. In the meantime, if you can't wait until July 18th to get out and be with people at City Market,  consider heading to Center City Park tonight from 6-7pm for a little free line dancing session. Greensboro is starting to feel like a giant, family-friendly, playground. So much to do! Things seem to be popping up everywhere!

 

Two more views near the new space. See it to the left of the fence?

 

West Market Street

Here is a classic view of Greensboro, the West Market Street United Methodist Church and the Lincoln Financial/Jefferson-Pilot/Jefferson-Standard building. The view was taken from a truck parked on the South side of West Market Street, facing east. As we traverse the streets this weekend, ever pursuing  future posts, we reflect on the past week. The Great Escape food truck that we featured  this week was voted best food truck of 2013 in Yes! Weekly. The Weatherspoon Art Museum was voted best museum. We were just there on Thursday  There is so much goodto do  in Greensboro.

For sure, we'll be heading to Oak Ridge for Leanne Pizio's "Keep it Local Event." We'll also head to the Children's Museum for the incrEDIBLE plant sale. By the way, the Great Escape Food Truck will be there. As we all enjoy activities in Greensboro, let's hope those fluffy white clouds remain high in the sky for all to enjoy. Let us know how you spend your weekend!

Christ Church Greensboro

Today's photo takes us to another repurposed, industrial, brick building. This is Christ Church, located on Smith Street, in the back yard of the baseball stadium and in view of the JP building. It is in the downtown area that used to have car lots and dealerships, directly across the street from the all-new Greenway Apartments at Fisher Park.

According to the Christ Church website, they are congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America. The Christ Church community is a diverse group of people, from university students to young parents with toddlers to seniors and everything in between. We'll have to try to visit someday and see what it looks like when it is brimming with people. Between services,  it as quiet and haunting as an abandoned textile mill.

Lincoln Financial on the Skyline

Happy Monday! As many of us gear up for the work week, we share a photo of the iconic building representing Greensboro's business community. It can be seen from so many vantage points around the city. The 18 story building, Greensboro's skyscraper, is 233 feet tall and, when it was built in 1923, it was the tallest building in North Carolina as well as the tallest building between Washington D.C. and Atlanta. A 20-story addition, the Jefferson-Pilot, now Lincoln Financial, was added in 1990. Actually, it is the 20-story addition that is primarily visible in this photo. The Jefferson Standard side is hidden behind and slightly visible to the right.

The above photo was taken yesterday evening, around 4:30, from the Greensboro College campus. Greensboro College is a perfect vantage point from which to view downtown Greensboro. The slight elevation of the campus affords such a nice view. Now is the time to take advantage of wandering around this beautiful campus while the college students are still away for winter break and parking is not an issue. Hurry! Classes begin on Wednesday.

My FOX 8 (and Friends) Taping Chanukah Festivities

Local media were out covering Chanukah festivities in Center City Park on Sunday. Above, photojournalist Brian Rainey works diligently taping the event. We were so impressed at the demeanor of the all the camera people from the different news chanels. They found a way to get their needed footage, yet making room for all of the amateurs (like us) wandering through the crowd. Hats off to the journalists, photo/video/print, who keep us informed and help maintain a sense of community. Speaking of hats, the man in the background, wearing the Menorah hat, is Ivan Saul Cutler, a local journalist and blogger. His plush Menorah brought quite a smile to children and adults alike.

At the top, as if overseeing everything, is the Lincoln Financial Building (formerly Jefferson Standard & Jeferson Pilot) blinking the time and temperature at sunset. We didn't see Brian's final footage on Fox 8 this week; however, we want to thank him and his co-workers for covering these community events. It makes a difference.

Greensboro's "Tree of Life"

Nothing says "weekend" in Greensboro like a shot of the heart of the city. Here we are at the railroad tracks looking northward towards downtown with the JP building on the horizon. The train says City of Asheville on the side window. Maybe it is headed from the mountains to the coast. Every North Carolinian should make that very journey at least once. It should be a standard school field trip.  

While looking up rail history in North Carolina, we came across these videos on the city's website. They were part of the Bicentennial production about Greensboro. We also found this timeline on the history of the North Carolina Railroad (NCRR) company. In the 19th century, the rail system was referred to as North Carolina's "tree of life." Finally, a "must do" is click on this NCRR interactive map, to see the route and learn about the UNCG/pedestrian underpass project.

 

View from East Greensboro

Sometimes you can find beauty and visual interest where you least expect it. Here we are at an Exxon station captivated by the geometric, clean lines of the red, white, and blue scene. The station is located in East Greensboro, on East Market Street, near NC A&T. As you can see, it is still possible to make a pay phone call here. Pay phones and university campuses just seem to go together. The only other one we've located in Greensboro is beside UNCG (here). Do you know of others? 

This photo also documents the price of regular gas on July 28th (the day the photo was taken). Already, the price is higher. We plan to return to this same spot next year to compare the price of gas from one year to the next. Do you think it will be higher or lower?

On another note, if you notice, the Jefferson Standard/Jefferson Pilot/Lincoln Financial Building is peeking out above the red roof of the Exxon outbuilding. When the "JP Building" is in a photo, you know it was taken in Greensboro.

Paisley Street... Quietly Endures

Paisley Street is located downtown, near the Smith Street Diner and the First Presbyterian Church-- vestige of early 20th century Greensboro. The street is named for the Reverend William Paisley who was born in Guilford County in 1767, forty one years before Greensboro became a city. The Rev. Paisley was involved in early real estate transactions in the county. He purchased lots on West Market Street from Thomas Caldwell. The lots were located just beyond the western town limit, perhaps not too far from this street that bears his family name.  

If you look closely, you will notice the JP Building peeking through in the background. If you are local, likely when you were little, you believed that all roads led to the JP Building, the city's time-and-temperature revealing epicenter. This sleepy little residential area of downtown is quite charming. Hopefully, it will survive the current construction boom at nearby Eugene Street. We're sharing this with Skywatch Friday, so that the world can see the sky over Greensboro.

MLK, Jr. Parade at Southside

Here is the tail end of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade yesterday with the iconic Jefferson Standard/Pilot/Lincoln Financial building in the background. The parade route took us north on MLK Drive, through Ole Asheboro and Southside and then downtown. The air was brisk but it kept everyone energized. Organizations were generous with tossing candy to children; the bands sounded great; and it was a nice way to remember our city's efforts towards equality. From church groups to postal workers to scouts to high school marching bands, to bystanders, a memorable time was had by all. 

These events are so good for community building. It would be nice to find a way to plan for these days with all public school children out and doing something with/for the community.

Year Four Begins on Greensboro Daily Photo

January 2nd, 2009, Greensboro Daily Photo began-- quietly with a photo of Downtown Greensboro (here). 1,096 photos and paragraphs later, we felt it was fitting to share a scene on Elm Street to kick off Year 4. Last night, Elm Street was beautiful, quiet and aglow; the JP building was blinking the time and temperature and cars were returning. Indeed, the city appeared to be waking up from an extended holiday season to face the new year. 

We don't know how long you have been following Greensboro Daily Photo, but we are extremely happy that you are here. We hope  you will continue reading our blog for a very long time and that you will encourage your friends to follow us. We'd love to hear your comments and suggestions. If you want to learn more about GDP, yesterday's post is a good place to start. Also, Day 1,000 we share a photo of the two of us (Mr. and Mrs. Greensboro Daily Photo). For 2012, we are looking forward to sharing new places and events in Greensboro. Let's borrow from President Kennedy and say, "Ask not what Greensboro can do for us but what we can do for Greensboro."

"O" is for Odd Fellows of GSO

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows' building is located at 311 Battleground Avenue in Downtown Greensboro. The JP Building serves as a backdrop to the Odd Fellows' facility.  Odd Fellows get their name from 17th century England when it was "odd" for people to organize for the sake to give to others in need. According to their website, the Odd Fellows practice friendship, love, and truth.

 

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. 

Downtown Greensboro

Downtown Greensboro is anchored by the (formerly, Jefferson-Standard, then Jefferson-Pilot) Lincoln Financial Building. The glass windows, reflecting blue, show the eastern side of the building. Every once in a while, we need to be reminded that in the center of the city, we have multiple story buildings. For those who live elsewhere, over the last decade, gentrification has made the downtown area an appealing place to live and work. 

Don't you just expect Batman and Robin to walk into this scene at any minute?