Greensboro Daily Photo

Train Depot Starts the 400 Block of South Elm

We know we've featured it before, but today, we're featuring the train depot as it represents 50% of the buildings in the 400 block of South Elm Street; with Christman's, on the south side of the railroad tracks, representing the other 50%. The east side of Elm in the south 400 block has a pie-shaped, vacant lot. The address of the (currently unoccupied)  Southern Railway Passenger Depot is 400 South Elm Street. Built in 1899, it has one chapter of its life  in the 19th century, several chapters in the 20th century,  and is about to get a new life in the 21st century. 

The North Carolina Railroad Company purchased the building in 2022 and, through a partnership with the City of Greensboro, will develop the space as commercial, mixed-use, in a way that maintains the integrity of the building. We love the way this photo shows the "railroad crossing" sign and there is a bicycle in view. You can also see the tip of the Blumenthal Building.  If you've been around a while, you will remember the Blumenthal Clothing Store, that catered to "big and tall" men. It was a step back in time to shop there in the 1990s, but then, it had been a Greensboro institution for almost a century (1926-2012). 

Happy Wednesday!

The 400 Block of South Elm: Christman Building

The Christman Company has taken the building at 408 South Elm Street and turned it into a shining gem. The three-story Italianate building, built in 1896,  is also known as the Cascade Saloon building. After the saloon, it was the Clegg Grocery Store. It sat empty for many years, until the Christman Company rescued it and worked their construction magic. The Christman Company was the perfect company to renovate and move into this building as their company was founded around the same time, actually two years before the building was erected. On the right side of the building (not photographed) are the railroad tracks and  the Southern Railway Passenger Depot, which was built in 1899. 

 The Christman building is beautiful and structurally sound, now. The City of Greensboro is currently working with the North Carolina Railroad Company to revitalize the historic building.  With every restoration along Elm Street, downtown becomes even more vibrant. We are hopeful it will become another place well loved by the community and that the integrity of the architecture will remain. We would also love to see downtown Greensboro used for more film projects as there are so many well-maintained historic buildings in the area.

These two buildings round out the 400 block of downtown Greensboro. It may well be the shortest block on Elm, perhaps in Greensboro. Does anyone know the shortest block in the city, or the longest block? We'll need to start looking in to it!

The Upper Part of the South 500 Block

Today, the building on the left is 506 South Elm Street and it was built in 1898. The business,  between the two white vehicles, is Find Your Flow Fitness Wellness Studio, located at 506 South Elm Street A. They've recently celebrated their 3rd year as a studio and people who go there love it. It is a nice option, especially for people who live and work near downtown. We need to get the names of the businesses beside the wellness studio.

In looking at information compiled for the National Register of Historic Places, the 504-506 South Elm Building is described as three-story Italianate brick with granite trim. They mention the Piedmont Cafe and Model Barber Shop, which operated there in the 1940s. The building between it and The Christman Company, is described as a triangular, Italianate structure with segmented arches over the second floor windows. The second floor was added on a few years later and it originally housed Thompson's Shoe Store. Just to the right of this last building in the South 500 Block is Barnhardt Street, which has many pop-up shops when the weather is nice and has become part of the "entertainment" corridor of the south end of downtown.

Upper South 500 Block

The upper South 500 block, west side, of South Elm is very interesting. On the left, you see Terra Blue the spiritual shop known for having crystals, being a place to get your tarot cards read, a place for a good cup of coffee, and so much more. It has been open since 1999. The store now uses both side of 518 South Elm Street. Years ago, the side on the right was "The Browsery" where Charles sold antiques and Ben sold books in the back, once he moved his bookstore from the 300 South Elm Street block. Beside it is the former Fordham Drug Store, which closed in 2015, after having been open for 104 years.* It is currently for sale and it would be so nice for someone to purchase this piece of Greensboro history. If you read the article referenced below, you will see first-hand the nostalgia that property holds for 20th century life in Greensboro. In addition to great service in the pharmacy section, the soda fountain was very popular. If we could go back in time, we'd try a lavender malted milkshake!

To the right is Edward Jones Investments, located in 512 South Elm. The two-story building dates to 1925 and was last for sale in 2017.  It was so refreshing seeing this group of teens walking through town recently, knowing there are things to do in town that attract people of all ages. Also, the greenery from the trees and the flower baskets, hanging from lamp posts, makes the city look so pretty.

*read the Our State Magazine article here.

500 Westside Block South Elm: One Block at a Time

Today, we're on the westside of South Elm Street in the 500 block. We were so captivated by the view from Ziggy's on the east side of South Elm Street, as Ziggy's has set up a lush jungle of potted plants at their entrance. However, we missed the Downtown Greensboro building,  Stolen Skate Shop, Ambleside Gallery (which we love and at least have featured before), Rock's Hair Shop, and the Vintage to Vogue Antique Shop. The antique shop is located at 530 South Elm, in the building that once housed Jules Antiques, owned by Gary Brame. Seen in the photo, is the Community Theatre of Greensboro at 520 South Elm Street and 518 South Elm with the ever eclectic Terra Blue Shop and just in the corner, the Fordham Drug Store at 514 South Elm. The Fordham Drug building was built in 1895 and housed the drug store for over 100 years. Barely visible is the office with Edward Jones. 

The National Register of Historic Places describes the 500 block of South Elm as having been built in the late 1890s and early 1900s with buildings that are two stories in height, with the west side of the block offering a lot of diversity in building styles. This part of Elm Street would be a great streetscape for a period-piece movie. The yellow brick in the CTG building sets it apart. Notice the alley between the CTG building and Terra Blue. We'll feature a shot of it tomorrow.

Happy Tuesday!

CTG Alley in the Middle of the 500 Block of South Elm

Today, we're featuring the alley in the middle of the 500 block of South Elm Street. It is used by the cast and crew of CTG and the gateway to the Herman and Barbara Cone Family Education and Event Center. The yellow "brick" wall is a wall of CTG donors.  CTG was founded in 1949 and has been a great community resource ever since. 

The alley was originally left here to serve as an alley for Glascock Foundry to access their foundry on Lewis Street. That business was originally founded in 1873 as Glascock Plow & Foundry. The foundry made wood and coal stoves and other cast iron items. A special thanks goes out to Great, Great Grandson Nollie W Neill, Dr. who  is a Glascock Stove historian and collector.  Most importantly, he collects stories and items from his great great grandfather's business. How wonderful that he remembers that little bit of lore about the alley on the 500 block of  South Elm Street. Do you have a family story to share about Elm Street?

 

Upper 600 Westside: One Block at a Time

To continue up the 600 block of the westside of South Elm Street, to the right of Chez Genese is Mosaic Piano Services, Artmongerz (2005), Elsewhere Living Museum, The Crooked Tail Cat Cafe (est. 2017) . Social Status Shoes, and, rounding out the block,  Lewis & Elm- a wine, cheese, beer, and seasonal fare establishment on the corner (est. 2021). 

We have special memories of Elsewhere Museum, est. 2016) , first when Sylvia Gray had a thrift shop there. She had a sign on the door that gave the hours it was likely to be open and a disclaimer that it just might not happen if something else came up. We wish we could find the exact quote. But serious, Sylvia was an inspiring woman who did an amazing job of raising her children in very tough times. Read the history of the building HERE. We love to walk past Social Status on a day a new shoe is being released or "dropped" as the young collectors would say. Triad City Beat didn't add a lot of history about this part of the 600 block, but they added great detail to Lewis Street, something we aren't covering in this Elm Street walk.

Happy Monday!

Chez Genese: One Block at a Time

This is the view of West Elm Street, just north of the Old Greensborough and Elm & Bain space on the corner. To the left is Bain Street. The business is Chez Genese a very special French inspired restaurant known for its brunch menu. Chez Genese opened in October of 2018 and seems to have gained popularity as a great meal location. We ate there last Sunday and it was well worth the 30 minute wait. While they don't have bar seating for singles, they have a communal table that seats about eight. This is a fun concept and great way to be alone, but not lonely.

At the time of the 2017 Triad City Beat article, Charlie and Ruth Jones owned the building, had PB& Java downstairs,  and were still holding their Grub Hub dinners upstairs.  Oh how we miss those dinners. They were such a special way for people of Greensboro from all walks of life to network and meet each other. If you click HERE, you can see an example of just how magical those dinners were. And, if you click HERE, you see that Tamika and Jeff who have the Black Belt Soap Company. We first met them at Grub Hub. Today, Tamika and Jeff are thriving entrepreneurs and people we are so lucky to have met. We like to sit at the communal table at Chez Genese as a not to Charlie and Ruth. They would like knowing that the get-to-know-someone-new model is still alive and well in the building.

Elm & Bain: One Block at A Time

Elm and Bain is the next building up from Old Greensborough on the west side of Elm Street. Today, it is an event center with over 11,000 square feet of space. On their website, Elm & Bain has a lovely history of the building, starting with its origin in 1919 as the Blue Bell Factory. In 1949, it was acquired by Wrangler. Next, Wrangler merged with VF Corporation and this factory became part of a multi-use commercial space. * September 2021, it launched and became known as Elm & Bain. It is so fun to drive by on the weekends and see events happening there. It is a sort of a "Gatsby" experience, observing an event overflowing with guests having a great time. The center can accommodate up to 450 guests! This definitely makes the 600 South Elm block a destination.

Happy Friday!

 

*reference and more information and photos HERE.

Downtown Greensboro One Block at a Time

We had a couple of people ask us about the entrance to the Old Greensborough at Gateway building and so, we thought we'd feature it today. We featured an overview on Monday and then a planting from the garden yesterday, so here you can see the main entrance, the one that makes it accessible to people with special mobility needs. There is no door person, making it necessary to have an access card to enter.

Since we've been  spending a lot of time downtown lately, we've been searching information on line. We came across a great article by Brian Clarey in the February 1st edition of Triad City Beat entitled,  "Downtown Greensboro: Block by Block."  We thought we'd use Brian's article as a reference for the downtown blocks in 2017 and see just how much they've changed since then.  Brian started with the South 600 block, so it makes sense for us to do so and, serendipitously, we've already featured this area twice this week. At the time of Brian's writing, Andy Zimmerman had just purchased the above building and plans for renovation were underway. Fast forward eight years later to 2025 and the property is beautiful.

We're not sure yet if we'll feature the downtown streetscape photos every day in a row. We may interject some other photos along the way, but by the end of July or early August, you will have seen the whole strip of Elm Street from Gate City Boulevard to Tanger Center, westside and eastside. Who knows, by then, there may be even more changes.

Happy Thursday!