Greensboro Daily Photo

Centenary UMC

The Centenary United Methodist Church building always looks so beautiful a the intersection of Ridgeway and Friendly Avenue. The steeple is firmly in place. We remember when it was knocked off by high winds. We remember buying pumpkins from the youth group in many Octobers over the years. We remember the lovely Nativity scene displayed on this side of the church every December. It is so hard to believe that, as of the end of 2024, they held their last church service. We seem to remember Cone Health will put something on the property. For now, we'll just continue to enjoy this view with the lovely church, the North Carolina clouds, and that pine tree on the right.

We'll tag this as "then and now" and show you when it looks in the future "now."

Happy Sunday!

Westover Terrace at Green Valley Road

Green Valley Road and the Westover Terrace/Battleground Avenue area is changing before our eyes. Most recently, it started with the demolishing of Women's Hospital. This week, another icon in the area is no more. The above pile of debris used to be the Hardee's . The Hardee's at 1501 Westover Terrace opened in 1980 and closed 43 years later,  in 1923. Now, it appears the one acre lot may become a bank. It is a little hard to keep up with all of the growth and change in Greensboro.

We had to chuckle, not being overly impressed with this photo. But, we're telling ourselves that it is in the style of German photographer, Andreas Gursky. In 2011, his photo Rhein II (see HERE) sold for 4.3 million.  We're hoping ours will command a similar price. Hahaha! Seriously though, by the time you blink your eyes, a new building will be in its place.

Happy Thursday!

3118 Horse Pen Creek Road

The old Jessup family homeplace at 3118 Horse Pen Creek Road sold in December 2024 for almost 1.5 million dollars. Built in 2015, the home back in the day was a real beauty and was well cared for. However, we're betting that more valuable than the 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house and outbuildings was the 6.38 acre lot. This is prime property in an area  that is quickly being redeveloped.  The home belonged to Kenneth Jessup, Sr. and his wife Margaret. Both Jessups were born in 1927; however, Mr. Jessup died in 2020 and his wife in 2017.  

Mr. Jessup had an HVAC business on Battleground Avenue, Mrs. Jessup was a nurse and accomplished potter. Both had active civic engagement and were devout members of Jessup Grove Baptist Church. They raised their children on Horse Pen Creek and in Jessup Grove Baptist.  Soon, the old home place will be torn down and the new tenants will know nothing of the land's previous history.  

Over the years, the Jessup family's church, Jessup Grove Baptist,  has been sold and renamed several times. For now, there is still a Jessup Grove Road as a reminder of a time when things in a community were often named after people in the community.  The Jessups were a great, civic minded family. Let us all aspire to contribute to family, friends, and community in the way the Jessups did.

Happy Monday!

Former Golden Corral on Lawndale

The Golden Corral Buffet and Grill on Lawndale Avenue has been closed for over five years. It seems like more than that, but an article in the Greensboro News and Record on January 3, 2020 states that it closed after being in that location for twenty years. Many of us raised children, going to that venue. We had season-end sports gatherings there. Many church groups and families gathered there on Sundays. Children learned to take it if you touched it; to eat all you want, but to try not to waste; to not put a finger in the chocolate fountain. For two decades, the all-you-can-eat format, encouraged us to eat, and eat, and eat. The food was good and the prices reasonable.  There is still a Golden Corral on West Wendover Avenue, but the Lawndale location was super convenient for those on the east side of town.

Imagine our delight when, on Saturday, we noticed people inside working. Jubilantly, we went bouncing inside inquiring about the future tenant. The answer we got from the people inside, "eye doctors."  They noticed our bubbly excitement change to a sullen expression. We tried to recover by saying something like, "Oh well, we all need good eye care."  

We'll tag this post under "then and now," as it is yet another example of how Greensboro is changing.

Happy Monday!

Old House On Summerfield Road

For those who follow the news, The North Carolina General Assembly de-annexed close to 1,000 acres from the town of Summerfield, which will allow Greensboro to annex land for development. Already in the works, 80 acres will become 268 housing units developed by David Couch. The development will be called Christopher Village.

Recently, we took a drive to Summerfield to see some of the farmland that will become the housing development and to enjoy the beauty of what has historically been farmland. We visited the above property at 7026 Summerfield Road; just under two acres with a house built in 1901 and a few outbuildings. Most recently, it has been a CPA office. However, that shingle has been replaced by a "for sale" sign. Given its close proximity to businesses, we imagine it will become something commercial. For now, we enjoying looking at a little slice of property that harkens back to the beginning of the 20th century.**  The house needs a lot of work, but is is very charming. What do you think it should become?

• Read more about development of land formerly-known-as-Summerfield,  HERE.
• See the listing for the property HERE.

Happy Thursday!

Construction On Horse Pen Creek Road

The above photo is a construction site on Horse Pen Creek Road at Jessup Grove. As you can see in the background, the area was formerly woods. By 2026, the property will transform into an Atrium Health/Wake Forest University surgery and cancer center. Here is a history of Atrium Health, which has its beginnings over 80 years ago in Charlotte, NC. Here is another article that actually links Atrium to the late 1800s. 

The above Atrium Health facility will join Cone Health MedCenter Greensboro at Drawbridge Parkway, as a medical facility in the area.  As the crow flies, both facilities are just a stone's throw from Well-Spring  Retirement Community, and many relatively new communities. Horse Pen Creek is transforming before our eyes.

Happy Thursday!

State Street Is Changing Before Our Eyes

State Street is changing before eyes. The above construction is happening at the corner of State Street and Roseland Street. This work was being done yesterday, meaning that this building should be occupant-ready with a blink of an eye. Formerly, there was a tan, one story house on this corner and it was looking very tired. As this district brings in new businesses, it will continue to rebrand itself and attract new shoppers and clients. There are at least 30 businesses in the area and offerings range from salons and offices to coffee and tea shops and cute boutique shops. We can't wait to see how the above construction adds to the revitalization of this block.  Stay tuned!

Happy Thursday!

Fordhams Inside

Yesterday, we featured the exterior of Fordhams Cleaners. Today, we share an interior photo, at least how it looked on Saturday afternoon. 1900 Spring Garden Street just won't be the same without Fordhams. It was started in 1947 by Woodrow Fordham and managed to have a 78-year run. They did everything from clean draperies, wedding dresses and formalwear to wash and fold laundry. If you still need a good, old-fashioned dry cleaners, try Snow White. We featured them in 2009, the first year of Greensboro Daily Photo and they seem to still be going strong. (See HERE).

We've tagged this under the "then and now" category and will watch with great interest to see what this building becomes. That HVAC system looks like a giant, silver spider.

Happy Tuesday!

Construction on Highwoods Boulevard

They have made considerable progress on building townhomes on Highwoods Boulevard, between Hobbs Road and Jefferson Village.  One hundred thirty three and four bedroom townhomes are being installed. These homes will be convenient to Jefferson Elementary, Kernodle Middle, Kathleen Clay Edwards Branch Library and all of the shopping in the area. Here is the change from August. At this rate, they will be completed within six months. We wish we had a photo of the land when it belonged to Jefferson-Pilot; however, it changed hands in 1997, twelve years before we started Greensboro Daily Photo. For sure, this process will be archived in our "then and now" category. This particular property is a little over 16 acres. The community will be called Harmon Jefferson Village. We're wondering what the street names will be. Perhaps it is not too late to make suggestions. Stay tuned for the next installment. We would love to know if anyone found and Revolutionary War artifacts on this previously unimproved land. It is in the vicinity.

Happy Tuesday!

New Zion Missionary Baptist Church

The New Zion Missionary Baptist Church is a very large part of the footprint between Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and East Gate City Boulevard (formerly Lee Street). The above photo features the Greensboro Fire Department Hose Company No 4, Southside, which the church now owns and uses for community outreach activities. The building appears to have been nicely restored and the sanctuary is located to the right of the above building. 

William F. Wright, Jr. is pastor and services are held Sunday mornings and evenings, and there is Wednesday Bible Study. The origins of the church date back to 1897 in the nearby Warnersville community. The church is known for working hard to meet the needs of the congregation and the needs of the surrounding community.  It is hard to believe that the multi-million dollar sanctuary (to the right), built in 2016 is already almost ten years old. In checking our archives, we see we featured it under construction in 2016. (see HERE).  It is fun to look back and see these changes to Greensboro over the years.

Happy Sunday!