Every year, Preservation Greensboro creates a “Watch List” of local historic homes and buildings that are in danger of being destroyed. Some are saved, like the remarkable Shaw House at 111 Arden Place, rescued last year by new owners who are renovating the one-time hunting lodge in the College Park neighborhood. Others aren’t, like the Art Deco Showfety Building, which was sacrificed for construction of a parking deck.
This year’s list includes several iconic homes along with the Pilot Life office complex in Sedgefield, the Southern Railway Passenger Depot on South Elm Street, and one of the few Egyptian Revival office buildings in the state.
The most notable property on the list may be Adamsleigh, the colossal 15,000 square foot mansion in Sedgefield. It was bought last year by Jason Harris, an owner of Furnitureland South. “Rumors swirl on whether the new owner will focus on a preservation strategy for the property or destruction of the manor,” Benjamin Briggs of Preservation Greensboro writes.
Here are some of the other historic homes on the list:
East Greensboro’s rich collection of Mid-Century Modern homes: “Though still remarkably intact, these resources are fragile and endangered because their importance is not widely known and celebrated in Greensboro.” Preservation Greensboro and the City of Greensboro are working on that.
The three structures on the Southside Triangle Block: “As the neighborhood surrounding these important buildings has been redeveloped, lack of investment in the structures has resulted in severe deterioration.”
Nelson Station, 903 Bluford Street, an important early example of N.C. A&T faculty housing and one of the oldest African American historic sites in Greensboro: “As neighborhood land values continue to decline, A&T is taking the opportunity to expand its campus north across the street. The current campus master plan calls for the streetscape to be destroyed and replaced with green space.”
The entire list is worth reading: Preservation Greensboro’s 2019 Watch List