(Redirected from Greensboro)
Greensboro Skyline
'Greensboro, North Carolina' (
IPA: ) is a city in the
U.S. state of
North Carolina. It is the largest city in
Guilford County and the largest in the
Piedmont Triad region.
As of the 2000
census, the city population was 223,891, making it the third most populous city in North Carolina. Its estimated
2006 population is 240,955.
It is located at the intersection of two major interstate highways (
I-85 and
I-40) in the
Piedmont ("foot of the mountains") region in central North Carolina.
In 1808, 'Greensborough' (as it was spelled before 1895) was planned around a central courthouse square to replace
Guilford Court House as the
county seat. This act moved the county courts closer to the geographical center of the county, a location more easily reached by a greater number of the county's citizens.
In 2003, the previous Greensboro -
Winston-Salem -
High Point metropolitan statistical area (MSA) was re-defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget resulting in the formation of the Greensboro-High Point MSA and the Winston-Salem MSA. The 2006 population estimate for the Greensboro-High Point MSA was 685,378. The Greensboro - Winston-Salem - High Point
combined statistical area (CSA), popularly referred to as the
Piedmont Triad, had an estimated population of 1,513,576 in 2006. ''Source: US Bureau of the Census, Released April 2007''
History
Early history
The city was named for Major General
Nathanael Greene, commander of the American forces at the
Battle of Guilford Court House on
March 15,
1781.,
[1] The Americans lost that battle but the
Pyrrhic victory slowed
Cornwallis' British forces enough to allow the Americans to prepare to defeat them at the
Battle of Yorktown, where the British were forced to surrender on
October 19,
1781, after a 20-day siege, thus ending the
American Revolution. Historian David McCullough considers Nathanael Greene to be "the best general" in the American military during the Revolution, including George Washington.
[2]
Greensboro was established near the geographic center of Guilford County, on land that was "an unbroken forest with thick undergrowth of huckleberry bushes, that bore a finely flavored fruit."
[3] Property for the future village was purchased for $98, and three north-south streets (Greene, Elm, Davie) were laid out intersecting with three east-west streets (Gaston, Market, Sycamore).
[4] The courthouse stood at the center of the intersection of Elm and Market streets. By 1821, the town contained 369 residents.
In the early
1840s, Greensboro was selected by the state government at the request of then
Governor Morehead whose estate,
Blandwood is located in Greensboro, to be included on a
railroad line. The city grew substantially in size and soon became known as the Gate City due to its role as a transportation hub for the state.
[5] The railroads transported goods to and from
textile mills, which grew up with their own mill villages around the city. Many of these businesses remained in the city until the 21st century, when many of them went bankrupt, reorganized, and/or merged with other companies. Greensboro remains as a major textile headquarters city with the main offices of International Textile Group (Cone, Burlington Industries), Galey & Lord, Unifi, and
VF Corporation (
Wrangler,
Lee, North Face,
Vanity Fair). Rail traffic continues as Greensboro is a major North Carolina freight hub, and four
Amtrak passenger trains stop in Greensboro daily on the main
Norfolk & Western line between
Washington and
New Orleans by way of
Atlanta.
A Picture of Blandwood Mansion, an Alexander Jackson Davis designed Tuscan Villa
Though the city developed slowly, early wealth generated from cotton trade and merchandising led to the construction of several notable buildings. The earliest building, later named
Blandwood Mansion and Gardens, built in 1795. Additions to this residence in 1846 designed by
Alexander Jackson Davis of
New York City made the house an influential landmark in the nation as America's earliest Tuscan Villa.
[6] Other significant estates followed, including "Dunleith" designed by Samuel Sloan, Bellemeade, and the Bumpass-Troy House (now operated as an inn).
Civil War and Reconstruction
The city played an important role in politics at the end of the Civil War. During the closing days of the conflict, the Confederate Cabinet had evacuated the Confederate Capital, Richmond, Virginia on their way south. The group reassembled in Greensboro on
April 11, and for five days, Greensboro served as the temporary capital of the Confederacy.
[7] At nearly the same time, Governor Zebulon B. Vance fled the capital of North Carolina in anticipation of the arrival of Union General Sherman.
[8] During the brief period beginning on
April 16,
1865, the capital of North Carolina was temporarily maintained in Greensboro.
[9][10] Governor Vance proclaimed the North Carolina Surrender Declaration on April 28, 1865.
[11] Later, Vance turned himself over to Union officials in the parlor of Blandwood Mansion. In the words of historian Blackwell Robinson, "Greensboro witnessed not only the demise of the Confederacy but also that of the old civil government of the state" of North Carolina.
[7]
Industrialization and growth
In the 1890s, the city continued to attract attention from northern industrialists, including Moses and Ceasar Cone.
[13] The Cones, of Jewish faith from Baltimore, established large scale textile plants, growing Greensboro from a village to a city within a decade. By 1900, Greensboro was considered a center of the Southern textile industry, with large scale factories producing denim, flannel, and overalls.
[14] Prosperity brought to the city through textiles resulted in the construction of notable twentieth century civic architecture, included the Guilford County Courthouse, West Market Street
Methodist Church by S. W. Faulk, several buildings designed by Frank A. Weston, and
UNCG's Main Building designed by Orlo Epps. During the twentieth century, Greensboro expanded in wealth and population. Rapid growth led to construction of grand commercial and civic buildings many of which remain standing today, designed by hometown architects Charles Hartmann and Harry Barton. Other notable industries became established in the city, including Vicks Cemical Co, Carolina Steel Corporation, and Pomona Terra Cotta Works.
[15] During this period of growth, Greensboro experiences an acute housing shortage. Builders sought to maintain a construction goal of 80 to 100 affordable housing units per year in order to provide homes for workers.
[16] Greensboro's real estate was considered "the wonder of the state" during the 1920s. Growth continued through the
Great Depression, as Greensboro added an estimated 200 families a year to its population.
[17] The city earned a reputation as a well-planned community, with a strong emphasis on education, parks, and a profitable employment base.
As Greensboro evolved into one of North Carolina's chief cities, changes began to occur within its traditional social structure. On
February 1,
1960,
four black college students from
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College sat down at an all-white
Woolworths lunch counter, and refused to leave when they were denied service. Hundreds of others soon joined in this
sit-in, which lasted for several months. Such protests quickly spread across the South, ultimately leading to the
desegregation of Woolworths and other chains. The original Woolworths counter and stools now sit in the
Smithsonian, but a Sit-In Museum is being built in the old Woolworths building where the event actually occurred. (As of May 2007, efforts to finally open the International Civil Rights Museum have been postponed due to budget constraints.)
Prosperity brought new levels of development involving nationally and internationally known architects.
Walter Gropius designed a factory building in the city in 1944
[18]. Greensboro-based Ed Loewenstein contributed designs for projects throughout the region.
Eduardo Catalano, and George Matsumoto both brought designs to the city that challenged North Carolinians with modernist architectural concepts and forms.
In spite of this period of progress, old wounds had yet to heal. On
November 3,
1979, members of the
Communist Workers Party were holding an anti-
Ku Klux Klan rally, when a group of KKK and
neo-Nazis caravanned into the Morningside Heights neighborhood in which the rally was being convened and ambushed the protest. Four local TV stations filmed the event as it happened. The Klansmen/Nazis (members of the recently created United Racist Front) allegedly were given directions and a parade permit by an undercover agent of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms who attended Klan meetings and, it is believed, acted as the final impetus toward a showdown. The alleged actions of the BATF agent, as well as the evidence of other government informers who worked with the Klan at the time, have led to allegations of city/state/federal wrongdoing by members of the CWP. Although a pistol was probably fired by a CWP organizer (allegedly into the air) and the Klan caravan was beaten with sticks prior to stopping, only anti-Klan protesters were hurt. Five CWP members were killed and seven were wounded and television footage of the event was shown across the nation. This event is known as the
Greensboro massacre. The Klansmen/Nazis were all acquitted by an all-white jury in two separate criminal trials. In 1985, a civil suit found the five police and two individuals liable for $350,000 in damages, to be paid to the Greensboro Justice Fund.
Neighborhoods
Typical nineteenth-century residence in College Hill
Greensboro's earliest neighborhood is College Hill, located between West Market Street and Spring Garden Street in and around Greensboro College.
The Aycock and Fisher Park neighborhoods followed, established in 1895 and 1901 respectively. The Aycock neighborhood features large Queen Anne residences of the turn-of-the-twentieth century, as well as foursquares, Craftsman, and Colonial Revival styles.
Irving Park, developed in 1911 around the golf course of the Greensboro Country Club, was modelled on nearby
Pinehurst by designer John Nolan. The prestigious neighborhood includes large homes on ample lots, and remains popular today.
Urbanization in Greensboro during the early twentieth century was heavily influenced by the popularity of the automobile, which enabled citizens to live far from the city core in surroundings that were remarkably rural in character. A series of "streetcar suburbs" were established, including Latham Park, Sunset Hills, Lindley Park, Hamilton Lakes, Starmount, Rankin, O. Henry Oaks, and Glenwood. Some of these neighborhoods include public neighborhood parks, others include private parks or no parks at all. Recent additions to the city include sprawling large-scale planned unit developments such as Adams Farm, Lake Jeanette, The Cardinal, New Irving Park, and Reedy Fork Ranch.
Sister cities
Greensboro enjoys "
sister city" status with two cities to foster international friendship and cooperation.
[19]
★ '
Montbeliard',
Franche-Comte,
France
★ Buiucani sector of '
Chişinău',
Moldova
Geography and climate
Greensboro is located at (36.079868, -79.819416).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 283.0
km² (109.2
mi²). 271.2 km² (104.7 mi²) of it is land and 11.8 km² (4.5 mi²) of it (4.16%) is water.
Greensboro enjoys gently rolling hills and is midway between the mountains of North Carolina and its beaches to the east. A view of the city from its highest building—the Lincoln Financial tower—reveals that the town is populated with large numbers of green trees, giving perhaps another dimension to its name. The town is well-situated in terms of travel, with Interstates 40, 85, and the soon-to-be-built
I-73 passing through its borders.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|
| Avg high temp [°F (°C)] | 48 (9) | 51 (11) | 60 (16) | 70 (21) | 78 (26) | 84 (29) | 88 (31) | 86 (30) | 80 (27) | 70 (21) | 60 (16) | 50 (10) | '69 (21)' |
|---|
| Avg low temp [°F (°C)] | 28 (-2) | 30 (-1) | 37 (3) | 46 (8) | 55 (13) | 63 (17) | 67 (19) | 66 (19) | 59 (15) | 47 (8) | 37 (3) | 30 (-1) | '47 (8)' |
|---|
| Rainfall [mm (in.)] | 84 (3.3) | 84 (3.3) | 97 (3.8) | 81 (3.2) | 91 (3.6) | 97 (3.8) | 112 (4.4) | 104 (4.1) | 84 (3.3) | 86 (3.4) | 74 (2.9) | 81 (3.2) | '1074 (42.3)' |
|---|
| Snowfall [mm (in.)] | 79 (3.1) | 64 (2.5) | 43 (1.7) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (0.1) | 30 (1.2) | '218 (8.6)' |
|---|
| ''Source: Weatherbase |
Demographics
| Historical populations |
|---|
Census
year | Population |
|---|---|
|
| 1870 | 497 |
| 1880 | 2,105 |
| 1890 | 3,317 |
| 1900 | 10,035 |
| 1910 | 15,895 |
| 1920 | 19,861 |
| 1930 | 53,569 |
| 1940 | 59,319 |
| 1950 | 74,389 |
| 1960 | 119,574 |
| 1970 | 144,076 |
| 1980 | 155,642 |
| 1990 | 183,894 |
| 2000 | 223,891 |
| 2006 | 240,955 |
As of the
census of 2000, there were 223,891 people, 92,394 households, and 53,958 families residing in the city. The
population density was 825.6/km² (2,138.3/mi²). There were 99,305 housing units at an average density of 366.2/km² (948.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 55.49%
White, 37.40%
Black or
African American, 0.44%
Native American, 2.84%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 2.08% from
other races, and 1.71% from two or more races. 4.35% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 92,394 households out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% were
married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.6% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.94.
The age distribution is 22.3% under the age of 18, 14.1% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $39,661, and the median income for a family was $50,192. Males had a median income of $34,681 versus $26,797 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $22,986. About 8.6% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.
Asians
About 4,000
Vietnamese have resettled in the Greensboro area since 1979 as refugees or secondary migrants. They are a diverse population culturally, ethnically, and religiously, and not organized through any broad based structure. The
Montagnards (French for "mountain people") are people from a number of different tribes from the Highlands of
Vietnam. They had been isolated mountain farmers and hunter-gatherers until the Vietnam War when the US government recruited them as front line soldiers for the US Army Special Forces. About 5,000 have now settled in Guilford County making it the largest Montagnard community outside Vietnam. Over 1000 live in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas combined. A few hundred Nung, a tribal group from northern Vietnam, have been resettled here too and are often grouped with the Montagnard tribes. The total Montagnard population for the state is approaching 7,000 people. In the early 1980s, the first
Cambodian refugees were resettled in Greensboro. A stable community of about 60 large families representing about 500 people are closely affiliated with the Greensboro
Buddhist Center. An additional 800 Cambodians live around the Triad including a large concentration in nearby
Davidson County. Greensboro was not an initial resettlement site for Laotians. However, since the mid 1980s many families came as secondary migrants from other states, and now the Laotian population is stabilized at about 1000 people. A few families of hill tribe refugees from
Laos, mostly
Hmong, live in Guilford County plus over 50 college students at UNCG. Other hill tribe populations from Laos in Guilford include approximately 200
Khmu refugees as well as small groups of other tribes. About 2,000 Korean immigrants, many well established, are represented in Guilford County. The local Chinese Association, comprised primarily of mainland Chinese, has a few hundred members. Ethnic Chinese here number in the thousands.
An
Indian immigrant population estimated at 2000 is well established in the Guilford area and has a long history here. Many are connected with university and medical communities and have multiple community organizations. There are an estimated 600
Pakistanis living in Guilford County. There are estimates of over 1,000
Palestinians in the Guilford County area, and additional thousands in the greater Triad. Many came after the war in 1967. A few hundred
Israeli nationals have also come to the Triad, particularly in international business positions.
Africans
There are close to 15,000 people from many of the 54 African nations living in Guilford County, but no official population numbers are available because the census categorizes these people as African-American or Black. They come from Christian, Muslim, and traditional religious orientations and represent numerous tribal affiliations. About 10 percent of Guilford County's African population are refugees. The African Services Coalition, a nonprofit organization composed of representatives from different African communities, seeks to foster cooperation between the various communities. Some communities have roots at NC A&T State University that go back to the sixties when the university was recognized as a valuable educational resource by developing countries. The Nigerian population is an older, well-established community believed to be the largest African community in Guilford County with about 3,500 people, including second and third generations. This group reflects a variety of religious and tribal traditions. Many of the Nigerians in Guilford County first lived in New York, New Jersey or Washington D.C, and settled in Guilford County after obtaining official status. Guilford County has a long-term, multigenerational Ghanaian population consisting of approximately 450 people. The few new arrivals are mostly international students at area universities, or friends and family members of previous residents. A well established population of 800 people of Sierra Leonese ancestry has made Guilford County their home. This population has either stayed the same or decreased because the temporary protective status that used to be available to some immigrants from this area has been ended.
The Sudanese population is a diverse population, and most have come to Guilford County within the last five years and are currently more than 2,700 people. Many are fleeing the long-standing war in this largest country of Africa. A group of young Sudanese from the south, commonly referred to as the "Lost Boys", have been recently resettled as refugees. Most Sudanese, however, are Muslims from the north. In the last year, many have become citizens, which has allowed people to bring family members from Sudan, leading to a population increase of several hundred in the last year.
There are approximately 400 refugees from
Somalia who have arrived in the last six years, including Benadir from the city of Mogadishu and newly arriving refugees from the Bantu tribe. There are an estimated 1,200 Liberians settled in Guilford County. This population includes some refugees who are recent arrivals, and others who have lived in Guilford County for many years. In the last couple of years, a few hundred Liberian refugees who had been living in refugee camps in the
Ivory Coast and
Ghana have been resettled in Guilford County.
Eastern Europeans
Settlers have also arrived from Eastern Europe. From the former
Yugoslavia (including Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia, and others from former Yugoslavia that have been arriving since 1994 as refugees. There are around 2,000 people who have been resettled here. Greensboro has been a resettlement site in the last few years for approximately 250 Russian and Ukrainian refugees, most of them Jewish. In the last few years a few families totaling less than 200 people have been resettled in Guilford as refugees. Some others have come as secondary migrants.
Latin Americans
The Hispanic/Latino population poses some of the greatest opportunities and challenges for acculturation. They are at the core of the North Carolina economic boom of the nineties as farm, factory, and construction workers. They now have young children born here who are US citizens, growing up as bilingual and bicultural North Carolinians. According to the 2002 and 2003 estimates of Latino population in Guilford County published by Faith Action Inc, there was a 4% increase in Latino population between those years, and in 2003 the population was 26,981. Though there were not follow up studies using this method, we can estimate that if population continued to increase by 4% annually, the current Latino population would be approximately 29,182. Other studies indicate the rate of increase may be even more. This dramatic Hispanic/Latino increase is sufficient to move Guilford County and much of North Carolina into becoming a bilingual and bicultural state.
The predominant immigrant population across North Carolina is a growing and diverse Hispanic/Latino population. Over two thirds of these immigrants are from Mexico, though it is thought that all 26 countries are represented. Most Hispanic/Latinos have arrived since 1990. Growth is expected to continue as long as economic opportunities prevail.
For more information on the diversity of Greensboro, visit
The Center for New North Carolinians
Economy
Greensboro Skyline
Dixie Building
Shops Plaza
Greensboro is the location of the corporate headquarters of the
Honda Aircraft Company,
Lorillard Tobacco Company,
VF Corporation,
Volvo Trucks of North America,
RF Micro Devices, and the
International Textile Group. Jefferson-Pilot Life was based in Greensboro until it merged with
Lincoln Financial Group; the corporate headquarters of the combined company are now in
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. However, Greensboro remains a "center of operations" for the company's life insurance business.
[20] Although traditionally associated with the textile, furniture, and tobacco industries, Greensboro leaders are attempting to attract new businesses in the nanotech, high-tech and transportation/logistics fields. A small chain of fast food restaurants known as
Cook Out has its corporate headquarters in Greensboro.
Downtown
Downtown Greensboro has experienced new construction over the past several years with new developments such as
First Horizon Park, and numerous condominiums, apartments and townhomes. The Southside neighborhood in downtown examplifies this reinvestment as a formerly economically depressed neighborhood has been redeveloped into an award-winning neotraditional neighborhood. Many architectural styles are present resembling architecture from cities such as Charleston and New Orleans.
[21] Downtown has also seen a dramatic change in nightlife with the opening of numerous nightclubs, bars and restaurants. In 2006,
Elon University opened a law school in center city. Downtown attractions include: the
Carolina Theater,
Triad Stage (Pyrle Gibson Theater),
Blandwood Mansion,
International Civil Rights Museum,
Center-City Park,
First Horizon Park, Greensboro Historical Museum, Greensboro Cultural Center, the Greensboro Children's Museum, and the Center City Park. One project under construction is the International Civil Rights Museum, which is to be located in the former space of the Woolworths where the first sit-ins were held.
Downtown at night
Education
Institutes of higher education
★
Bennett College for Women
★
Greensboro College
★
Guilford College
★
Guilford Technical Community College
★
Elon University School of Law
★
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
★
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
For-profit universities
★ Brookstone College
★ ECPI College of Technology
★
DeVry University
★
Strayer University
Boarding schools
★
American Hebrew Academy
★
Oak Ridge Military Academy
Private education
★
Greensboro Day School
★
New Garden Friends School
★ Guilford Day School
★ Canterbury K-8
★ Bna'i Shalom Jewish Day School
Public education
High Schools and Middle Colleges
★
Walter Hines Page High School
★
Grimsley High School
★ Dudley High School
★
Eastern Guilford High School
★
Western Guilford High School
★
The Early College at Guilford
★ Smith High School
★ Northern Guilford High School
★
Northwest Guilford High School
★
Southern Guilford High School
★
Northeast Guilford High School
★
Southeast Guilford High School
★
Southwest Guilford High School
★ Lucy Ragsdale High School
★ Philip J. Weaver Academy
Attractions
★
The Bog Garden is accessed by an elevated boardwalk that comprises a half-mile of the 1.06 miles of trails that wind through the Bog Garden. Along the Bog Garden trails are found an array of wetland flora, including trees, shrubs, wildflowers and bush species that thrive in wetland ecosystems. The Bog Garden also provides a place for viewing wetland wildlife, such as migratory and indigenous birds.
★ 'Bicentennial Garden' was developed in 1976 to commemorate the United States national bicentennial. It contains 1.25 miles of paved trails that showcase scenic vistas and a variety of seasonal and annual plants, flowers, and shrubs. Outdoor sculptures provides aesthetic and historic interest. There is also a pavilion available for outdoor weddings.
★
Greensboro Center City Park, a new park that opened on
December 1,
2006, occupies a half city block adjacent to the Greensboro Cultural Center. Sponsored by
Action Greensboro and designed by
Halvorson Design Partnership of Boston, the park features a fountain as well as works by several North Carolina artists. It is open to the public for day-to-day use and for events and performances.
★
Greensboro Arboretum was completed as a partnership between Greensboro Beautiful and the Greensboro Parks & Recreation Department. It provides citizens with a broad selection of plants for study and enjoyment. This 17-acre site features 12 permanent plant collections and special display gardens, structural features including a fountain, overlook, arbor, gazebo, bridges, and benches.
★
Blandwood Mansion and Gardens was the home of former North Carolina Governor John Motley Morehead. Today it stands as a museum of national architectural and historical significance. It is the earliest example of Tuscan Italianate architecture in the nation, and was designed by New York architect Alexander Jackson Davis.
★
World War Memorial Stadium was one of the nation's oldest continuously used baseball venues before it was abandoned for First Horizon Stadium in 2005. The stadium was constructed in 1926 as a perpetual memorial to lives lost during the first World War. It anchors the Aycock Historic District, and remains used by college ball clubs, amateur leagues, and other special events throughout the year. It was once home to the Greensboro Bats, Until First Horison Park was built and the team became the Greensboro Grasshoppers
2006 ACC Tournament Town logo
★
Greensboro Coliseum Complex The Greensboro Coliseum Complex was conceived as, and continues to be a multi-building facility to serve the Citizens of Greensboro and the surrounding area through a broad range of activities, including athletic events, cultural arts, concerts, theater, and other entertainment, educational activities, fairs, exhibits, and public and private events of all kinds, such as conventions, convocations, trade and consumer shows. It is both a primary center of activity for the community as well as one of many resources central to community-wide events. The Greensboro Coliseum Complex has hosted such prestigious events as the
ACC Tournament,
ECHL and
AHL hockey, the
NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship and
Starrcade 1983. The
Carolina Hurricanes of the
National Hockey League called Greensboro home while a new coliseum as being constructed in Raleigh. Since 1959, the Coliseum has featured superstars from
Elvis to
Usher. It will host the 2010 ACC Basketball Tournaments (men's and women's). The Complex has undergone several major renovations, the latest in 1994, bringing the maximum arena capacity to its current 23,500. There is a proposal underway to build the ACC Hall of Champions and Museum next to the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The ACC was founded in Greensboro in 1953 and is currently headquartered at the
Grandover Office Park in south Greensboro.
First Horizon Park, downtown Greensboro
★
First Horizon Park is home of the Greensboro Gasshoppers baseball club. Completed in 2005, it hosts other outdoor events during the summer.
★
GYS Bryan Park Complex with its 17 turf fields is Home to Greensboro Youth Soccer and the Greensboro Dynamo
★
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park This memorial site commemorates the Battle of Guilford Court House, fought on
March 15,
1781. This battle opened the campaign that led to American victory in the Revolutionary War. The British lost a substantial number of troops at the battle, a factor in their surrender at Yorktown seven months later. The site remains largely undeveloped with large stone memorials erected early in the twentieth century to honor the event.
★ The
Natural Science Center of Greensboro is a family oriented, hands-on science museum with planetarium. The
zoo reopened in summer 2007 after undergoing extensive renovations.
★
Wet N' Wild Emerald Pointe a very popular attraction and is the largest waterpark in the Carolinas.
★ Site of the 1960
Woolworths sit-ins.
Shopping
Greensboro is home to a wide variety of retail options from the best known national chains to local boutiques and galleries.
Four Seasons Town Centre, located on the city's southwest side off
I-40, is a three-level regional mall with anchors,
Belk,
Dillard's, and
JCPenney.
Friendly Center, located off Friendly Avenue is an open-air shopping center featuring
Belk,
Macy's,
Sears,
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, the nation's largest
Harris Teeter supermarket,
Old Navy, a multi-plex cinema, and over 100 specialty retailers including
Banana Republic,
J.Crew and
Brooks Brothers.
Big-box centers are found primarily on the West Wendover corridor near I-40 and on Battleground Avenue on the city's northwest side. Recently, big-box has been developed at the site of the former
Carolina Circle Mall on the city's northeast side and on the city's far south near the new I-85 By-Pass.
Sports
Arts
Carolina Theatre
Greensboro is home to an active and diverse arts community for a city of its size. Venues range for the nationally acclaimed Eastern Music Festival and Weatherspoon Art Museum, to the cutting edge performances of Triad Stage.
★
Carolina Theatre The Carolina Theatre is a performing arts facility located in downtown Greensboro since 1927. The facility has been home to the Greensboro Ballet, Community Theatre of Greensboro, the Livestock Players Musical Theatre, Greensboro Youth Symphony and other local performing arts groups since the historic theater was refurbished in the 1990s.
★
City Arts City Arts showcases a variety of musical and theatrical productions by The Livestock Players, Greensboro Children's Theatre, the Music Center, Greensboro Concert Band, Philharmonia of Greensboro, Choral Society of Greensboro, and the Greensboro Youth Chorus. Each group can be heard as part of the OPUS Concert Series and the summer "Music for a Sunday Evening in the Park" series.
★
Community Theatre of Greensboro With over 45 years of experience in presenting Broadway plays and musicals, the CTG features its Studio Theatre in the Greensboro Cultural Center. See non-traditional and original works make their Greensboro debut.
★
Eastern Music Festival Enjoy over 100 summer concerts from symphonic works to chamber music and recitals by professional and talented students from around the world. Venue also includes the Fringe Festival, highlighting alternative music and performances.
★
CafeJAM CafeJAM is a Christian concert venue and youth outreach by EagleRock International Ministries of Greensboro, NC. It was established November 1998, in Archdale, NC and relocated to Greensboro August 2000. CafeJAM attracts several local artists such as Source of Prosperity and Zeteo as well as national artists like Cool Hand Luke and Disciple.
★
Greensboro Ballet and School of Greensboro Ballet A traditional December production of "The Nutcracker" is just one of the many artistic and educational activities offered. The School of Greensboro Ballet is one of a relative few non-profit ballet schools in the country.
★
Cultural Center The Greensboro Cultural Center provides four levels housing 25 visual and performing arts organizations, five art galleries, rehearsal halls, a sculpture garden, privately operated restaurant with outdoor cafe-style seating, and an outdoor amphitheater. Art galleries include African American Atelier, Green Hill Center for NC Art, Greensboro Artists' League Gallery and Gift Shop, Guilford Native American Art Gallery and Mattye Reed African Heritage Center Satellite Gallery.
★
Greensboro Opera Company This well-regarded opera company, founded in October 1981, has experienced solid growth and expansion. Beginning with a very respectable production of Verdi's La Traviata featuring June Anderson, then a rising young New York City Opera soprano, they cautiously expanded from a single fall production of a major opera in the years 1981-89 to adding Sunday matinee performances from 1990-99 when, in response to successive sold out productions of Madame Butterfly and Carmen in 1997 and 1998, a second spring opera with two performances was added, beginning in 1999-2000. The pattern has successfully blended outside and local singers with a full orchestra, manned by members of the Greensboro Symphony, in the pit at their home in Greensboro's War Memorial Auditorium.
★
Greensboro Symphony Orchestra Led by conductor Dmitri Sitkovetsky, the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra has developed a strong reputation among national musical organizations, including continued exposure on NPR's Performance Today. Sitkovetsky began his career as a violin soloist. He focused on the chamber orchestra repertoire when starting out with the European String Orchestra, a superb group of musicians pulled together by Sitkovetsky. GSO performs classical and pops concerts and holds educational programs for young listeners throughout the year.
★
Reed African American Heritage Museum Located at NC A&T State University, the museum houses one of the best collections of African culture in the country. The museum houses over 3,500 art and craft items from more than 30 African nations, New Guinea and Haiti.
★
Triad Stage Triad Stage is a not-for-profit regional theatre company based in Greensboro's downtown historic district. All productions are created in Greensboro using a combination of local and national talent. The theater company has been recognized as ‘One of the 50 Best Regional Theatres in America!’ by New York‘s Drama League, ‘Best Live Theatre’ in Go Triad/News & Record The Rhino Times, and was voted ‘2003 Professional Theater of the Year’ by the North Carolina Theatre Conference.
★
Weatherspoon Art Museum The Weatherspoon Art Museum at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has one of the foremost collections of modern and contemporary art in the Southeast. With six galleries, the museum is nationally recognized for its collection of 20th century American art. The permanent collection also includes lithographs and bronzes by Henri Matisse, and art by celebrated masters such as Willem de Kooning, Henry Ossawa Tanner, John Graham, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol.
★
The Flying Anvil, a downtown music club that only remained open for seven months, booked many high quality musical acts that included Man Man, Joanna Newsom, Cat Power, Dar Williams and the Avett Brothers.
Famous natives and residents
Statue of Greensboro native
O. Henry in downtown.
'Born in Greensboro'
★
Patrick Barry, independent filmmaker
★
Thomas Berry, internationally noted spokesperson for ecology and care of the earth
★
Joey Cheek,
Olympic Gold Medal Speed Skater
★
Levi Coffin, noted
Quaker educator and
abolitionist
★
John Isner, professional tennis player
★
Dolley Madison,
First Lady and wife of President
James Madison
★
Doug Marlette,
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist.
[22]
★
Eddie Pope, soccer star of
Real Salt Lake and the
US National Soccer Team
★
O. Henry, short-story writer
★
George Preddy,
World War II ace
★
Jeff Varner,
Survivor contestant ()
★
Kelly Wiglesworth,
Survivor contestant ()
★ Joanne Wyrick, Executive Director of the
National Stonewall Democrats
'Residents of Greensboro'
★
Hugo and
Nebula Award winning
Science fiction/
fantasy author,
journalist and
professor Orson Scott Card is a current resident. Several of his books, including ''
Ender's Game'' and ''
Shadow Puppets'' feature settings in and around Greensboro.
★
Garry Peterson, long time drummer of
the Guess Who, currently resides in Greensboro.
★
Eugene Chadbourne, composer and musician, currently resides in Greensboro.
★ Michael Parker, novelist, currently resides in Greensboro.
★
H.T. Kirby-Smith, author and poet, currently resides in Greensboro.
'Associated with Greensboro'
★ Journalist and true crime author Jerry Bledsoe (''Bitter Blood, Blood Games'') lives in nearby
Asheboro. His regular column appeared for many years in the ''Greensboro News & Record'', and his investigative reporting is featured in the ''Rhino Times''.
★ Singer
Cat Power (Chan Marshall) lived in Greensboro with her mother as a teenager in the late 1980s.
★
Spencer Chamberlain, current lead vocalist of the band
Underoath, was raised in Greensboro.
★
Rick Dees, a famous radio personality who hosts an internationally syndicated radio show and who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, grew up in Greensboro.
★
American Idol contestant
Chris Daughtry is from nearby
McLeansville and is a resident of nearby
Oak Ridge.
★
Torry Holt,
wide receiver for
NC State and the
St. Louis Rams was born in nearby Gibsonville.
★
Danny Manning, an
All-America basketball player for the
University of Kansas, attended Page High Schoolin Greensboro.
★
Edward R. Murrow, famed World War II CBS radio broadcaster, one of the pioneers of TV news and a five-time Emmy winning journalist, was born just outside of the city.
★ Nationally acclaimed poet
Randall Jarrell lived in Greensboro, where he was a professor at the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro until his death in 1965 in Chapel Hill. He is buried near the
Guilford College campus.
★
Ricky Proehl of NFL fame lives in nearby Oak Ridge.
★
Tooth and Nail recording artists
Sullivan formed and lived in Greensboro before relocating to
Chapel Hill.
Transportation
Galyon Depot
Greensboro is served by
Piedmont Triad International Airport, which also serves
High Point and
Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Amtrak's
Crescent and
Carolinian and Piedmont trains connect Greensboro with the cities of
New York,
Philadelphia,
Baltimore,
Washington,
Richmond,
Raleigh,
Charlotte,
Atlanta,
Birmingham and
New Orleans.
Amtrak trains, taxis, local and long distance buses arrive and depart from the
Amtrak station and Depot located at 236-C East Washington Street, originally constructed during the early 1920s with interior modernization completed 2004. The
Greensboro Transit Authority provides bus service throughout the city, including a service called
Higher Education Area Transit, or HEAT, which links downtown attractions to the area colleges.
Interstate Highways
★
Interstate 40
★
Interstate 40 Business
★
Interstate 85
★
Interstate 85 Business
★
Interstate 73
★
Interstate 785
★
Interstate 840
Interstate 40 and
Interstate 85 join together/split in the Greensboro area. The former fork, which is now the Interstate 40/
Business 85 junction is just south of downtown; it forms the western end of a stretch of freeway known as
Death Valley, where six federal routes concur.
A construction project is currently underway to build the
Greensboro Urban Loop, a freeway that when complete will encircle the majority of the city. Sections of this
beltway may form the future alignment of
Interstate 73.
U.S. Highway 29, which goes through the south, east, and north sides of Greensboro and heads northeast to Reidsville, is a major highway in Greensboro, and has major access to the urban parts of the city.
Media
Citizens media
★
Greensboro101 - Citizens' Media for Greensboro, NC
http://thetroublemaker.blogspot.com
Newspapers
The ''
Greensboro News & Record'' is the main daily newspaper in Greensboro. The Business Journal, a member of the American City Business Journals chain of business weeklies, is based in Greensboro and covers business across the Triad region. The ''Carolina Peacemaker'' is a news weekly that covers the African-American community. The ''
Rhinoceros Times'' and ''
Yes! Weekly'' are free weekly alternative newspapers. The Hamburger Square Post monthly has been published since 1979.
Television stations
Greensboro makes up part of the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point television
designated market area. These stations are listed by call letters, channel number, network and city of license.
★
WFMY-TV, 2,
CBS, Greensboro
★
WGHP, 8,
Fox, High Point
★
WXII-TV, 12,
NBC, Winston-Salem
★
WGPX, 16,
i, Burlington
★
WCWG, 20,
CW, Lexington
★
WUNL-TV, 26,
PBS/
UNC-TV, Winston-Salem
★
WGSR-TV, 39,
Independent, Reidsville
★
WXLV-TV, 45,
ABC, Winston-Salem
★
WMYV-TV, 48,
My, Greensboro
★
WLXI-TV, 61,
TCT, Greensboro
Greensboro is also home to the Triad bureau of
News 14 Carolina
References
1. Arnett, Ethel Stephens. Greensboro, North Carolina; the County Seat of Guilford. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1955. p. 20
2. http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=10804&x=27&y=4
3. Stockard, Sallie W. The History of Guilford County, North Carolina. Knoxville, Tennessee, 1902. p. 37
4. Arnett, Ethel Stephens. Greensboro, North Carolina; the County Seat of Guilford. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1955. pp. 171-174. p. 21
5. Fripp, Gayle Hicks. Greensboro, a Chosen Center. Sun Valley, Calif.: American Historical Press, 2001. p. 66
6. Blandwood, A national Historic Landmark, website
7. Robinson, Blackwell P., and Alexander R. Stoesen. The History of Guilford County, North Carolina, U.S.A. to 1980, A.D. Edited by Sydney M. Cone, Jr. 1981, p. 101
8. http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:FQzX9wXTZtkJ:docsouth.unc.edu/global/getBio.html%3Ftype%3Dbio%26id%3Dpn0001702%26name%3DVance,%2520Zebulon+greensboro+vance+union&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us Biography of Zebulon Baird Vance
9. Arnett, Ethel Stephens. Greensboro, North Carolina; the County Seat of Guilford. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1955. p395
10. Weatherly, A. Earl. The First Hundred Years of Historic, Guilford County, 1771-1871. Greensboro: Greensboro Printing Company, 1972, p.177
11. Weatherly, A. Earl. The First Hundred Years of Historic, Guilford County, 1771-1871. Greensboro: Greensboro Printing Company, 1972, p.182
12. Robinson, Blackwell P., and Alexander R. Stoesen. The History of Guilford County, North Carolina, U.S.A. to 1980, A.D. Edited by Sydney M. Cone, Jr. 1981, p. 101
13. Arnett, Ethel Stephens. Greensboro, North Carolina; the County Seat of Guilford. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1955. pp. 171-174.
14. Fripp, Gayle Hicks. Greensboro, a Chosen Center. Woodland Hills, Calif.: Windsor Publications, 1982. p. 59
15. Robinson, Blackwell P., and Alexander R. Stoesen. The History of Guilford County, North Carolina, U.S.A. to 1980, A.D. Edited by Sydney M. Cone, Jr. 1981, p. 220
16. Robinson, Blackwell P., and Alexander R. Stoesen. The History of Guilford County, North Carolina, U.S.A. to 1980, A.D. Edited by Sydney M. Cone, Jr. 1981, p. 209
17. Robinson, Blackwell P., and Alexander R. Stoesen. The History of Guilford County, North Carolina, U.S.A. to 1980, A.D. Edited by Sydney M. Cone, Jr. 1981, p. 210
18. http://www.blandwood.org/Gropius.html
19. North Carolina sister cities
20. http://triad.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2005/10/10/daily4.html.
21. http://www.southsideneighborhood.com/
22. Cartoonist Doug Marlette dies in wreck
See also
★
Piedmont Triad
★
I-85 Corridor
★
Greensboro, North Carolina Tornado
External links
City websites
★
Official website of Greensboro, NC
★
Greensboro101 - Citizens' Media for Greensboro, NC
★
Greensboro Chamber of Commerce
★
Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
★
Action Greensboro
★
Greensboro Connects
★
Greensboro Online Community Forum
★
''Greensboro'' magazine online
★
Downtown Greensboro, Incorporated
★
Greensboro Astronomy Club
★
Links to Piedmont Region government, press and institutional websites
★
South Elm Street Redevelopment
★
News & Record, Greensboro's daily newspaper
★
Historic Architecture and Preservation in Greensboro
★
Greensboro Downtown Ballpark
Documentaries
★
''February One'' California Newsreel documentary on
1960 sit-in by the
Greensboro Four.
IMDB entry. Accessed on
April 2,
2005.
★
Online Study guide for ''February One'' 'PDF' document. Accessed on
April 2,
2005.
★
88 Seconds in Greensboro PBS '
Frontline' transcript. Reported by James Reston, Jr. Directed by William Cran. Original Airdate:
January 24,
1983. Accessed on
April 2,
2005.
★
"Greensboro's Child" Documentary about the 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the shadow that it cast on the survivors.
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