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Morning, gang.
This week we bring you a look at a Greensboro landmark that could be key to downtown’s next phase of development—the J. Douglas Galyon Depot. As part of our Postmark Greensboro series, we’ll talk about the station’s historic importance and how it could help shape the future of the area.
We’ll also examine the ongoing effort to make the South Benbow Road Historic District the first such district in the city to honor a historically Black neighborhood.
—Joe Killian
Postmark Greensboro: Historic Transit Hub Could be Key to Downtown’s Next Chapter
Greensboro’s Southern Railway Passenger Station was one of the largest and grandest on the East Coast. Nearly 100 years later, it could play a pivotal role in the city’s future.
Downtown’s historic train station, built in 1927, is now a hub for not just Amtrak and Greyhound but GTA and PART buses as well.
But a public/private partnership has its eye on the prime downtown real estate and believes it could be a new area for offices, dining, and family recreation as the area continues to change and expand.
Read our story on the depot’s past and future in the next installment of our Postmark: Greensboro series here.
If you like what you see, please consider telling a friend about The Thread.
South Benbow Road Historic District Moving Forward
City officials recognized local civil rights history last week at a public meeting over a proposal for the city’s first historic district focused on a Black neighborhood.
Roughly two dozen people gathered at the fellowship hall of St. Matthews United Methodist Church to hear about the South Benbow Road Historic District plan. The more than 200-acre area in East Greensboro was historically home to several prominent local civil rights leaders and buildings designed by some of North Carolina’s first Black architects.
“It’s so important to chronicle the events of the people that came before us,” said Jeff Smith from the state’s Historic Preservation Office.
City and state officials, an architectural historian, and others involved in the effort shared updates on the reasons behind the district’s creation. Speakers also outlined why it is under consideration for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, a federal designation that highlights historic properties, and allows property owners to apply for special tax credits.
The event, one of several held in the community since the grassroots project first began in 2020, provided an opportunity for residents to ask about the district and what the federal designation would mean.
Tensions among participants were heightened over how the designation would affect property values and taxes, and over concerns that the neighborhood would potentially become a tourist attraction.
The federal designation is primarily honorary, city officials said. The district is unlikely to affect taxes and property values and the historic district would not impose new requirements on homeowners or developers.
“There are no regulations on individual property owners,” said Heather Slane, an architectural historian involved in the project.
The public meeting was held a few weeks after Greensboro’s Historic Preservation Commission, responsible for reviewing applications for historic sites, voted to send the proposal to North Carolina’s Historic Preservation Office. The state board will hold its vote on the nomination in October. If approved, the nomination will then be sent to the federal government.
As The Thread previously reported, the designation effort is the culmination of a years-long push to recognize the history of East Greensboro’s predominantly Black communities, particularly those who lived in the racially segregated communities on South Benbow Road and the nearby neighborhoods of Benbow Park and Clinton Hills.
Ivan Williamson Jr., a resident whose parents purchased a home in the Benbow Park area in the late 1950s, attended the meeting to find answers about the historic district’s impact. He was especially concerned about potential changes in taxes and home insurance rates.
“I wanted some pros and cons,” he said. ”I came in first with a different perspective, that being historic means people dictate what you can or cannot do to your property, or what color house you may have to paint.”
After hearing from the presenters that the district, which is mostly a symbolic designation, would not lead to those problems, the 72-year-old said that he was leaving with a more positive opinion of the project.
“It’s a good thing,” he said.”It’s good to provide the history.”
—P.R. Lockhart
Read this newsletter online or contact The Thread team with tips and feedback at greensboro@theassemblync.com.
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What We’re Reading
A History of Violence: Over the weekend, there was another apparent attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump. The suspect, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, has Greensboro ties.
Though he left for Hawaii in 2018, he racked up a long rap sheet during his many years in the city. That includes a dramatic 2002 incident in which Routh barricaded himself inside the offices of a roofing company on what was then West Lee Street after leading police on a chase.
He was ultimately charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a weapon of mass destruction, a fully automatic machine gun. The Associated Press has five things to know about Routh and the apparent attempt on Trump’s life.
Private School Voucher Boom: The state’s expanding Opportunity Scholarship voucher program is bringing a funding windfall to private schools. A Republican-driven bill that passed just this week promises another $5 billion for the program that will go directly to private schools as they educate more and more students with vouchers. Triad City Beat has a look at the 47 schools in the Triad that received voucher funding in the last year.
Around the State
The Labor Commissioner’s Daunting Task
As workplace fatalities rise, the two candidates for the top regulatory job have starkly different platforms.
Too Good to Be True
When Jolene Strickland ran for governor in 1996, she received press coverage, money, and votes. If only she existed.
An Unconventional Chancellor Keeps His Cool
Many were skeptical of Darrell Allison. Now enrollment is up, dropouts are down, and buildings are rising.
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