Greensboro Project Part 1 - Downtown Buildings

First Citizens Bank - 100 S Elm St # 100, Greensboro, NC

This building was built specifically to be a bank, and its outward appearance makes this very obvious. The entrance is on the corner of Market St and Elm St, right in the center of downtown Greensboro. The doors are angled to aim at the corner instead of on one side. There is a large gold doorway with an arch above it. The upper floors have large class windows, presumably to let in plenty of light to the offices inside. They are easy to locate even from a large distance. The unique design makes this building very easy to spot, and the domineering look of the entrance makes it looks safe, which in the beginning of banking was very important to people. In present times banks come in all shapes and sizes, many with glass fronts and doors, but this building looks more like a stronghold from the outside, which might convince people that it would be a good place to trust with their hard-earned money.

This location did not allow pictures to be taken inside. Once entering through the large gold doors, there is another set of glass doors, and then customers must walk around a center wall to get to the tellers. There is a space of to the right of the counters and offices to the left. Someone is standing by the entrance to assist people as they come in, and the staff seemed friendly. The rooms do not have much exterior light, so while it is nicely set-up, the inside is still a little bit dark, and could be somewhat intimidating. This does not seem like just a regular branch, but instead appears to be more specifically laid out for the location.

BB&T Bank - 4541 W Market St, Greensboro, NC‎

The BB&T branch in Greensboro had a very interesting building exterior. The structure was concrete with large arches all around the outside and enormous glass windows, even on the lower floors. This is probably to allow for plenty of light inside, but does not give this building the same strong appearance as the First Citizens Bank just a block away. It does not seem as if this was originally built to be a bank, but was rather converted into one after having a previous purpose. It is also very easy to locate, and has large logos on each face of the structure.


The inside of the branch is just like any other local bank branch. It is very light and open with two sets of large, glass double doors to enter from. There is a long desk of tellers directly in front of the entrances with plenty of room for a long line. There is again a small sitting area to the right and offices to the left. This bank seems a lot busier than either of the other two, and not as oriented toward the individual customer, but rather serving the masses as quickly and efficiently as possible. This business did allow us to take pictures inside with an escort.

Bank of America - 101 W Friendly Ave, Greensboro, NC

The Bank of America building had a lot of glass on the exterior of a large, plain brick building. The first floor windows are very unique and are not flat, but rather concave in some places and convex in others. There are multiple entrances on different sides of the building, and the upper floors extend out over the first floor providing a covered area over the sidewalk. The logo on the side of the building is not extremely large, but the glass windows along the entire side of the structure make the building not too hard to pick out from the others along Elm Street. This building, as well as the other bank branches, is not incredibly tall compared to the skyscrapers downtown, but they are all fairly large.

This location did not allow pictures to be taken inside, although the large glass windows allowed me to show you the cool ceiling. The inside of this branch was very unique, even more so than the Citizens Bank interior. This was very surprising to me since this branch belonged to the largest chain of the three. The interior was very large and had a lot going on. The setup was different than inside the other two, with the teller desks along the left wall, space to sit in the middle, and offices along the left wall, next to the windows facing the sidewalk. The other banks all had the offices farther away from the street than everything else. There were potted plants and small trees inside, with a Christmas tree just inside the street corner as well as some pieces of art around the room. The ceiling was very unique, with many different shades of lights that had a triangular up-and-down pattern that encompassed the whole room. This room did not seem much like a bank at all, and felt very homey and comfortable.

Greensboro Project Part 2 - Bank Maps

A First Citizens Bank‎
4635 W Market St, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 412-4068‎
B First Citizens Bank‎
4708 High Point Rd, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 412-4070‎
C First Citizens Bank‎
1132 N Church St # 100, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 412-4040‎
D First Citizens Bank‎
1220 Bridford Pkwy, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 412-4085‎
E First Citizens Bank‎
100 S Elm St # 100, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 412-4000‎
F First Citizens Bank‎
3600 N Elm St, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 412-4047‎
G First Citizens Bank‎
3200 Randleman Rd, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 412-4080‎
H First Citizens Bank‎
620 Green Valley Rd # 100, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 412-4059‎
I First Citizens Bank‎
1509 Highwoods Blvd, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 412-4220‎
J First Citizens Bank‎
Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 412-4184‎


116 Results near Greensboro, NC. 176,577 Total.

A BB&T‎
2274 Vanstory St, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 433-4170‎
B BB&T‎
606 College Rd, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 433-4150‎
C BB&T‎
101 S Elm St, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 574-4566‎
D BB&T‎
915 E Bessemer Ave, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 433-4210‎
E BB&T‎
4541 W Market St, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 433-4280‎
F BB&T‎
4025 Premier Dr, High Point, NC‎ - (336) 888-0221‎
G BB&T: Sales Finance‎
101 S Elm St, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 433-4860‎
H BB&T‎
2835 Randleman Rd, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 433-4230‎
I BB&T‎
201 W Market St # 100, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 433-4001‎
Place closed
J BB&T‎
120 W Main St, Jamestown, NC‎ - (336) 888-0260‎


108 results near Greensboro, NC. 7,598 Total.

A Bank of America: Mortgages‎
629 Green Valley Rd, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 805-3870‎
B Bank of America‎
101 W Friendly Ave, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 805-3669‎
C Bank of America‎
2105 Pinecroft Rd, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 805-3745‎
D Bank of America‎
1616 E Bessemer Ave, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 805-3050‎
E Bank of America‎
107 Muirs Chapel Rd, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 805-3113‎
F Bank of America‎
3303 Battleground Ave, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 805-3150‎
G Bank of America‎
1500 S Elm Eugene St, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 805-3080‎
H Bank of America Home Loans‎
701 Green Valley Rd # 101, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 574-7081‎
I Bank of America‎
435 Pisgah Church Rd, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 805-5311‎
J Bank of America‎
700 College Rd, Greensboro, NC‎ - (336) 805-3373‎


346 Results near Greensboro, NC. 193,785 Total.

All maps and statistics generated by Google Maps.

Greensboro Project Part 3 - Speculation

Since the First Citizens Bank building is right in the middle of town, and it seems fairly evident that the building was originally constructed for that bank, it probably was important to the beginnings of the city. The building itself has a strong presence on that corner, and is very hard to miss. The fact that it managed to claim and save a spot right in the middle of everything leads me to believe that it was a reliable business and was able to stay in business as the city grew up around it, instead of being closed due to other competition moving in later. Although this is just one branch of a large chain of Citizens banks, which are located mainly in the southeast as well as a few on the west coast of America, this particular branch looks specifically designed for the location, instead of an average bank building found anywhere else in America.


The BB&T branch in town was a fairly generic looking branch, especially on the inside. The BB&T banks are a regional chain in the southeast section of the US. They seem to be very prevalent in the south, and it is not surprising that there is one located near the center of the city. The branch was clean, but crowded and working at a quick pace. These banks seem to be very popular, which would make them less oriented towards getting to know specific customers. There was along area to wait in line and everything seemed to be based on a fast and efficient system, instead of a calm relaxed environment. This bank did not seem to be catering specifically to the Greensboro location, but rather just filling the role of any other branch in the chain as a part of southern banking.



While Bank of America is the largest banking system out of the three, it was not nearly as generic of a branch as the BB&T. The inside of the building was very unique, and designed to make customers feel relaxed and at home. The outside of the building had large glass windows that are not on a flat surface. this leads me to believe that this may not have been the original purpose of the building, and that it was probably converted from some other previous occupant. The bank is very close to the center of town though, which may mean that it was an important bank that managed to make it into a prime spot in town due to popularity. This bank would be useful to connect people's money across the nation and overseas. While First Citizens bank is fairly large, there is a large concentration in North and South Carolina in particular. Bank of America has slightly more branches and is more evenly spread out across the country.


All maps generated by Google Maps.

Big Field Trip - Coming Full Circle

By looking all around the UNCG campus, as well as Greensboro, I have learned a lot about how cities grow and change over time. Over time the campus which we live on has grown as was needed, and is planned to continue growth along its fronts to become even larger. Different sections of campus have unique beats to them, and even individual buildings can have beats. There are areas of high activity, as well as places kept hidden because they are not that visually appealing, such as the smoke stack. Individuals can also view parts of the campus in their own unique ways, and vantages can still be up for personal interpretation. The buildings have changed in style in the more modern era, although some were designed to resemble the original campus buildings. It is interesting why some should be built to look more historic, and others more modern. It creates a bit of a hodge-podge of architectural styles across campus.

When looking around the rest of Greensboro there is a similar situation, but on a much larger scale. The city is also divided into even more different sections, each with their own aura. The college residential areas are different from the old mill villages, which are also very different from the apartment buildings downtown. Each retail section is set up in a different way. The mall is very different from the Friendly Shopping Center, and the strip malls along Lee St and Wendover Ave. As the town expanded values changed and old buildings were put to different uses. WAFCO mills turned into 28 apartments, and the old Presbyterian Church turned into a museum, the train station moved to The Depot.

All of these many changes are typical for any city that has grown and changed over the years. Values changes, the needs of citizens change, areas go from rural to industrial to residential. It is happening all over America and I am now able to see the signs of these changes while walking around town. Exploring some of the individual changes that are very influential to how the city functions today could be something I might include in my final project. It will be very interesting to see if when I go back to Jersey if I will begin to see my hometown in a new and different way from now on, without the old fixes.

Big Field Trip - Open Space

Battleground Park is placed on the located on a Revolutionary War battle site. There are many monuments to distinctive figures, such as Joseph Morehead, William Hooper, John Penn. The largest monument by far however is of Nathanial Greene, for whom Greensboro is named. These are all very representative of the values of the area, and show how important this site was to the War.


The fact that this area was left as open space instead of being developed into a continuation of the rest of the town shows some of the values of the Greensboro organizers. It is very important to have some undeveloped area that is open to the community. This space is ideal for families to go to in order to get away from the city if they desire. There are bike and walking trails, which are great for outdoor exercise and many people were using them to walk their dogs. The space allows a healthier alternative to many people's daily living situations. There is fresh air and natural light, that those people living in apartments may not have adjacent access to. There are informational signs at the entrances that might be helpful for tourists in the area, which would be very beneficial to the town for extra revenue.

Big Field Trip - Residential

The White Oak Mill is still in use, and while the surrounding village is not the same as it was when it was first built, it still resembles the 'mini-town' it was set up to be. It is easy to tell that this residential section was planned out and built all at the same time. The streets are set up in a grid and the streets are numbered instead of having different names. Each house is fairly small and has a similar basic structure with a chimney in the middle of the building. Many of the current residents have added their own small additions, such as carports and porches, to the main section of the house. As the mill was renovated, the surrounding residential areas became more renovated too. There are no sidewalks in this development, showing that it was built to be a practical, affordable living situation for the mill workers, instead of a social area. The mail boxes are also placed along the road instead of by the front doors, showing that it is not meant to be an especially personable area. There is also a lot more space between the houses than between the different residences in the main part of town, and there are few large trees since the houses were built in the middle of an open field and only some residents decided to plant their own foliage.

The Revolution Mill has been renovated for a new purpose, but pieces of the surrounding village still remain. There is the Revolution Masonic Lodge, Baptist Church, and Buffalo Presbyterian Church all along Church Street which runs into downtown Greensboro. There is an iron-fenced cemetery belonging to the Cone family, which was a very prominent family early on in Greensboro. These buildings are all built in the classical style.


In stark contrast to all of the mill residences is the Lowenstein residence. It was built in 1954 and designed by Edward Lowenstein for his own wife and family. The windows are designed specifically for North Carolina weather, to maximize the sun during the winter and minimize it during the summer. The house is divided into 'zones' with space to move between them. The kitchen and dining room take up one end, with a front foyer and living room in the middle, and both the children's and master bedrooms occupying the other end separated by a long, skinny hallway to divide the public and private sections of the house. The house is designed to be very warm, welcoming, and comfortable. The walls are wood paneled, and the owners' book and art collections can be viewed throughout the house. The large windows allow the house to seem as if it mixes both the indoors and outdoors together in one area.



The shape of this building is very unique, as is the incredible artwork outside in the yard. There is an exploding plane piece, a large pearl necklace, as well as many others. The chimney is also located out in the yard, which is quite unusual.

Big Field Trip - Roadways

Since I was driving, and often times trying to catch up to re-join the caravan, please excuse me if this blog is in any way lacking...

I-40 between High Point Rd and Wendover Ave

This stretch of the interstate was just flat and open, with exits branching off, but nothing directly accessible from the road. There was not a strong sense of community along this road, but it was more as if it was a connector between communities.



Wendover Ave

There are large mass production stores, such as Wal-Mart, restaurant, Tripps, and car dealerships, Volks Wagon, along Wendover Ave. There are also gas stations, Sheetz, and fast food places, Burger King, banks, Wells Fargo, and cell phone companies, AT&T and Verizon. This stretch has a lot of retail all along the highway, with many traffic lights and entrances to the bigger stores right off the road. The road shows that it was a cross section because of the close proximity of everything to the street, instead of larger open spaces.



Battleground Ave from South to North

Battleground did not seem as crowded as Wendover, it still crossed through previously established areas, although these areas were more residential rather than consumer oriented. I don't really remember much about this road, but I remember there being more trees.

Big Field Trip - Retail

On this trip we viewed three different retail areas; Old Friendly Center, Four Seasons Mall, and New Friendly Center. All three sections seem to be catering to the upper middle-class demographic. The new section of Friendly Center seems to have the most expensive shops, and each storefront is completely unique to the individual store. The Four Seasons mall has a mix of stores, with some expensive ones, as well as some that are less expensive. There was a very large variety to choose from, all in a small, enclosed space. There was also a large presence of jewelry stores, of which there was about one jewelry store in each section of the Friendly Center. The older section of the Friendly Center had more chain stores, that typically have a lower price range. There were also more stores that were geared toward children than the newer section. All of these areas seemed to be very family-friendly. There was a noticeable presence of security in all three which would make shoppers feel safe to bring their entire family there.

The Friendly Center is much more spread out since the store front are all facing outwards towards the parking lots. There is a lot of parking available, and some stores even have spaces just on the other side of the sidewalk in front of the front doors. There are medians out in the middle of the lots with trees and tables with chairs for shoppers to go sit at.

This center is cornered by three large stores; Sears, Belk, and Macy's. It is accessible from all four surrounding streets; Friendly Ave, Pembroke Rd, Northline Ave, and Green Valley Rd. Most of the stores have a very similar face, with the exception of the New York & Co. and Bear Rock Cafe.



Other than stores there are places to eat, and around the perimeter. The newer section of Friendly Shopping Center is also easily accessible, but has less organization. It is mainly clothing shops and places to eat, with a large Harris Teeters right in the middle. While it is within walking distance of the older section, there does not seem to be very much continuity between the layout of the two areas.

In contrast to both sections of the Friendly Center, the Four Seasons mall has all of its stores inside of one building. There is a large amount of parking around the perimeter of the building, but it has no large foliage or areas for shoppers to go outside to sit and eat. Everything is indoors, and it is very easy to get from one store to another quickly. In addition to the larger stores, there are also small kiosks in the middle of the walkways selling things like jewelry, cell phone accessories, and custom apparel. The mall is located just off High Point Rd, which is a very busy route.

Tracing the Tracks: Opening the Gates

The train originally helped to bring industry for the first time to the Greensboro area. This helped the area develop quickly, since the train was the fastest way at the time to move large amounts of materials and people directly into the city. The train continued to fuel the industries in the area as time went on, as it was easy to bring in raw materials and send out the finished products to many areas quickly. Presently there is less need for the train for industrial purposes so a few of the branching out tracks are no longer in use and the main train station was moved to be closer to town so that people could get to the trains more easily. Now the trains are a very easy way to move from one place to another within North Carolina, and from there anywhere in the country if a person so desires.

The interstates that run through Guilford County, such as I40 and I85 are also easy ways to enter the area and are also Gates to the city. Aside from ground transportation, Piedmont Triad International Airport provides air transportation to many different places and is very close by.
Location listing; Atlanta, Charlotte, La Guardia, Philadelphia, Chicago, Newark, Wash. Dulles (IAD), Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Wash. National (DCA), Orlando Sanford, St. Pete/Clearwater, Memphis, and Miami.

Downtown Institutions

Center City Park was not originally planned for Greensboro, but instead was built two years ago and is a private park that is leased by the city to have public access. This area is easy to get to for city residents and allows for a bit of a break from the downtown hustle and bustle. It is a nice place to go for people who live in apartment complexes and do not have a yard of their own.

The Cultural Center provides an "avenue" connecting two parts of the city and is very easily accessible to both sides, and is also easy to walk through to get a quick view of the artistic areas inside. Aside from the smaller spaces along the sides of the center aisle which provide different creative outlets, there is also a lot of artwork hanging from the ceiling to be seen.

The dome in the central library is at the center and is where the main activity. The shelves of books all branch off from around the center area beneath the dome, which also allows a lot of light into the working space in the library.

When the Presbyterian Church was converted into the historical museum, a civic auditorium and library were both displaced. These were both important to the city, but by taking over the space to showcase the history of Greensboro, these spaces had to find a more suitable place to relocate, which hopefully allowed for renovation and a more specifically designed space than when they were part of the church. It also allowed for a new space that can show visitors so much of the important history of the city and encourage tourism.


The old library, now Elon law School, has a mcuh different layout than the new one. While there is again a dome, it is not central to the building, and the space seems much more restrictive instead of open. There is not as much light or room to flow. The staircase that still remains is small, while the stairs in the new library are quite large and make the building seem much easier to navigate. The museum also seems as if it would be hard to hold a library in, and that navifation would be difficult and confusing since the building is long and thin instead of one large, open space. The current location for the library seems to be the most suitable space.

Most of the buildings visited meet the street in the front. There is only a small sidewalk between them and the pavement, and they are parallel instead of caddy-corner. The public spaces are located on the interiors of the buildings, while the fronts are meant to draw people inside. They are mainly cultural interiors that help strengthen the definitions of Greensboro's values and the kind of people who live here.

Back to the Center

Elm St and Market St
Epitome District - The large buildings containing stores below and housing above form their own unique district on one end of Elm St. People in these areas have very quick access to the center of town, and all probably have fairly similar living situations in the tall buildings with many individual apartment units.

Front - Elm St and Market St seem to provide the fronts for the town. While not on the outskirts, everything major seems to happen along these two main roads and when the city first began they were the main ways to get to everything important, and everything else expanded from there.

Strips - While there is the main strip along Elm St. there are also mini strips in some of the alleys between buildings with their own sets of small shops.

Beats - Some of the shops and restaurants are completely unique to Greensboro, such as Natty Greene's. This restaurant has a history with the rest of the city, and is good enough that I received recommendations to eat there when I first arrived at college.

Stacks - There are many large parking decks downtown. They are very practical as the city needs to hold a lot of people on a daily basis, and stacking the cars is more space-efficient than using a large amount of surface area for a flat parking lot. It also makes all of the vehicles less visible and keeps them out of the way.

Sinks - The small alleyways in between some buildings form sinks. Some are empty, although one in particular actually served as a drainage area to clear water from the building rooftops.

Turf - The large government complex chose to take up a lot of extra space in comparison to the buildings in the center of town. There is a large courtyard out front with lawns and trees. It looks a bit nicer, but takes up a lot of space in order to separate itself from other places with extra turf.