{"nrhp_refnum":"84001914","name":"Efird Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"133 E. Davis St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Burlington","county":"Alamance County","state":"NC","lat":36.09302357200005,"lon":-79.43755233499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-05-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story commercial department store building at 133 East Davis Street in downtown Burlington, Alamance County, North Carolina, constructed around 1919 for the Efird Department Stores chain.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building reflects Burlington's rapid downtown growth from the late 1910s to 1930. It is tied to the Efird family, founders of a 54-store chain that pioneered the \"one price\" cash department store. Its white enamelled terra cotta Neo-Gothic Revival facade is described as the most distinctive storefront in the city.","narrative":"Built around 1919 at 133 East Davis Street, this three-story commercial building housed the Burlington branch of the Efird Department Stores, a chain that grew to fifty-four stores across the Carolinas and Virginia. Its street front is sheathed in white enamelled terra cotta in a Neo-Gothic Revival design, with applied tracery, pointed arches, quatrefoils and an ornate parapet, set among otherwise plain corbeled brick neighbors. Inside, pressed-tin ceilings survive on the first two floors. The store opened as Efird's in 1920 and stayed until the early 1930s, then was followed by a bookstore and stationery company and later by furniture businesses. Later changes include glass brick windows on the upper floors and a flat metal awning, though the tile facade remains. The building is recognized for its link to Burlington's growth as a textile center, for its association with the Efird brothers' \"one price\" cash retailing, and for its ornate design, which was meant to attract customers.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1919)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Neo-Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Described as continually occupied since construction; a furniture company occupied it at the time of the nomination. The interior is largely intact, and the facade was altered after 1949 with glass brick windows and a metal awning.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:57:50.720397-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/32/7172/47717232/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/84001914.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001914/b8babbe2ff-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001914/b8babbe2ff-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Efird_Building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Efird_Building.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"90001320","name":"Downtown Burlington Historic District (Additional Documentation)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/downtown-burlington-historic-district-additional-documentation-90001320/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717232","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efird_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17508245"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/alamance-county/efird-building-84001914/"}