Downtown Burlington Historic District (Additional Documentation)

Downtown Burlington's historic core is a dense commercial district of 72 buildings south of the North Carolina Railroad tracks. It grew from a railroad repair and maintenance town into a major textile center, and its buildings record both trades. The 1892 Southern Railway Passenger Station anchors the north end, and the former May Hosiery Mill anchors the south. Between them are mostly one- to three-story brick storefronts built between 1885 and 1930, many with sawtooth brick cornices. More distinctive buildings include the Efird Building with its Neo-Gothic terra cotta front, the Alamance Hotel, the nine-story former Atlantic Bank and Trust Building, and the 1936 Federal Building with its Regionalist murals. Hartmann designed the hotel and the bank. Urban renewal and 1970s facade alterations reduced the original business area, but restoration work since 1988 has begun to recover the historic brickwork. The district was listed for its role in local commerce, industry, transportation and architecture between 1885 and 1940.