Downtown Greensboro Historic District

Downtown Greensboro's historic district covers about 58 acres of the city's traditional commercial core, running along Elm Street with parts of South Davie, Washington and South Greene Streets. Most buildings date from 1885 to 1930, when rail connections turned Greensboro from a small village into a trading center. Elm Street replaced Market Street as the main commercial area, and merchants who grew prosperous built larger, more elaborate stores. The architecture is mostly a plain commercial version of the Italianate style, with brick cornices, granite trim and galvanized iron details. Later landmarks include the Jefferson Standard Building, the Carolina Theatre, the Kress and Woolworth buildings and two Southern Railway depots. The nomination values the continuous streetscape as much as these landmarks, calling Elm Street a rare survival. The district was also tied to the city's influential citizens, and the Woolworth building is associated with the 1960 sit-ins, a key event of the Civil Rights Movement.