Mount Airy Historic District (Additional Documentation)

Mount Airy's historic district is the commercial and residential center of a largely rural county in north central North Carolina. It includes 248 buildings, most built between 1880 and 1930, arranged in a cross shape along Main Street and its side streets. Growth followed the arrival of the railroad in 1888, which brought tobacco warehouses, new businesses and substantial houses. The most distinctive feature is light-colored granite from a large open-face quarry just east of town, used for churches, banks, a hospital, a post office, house foundations, retaining walls and porch steps. Commercial blocks show Classical Revival, Romanesque Revival and Art Deco influences. Residences range from Italianate and Queen Anne to Colonial Revival, Neo-Classical and 1930s period revival designs. The houses are remarkably intact, with very little replacement siding or windows. Shaded sidewalks, deep lots and mature landscaping add to the character of the neighborhoods, which sit on ridges with views toward distant mountains.