West End Historic District

West End is a hilly, crescent-shaped neighborhood just west of downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Winston's first city engineer, Jacob Lott Ludlow, planned it in 1890 as a picturesque suburb, using curving streets, small parks and terraced lots that respond to the steep terrain. The district holds 610 recorded properties, mostly houses with front porches, along with four notable churches, a few commercial and apartment buildings, and the YWCA and YMCA. Building was heaviest between 1900 and 1929. Homes range from Queen Anne dwellings of the 1890s to Neo-Classical and Colonial Revival mansions, Craftsman bungalows and Tudor-influenced stucco houses. Granite retaining walls, steps and curbs tie the architecture to the landscape. Parks such as Grace Court, Springs Park and Hanes Park add to the setting. The district is recognized because its plan, landscape and buildings from 1887 to 1930 remain remarkably intact and show how an early streetcar suburb developed.