Greensboro ( ) is a city in
the U.S. state of North Carolina
. It is the third-largest city, by population,
in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford
County
and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. As
of the 2000
census, Greensboro was home
to 223,891 residents. As of July 1, 2009, its estimated population
was 257,997.
The city is located at the intersection of two major interstate
highways (
I-85 and
I-40) in the
Piedmont ("foot of the mountains")
region of central North Carolina.
In 2003,
the previous Greensboro - Winston-Salem
- High Point
metropolitan statistical
area (MSA) was re-defined by the U.S. Office of
Management and Budget, resulting in the formation of the
Greensboro-High Point MSA and the Winston-Salem MSA. The 2008
population estimate for the Greensboro-High Point MSA was 709,751.
The Greensboro - Winston-Salem - High Point
combined statistical area (CSA),
popularly referred to as the
Piedmont
Triad, had an estimated population of 1,603,101 in 2008 making
it the 30th largest metropolitan area in the USA.
Source: US
Bureau of the Census, Annual Estimates of the Population Table
CBSA-EST2007-02
In 1808,
Greensborough (as was the spelling prior
to 1895) was planned around a central courthouse square to succeed
the nearby town of
Guilford Court
House as the
county seat. This act
moved the county courts closer to the geographical center of the
county, a location more easily reached by the majority of the
county's citizens.
Much has changed since then. Greensboro has grown to be part of a
thriving metropolitan area called the Triad, which encompasses
three major cities (Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem) and
more than a million people. Greensboro evolved from a small center
of government to an early 1900s textile and transportation hub, and
today is emerging as one of the South's up-and-coming centers for
relocating businesses. Two centuries later Greensboro is still
collecting accolades for its beauty and livability. In 2004 the
Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Greensboro with entry into the
Clean Cities Hall of Fame.
History
Early history
The city was named for Major General
Nathanael Greene, commander of the American
forces at the
Battle of
Guilford Court House on March 15, 1781. Although the Americans
lost the battle, Greene's forces inflicted such heavy casualties on
the British Army of Lord
Cornwallis that
Cornwallis chose to pull his battered army out of North Carolina
and into Virginia.
This decision allowed a combined force of
American and French troops to trap Cornwallis at Yorktown,
Virginia
, where the British were forced to surrender on
October 19, 1781, after a 20-day siege, thus ending the American Revolution. As such,
Greene's successful efforts at weakening the British Army played a
key role in securing America's victory over the British.
Greensboro was established near the geographic center of Guilford
County, on land that was "an unbroken forest with thick undergrowth
of huckleberry bushes, that bore a finely flavored fruit." Property
for the future village was purchased for $98, and three north-south
streets (Greene, Elm, Davie) were laid out intersecting with three
east-west streets (Gaston, Market, Sycamore). The courthouse stood
at the center of the intersection of Elm and Market streets. By
1821, the town was home to 369 residents.
In the
early 1840s, Greensboro was selected by the state government at the
request of then Governor
Morehead (whose estate, Blandwood
, is located in Greensboro) for inclusion on a new
railroad line. The city grew
substantially in size and soon became known as the "Gate City" due
to its role as a transportation hub for the state. The railroads
transported goods to and from
textile mills,
which grew up with their own mill villages around the city. Many of
these businesses remained in the city until the 21st century, when
most of them went bankrupt, reorganized, and/or merged with other
companies. Greensboro remains as a major textile headquarters city
with the main offices of International Textile Group (Cone,
Burlington Industries), Galey & Lord, Unifi, and
VF Corporation (
Wrangler,
Lee,
North Face, Nautica).
The importance of rail traffic continues for
the city, as Greensboro serves as a major regional freight hub, and
four Amtrak passenger trains stop in
Greensboro daily on the main Norfolk
Southern line between Washington
and New
Orleans
by way of Atlanta
.
Though the city developed slowly, early wealth generated from
cotton trade and merchandising led to the construction of several
notable buildings.
The earliest building, later named Blandwood
Mansion and Gardens
, was built in 1795. Additions to this
residence in 1846 designed by Alexander Jackson Davis of New York City
made the house an influential landmark in the
nation as America's earliest Tuscan Villa. Other significant
estates followed, including "Dunleith" designed by Samuel Sloan,
Bellemeade, and the Bumpass-Troy House (now operating as an
inn).
The American Civil War and final days of the Confederacy
Although Guilford County did not vote for secession, once North
Carolina joined the
Confederacy the men of the
county joined the Confederate cause, forming such infantry units as
the Guilford Grays. From 1861 to March 1865 the city was relatively
untouched by the American Civil War, with the exception of dealing
with shortages of clothing, medicines, and other items caused by
the US naval blockade of the South. However, in the final weeks of
the war Greensboro played a significant role. In April 1865 General
P.G.T. Beauregard was instructed by the
commanding officer of the Army of Tennessee, General
Joseph E. Johnston, to prepare for a defense of the
city.
During this time, Confederate
President Jefferson Davis and
the remaining members of the Confederate cabinet had evacuated the
Confederate Capital in Richmond
, Virginia
, and moved south to Danville
, Virginia
. When Union cavalry threatened Danville,
Davis and his cabinet managed to escape by train and reassembled in
Greensboro on April 11, 1865. Thus, Greensboro was the temporary
capital city of the Confederacy. While in Greensboro, Davis and his
cabinet decided to try and escape overseas to avoid capture by the
victorious Union forces; they left Greensboro and separated. As
such, Greensboro is notable as the last place the entire
Confederate government met as a group, and Greensboro is thus the
"final" capital city of the Confederacy. At nearly the same time,
Governor
Zebulon B. Vance fled the capital of North Carolina
in anticipation of the arrival of Union General
William Tecumseh Sherman. For a
brief period beginning April 16, 1865, the capital of North
Carolina was maintained in Greensboro.
After the
negotiations were completed at Bennett Place
, now in present day Durham
, North
Carolina
, between
General Johnston and General Sherman on April 26, 1865, Confederate
soldiers stacked their arms and received their paroles in
Greensboro, and then headed for home.
Industrialization and growth
In the 1890s, the city continued to attract attention from northern
industrialists, including Moses and Caesar Cone of Baltimore. The
Cone brothers established large-scale textile plants, changing
Greensboro from a village to a city within a decade. By 1900,
Greensboro was considered a center of the Southern textile
industry, with large scale factories producing denim, flannel, and
overalls. Prosperity brought to the city through textiles resulted
in the construction of notable twentieth century civic
architecture, including the Guilford County Courthouse, West Market
Street
Methodist Church by S. W. Faulk,
several buildings designed by Frank A.
Weston, and UNCG
's Main
Building designed by Orlo Epps.
During the twentieth century, Greensboro continued to expand in
wealth and population. Rapid growth led to construction of grand
commercial and civic buildings, many of which remain standing
today, designed by hometown architects Charles Hartmann and Harry
Barton. Other notable industries became established in the city,
including
Vicks Chemical Co. (famous for
over-the counter cold remedies such as
VapoRub and
NyQuil),
Carolina Steel Corporation, and Pomona Terra Cotta Works. During
this period of growth, Greensboro experienced an acute housing
shortage. Builders sought to maintain a construction goal of 80 to
100 affordable housing units per year in order to provide homes for
workers. Greensboro's real estate was considered "the wonder of the
state" during the 1920s. Growth continued through the
Great Depression, as Greensboro added an
estimated 200 new families per year to its population. The city
earned a reputation as a well-planned community, with a strong
emphasis on education, parks, and a profitable employment
base.
Prosperity brought new levels of development involving nationally
and internationally known architects.
Walter Gropius designed a factory building in
the city in 1944. Greensboro-based Ed Loewenstein contributed
designs for projects throughout the region.
Eduardo Catalano, and George Matsumoto both
brought designs to the city that challenged North Carolinians with
modernist architectural concepts and forms.
Civil Rights Movement
As Greensboro evolved into one of North Carolina's primary cities,
changes began to occur within its traditional social structure.
On
February 1, 1960, four black college
students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical
College
sat down at an all-white Woolworth's lunch counter, and
refused to leave after they were denied service. Hundreds of
others soon joined in this
sit-in, which
lasted several months. Such protests quickly spread across the
South, ultimately leading to the
desegregation of Woolworth's and other chains.
The
original lunch counter and stools now sit in the Smithsonian
, but a museum is under development in the original
building where the event took place. (The museum is
scheduled to open on February 1, 2010, the 50th anniversary of the
sit-ins.)
In spite of this period of progress, old wounds had yet to heal. On
November 3, 1979, members of the
Communist Workers Party were
holding an anti-
Ku Klux Klan rally,
when a group of KKK and
neo-Nazis
caravaned into the Morningside Heights neighborhood where the rally
was being held and ambushed the protest. Four local TV news
stations filmed the event as it happened. Although a pistol likely
was fired by a CWP organizer (allegedly into the air) and the Klan
caravan was beaten with sticks prior to stopping, only the
anti-Klan protesters were injured and killed. Five CWP members died
and seven were wounded. Television footage of the event was shown
nationwide and around the world, and the event became known as the
Greensboro Massacre. The accused
Klansman and neo-Nazis all were acquitted by an all-white jury in
two separate criminal trials. In 1985, a civil suit found five
police officers and two other individuals liable for $350,000 in
damages to be paid to the Greensboro Justice Fund.
In 2007, Greensboro voters elected the first African-American mayor
of the city, Yvonne J. Johnson.
Neighborhoods

Typical nineteenth-century residence
in College Hill

Restaurant Vintage 301 in the
Southside Neighborhood in downtown Greensboro
Greensboro's earliest neighborhood is
College
Hill, located between West Market Street and Spring Garden
Street, in and around Greensboro College.
Southside is among the oldest neighborhoods in the city and has
experienced major redevelopment.
The Aycock and Fisher Park neighborhoods were established in 1895
and 1901, respectively. The Aycock neighborhood features large
Queen Anne residences of the turn-of-the-twentieth century, as well
as Foursquare, Craftsman, and Colonial Revival styles.
Irving
Park, developed in 1911 around the golf course of the Greensboro
Country Club, was modelled on nearby Pinehurst
by designer John Nolan. The prestigious
neighborhood includes large homes on ample lots, and remains
popular today.
The Warnersville neighborhood was a once thriving area in south
Greensboro. When Urban Renewal was initiated in the mid-1900s, most
of the business and homes were destroyed and replaced with new
roads and development. However, this area has not recovered still.
Remnants of the once booming Ashe St. can be seen behind the
Greensboro Urban Ministry on Eugene St.
The urbanization of Greensboro during the early twentieth century
was influenced greatly by the popularity of the automobile, which
enabled citizens to live farther from the city center in more
suburban surroundings. A series of "streetcar suburbs" were
established, including Glenwood, Hamilton Lakes, Lake Daniel,
Latham Park, Lindley Park, O. Henry Oaks, Rankin, Starmount, Sunset
Hills and Westerwood. Many of these neighborhoods include some of
the city's finest public parks. Recent neighborhood additions
include sprawling large-scale planned unit developments such as
Adams Farm, Lake Jeanette, The Cardinal, New Irving Park, and Reedy
Fork Ranch.
Sister cities
Greensboro maintains a "
sister city"
relationship with two cities in order to foster international
friendship and cooperation.
Geography and climate
Greensboro is located at (36.079868, -79.819416).
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
109.2 square miles (283.0 km²), of which,
104.7 square miles (271.2 km²) of it is land and
4.5 square miles (11.8 km²) of it (4.16%) is water.
Greensboro is situated among the gently rolling hills of North
Carolina's Piedmont and is situated midway between the state's Blue
Ridge and Great Smoky mountains to the west and the Atlantic
beaches and Outer Banks to the east. The view of the city from its
highest building—the Lincoln Financial tower—reveals that the town
is populated with large numbers of green trees, lending perhaps
another dimension of significance to its name. The city is at the
nexus of several major freeways, with Interstates 40, 85, and the
planned
I-73 passing through its
borders.
Thunderstorms are common during the spring and summer months, some
being severe in nature. On April, 2 1936, at around 7:00 in the
evening, a large, F-4 tornado cut a seven-mile swath of destruction
through southern Greensboro. 14 people were killed and 144 were
injured as the tornado moved through the city, including part of
downtown. The storm was part of an outbreak known as the
1936 Cordele-Greensboro
tornado outbreak.
Strong tornadoes have struck the Greesboro
area since then, notably Stoneville, North Carolina
on March, 20 1998, Clemmons,
North Carolina
and Winston-Salem, North Carolina
on May,5 1989 and Clemmons,
North Carolina
and Greensboro, North Carolina on May, 7
2008.
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Avg high temp °F |
48 (9) |
51 (11) |
60 (16) |
70 (21) |
78 (26) |
84 (29) |
88 (31) |
86 (30) |
80 (27) |
70 (21) |
60 (16) |
50 (10) |
69 (21)
|
| Avg low temp
°F |
28 (-2) |
30 (-1) |
37 (3) |
46 (8) |
55 (13) |
63 (17) |
67 (19) |
66 (19) |
59 (15) |
47 (8) |
37 (3) |
30 (-1) |
47 (8)
|
| Rainfall mm |
84 (3.3) |
84 (3.3) |
97 (3.8) |
81 (3.2) |
91 (3.6) |
97 (3.8) |
112 (4.4) |
104 (4.1) |
84 (3.3) |
86 (3.4) |
74 (2.9) |
81 (3.2) |
1074 (42.3)
|
| Snowfall mm |
79 (3.1) |
64 (2.5) |
43 (1.7) |
0 (0.0) |
0 (0.0) |
0 (0.0) |
0 (0.0) |
0 (0.0) |
0 (0.0) |
0 (0.0) |
3 (0.1) |
30 (1.2) |
218 (8.6)
|
|
Source: Weatherbase |
Crime
In a pattern usually seen within urban areas within the
Southern United States, Greensboro
tends to have crime levels considerably higher than the national
average. For the year of 2006, the city experienced 6,931 overall
crimes committed per 100,000 residents; the national average was
4479.3 per 100,000 residents. For that year Greensboro ranked above
the national average on every category of
violent crime as well as all forms of
property crime. For the year of 2008,
Greensboro ranked above the national average for all forms of
violent crime and
property crime.
The city also ranked
higher on crimes than the North Carolina
state averages. There was a total of 15,901
crimes committed for the year of 2008, this is a decrease when
compared to the previous year of 2007, that year Greensboro
experienced 16,676 total crimes citywide.
According to the Congressional Quarterly Press '2008 City Crime
Rankings: Crime in Metropolitan America, Greensboro, North Carolina
ranks as the 57th most dangerous city larger than 75,000
inhabitants. The city crime rankings released by CQ Press assign
Greensboro the highest crime rate among North Carolina
cities.
Demographics
The Center for New
North Carolinians details more information about Greensboro's
ethnic and cultural diversity.
| Historical
populations |
Census
year |
Population |
|
| 1870 |
497 |
| 1880 |
2,105 |
| 1890 |
3,317 |
| 1900 |
10,035 |
| 1910 |
15,895 |
| 1920 |
19,861 |
| 1930 |
53,569 |
| 1940 |
59,319 |
| 1950 |
74,389 |
| 1960 |
119,574 |
| 1970 |
144,076 |
| 1980 |
155,642 |
| 1990 |
183,894 |
| 2000 |
223,891 |
| 2008 |
258,671 |
As of the
census of 2000, there were 223,891
people; 92,394 households; and 53,958 families residing in the
city. The
population density was
2,138.3 people per square mile (825.6/km²). There were 99,305
housing units at an average density of 948.4/sq mi
(366.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 55.49%
White, 37.40%
Black or
African American, 4.35%
Hispanic or
Latino. 2.84%
Asian, 0.44%
Native American, 0.04%
Pacific Islander,
2.08% from
other races,
and 1.71% from two or more races.
Of the estimated 92,394 households in the city in 2000, 27.5%
included children under the age of 18, 39.8% were
married couples living together, 14.6% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 41.6% were classified as
nonfamily. Of the total households, 32.6% were composed of
individuals, while 8.7% reported someone living alone who was 65
years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 persons,
and the average family size was 2.94 persons.
The age distribution in 2000 was 22.3% under the age of 18, 14.1%
from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.9%
who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For
every 100 females there were 89.2 males---for every 100 females age
18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city in 2000 was $39,661,
and the median income for a family was $50,192. Males had a median
income of $34,681 versus $26,797 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$22,986. About 8.6% of families and 12.3% of the population in 2000
were living below the
poverty line,
including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or
over.
Asian community
About 4,000
Vietnamese have
resettled in the Greensboro area since 1979 as refugees or
secondary migrants. They are a diverse population culturally,
ethnically, and religiously, and not organized through any broad
based structure.
The Montagnards (French
for "mountain people") are immigrants from a number of different
tribes from the Highlands of Vietnam
. They had been isolated mountain farmers and
hunter-gatherers until the Vietnam War, when the U.S. government
recruited them as front-line soldiers for the U.S. Army Special
Forces. About 5,000 of the Motagnards have settled in Guilford
County making it the largest Montagnard community in the world
outside Vietnam. A few hundred
Nung, a tribal
group from northern Vietnam, also have resettled in the city and
are often grouped with the Montagnard tribes.
In the early 1980s, the first
Cambodian
refugees resettled in Greensboro. The stable community of about 60
large families, representing about 500 people, are closely
affiliated with the Greensboro
Buddhist
Center.
An additional 800 former Cambodians live
around the Triad including a large population in nearby Davidson
County
.
Greensboro was not an initial resettlement area for Laotians.
However, since the mid 1980s, many families have come as secondary
migrants from other states, and now the Laotian population is
stabilized at about 1000 people.
A few families of hill tribe refugees
from Laos
, mostly
Hmong, live in Guilford County, plus
more than 50 college students attending the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Other Laotian hill tribe
populations that have relocated to th Greensboro area include
approximately 200
Khmu refugees as well as
smaller groups representing other tribes. About 2,000 Korean
immigrants, many well established, are represented in Guilford
County. The local Chinese Association, comprised primarily of
mainland Chinese, has a few hundred members. Ethnic Chinese living
in Greensboro number in the thousands.
The
Indian
immigrant population, estimated to be more than
2,000, is well established in the Greensboro area and has a long
history there. Many Indian immigrants are associated with
the city's university and medical communities and have formed
multiple community organizations. There are an estimated 600
Pakistanis living in the area, as well as
an estimated 1,000
Palestinians, with
additional thousands in the greater Piedmont Triad region.
(Many
Palestinians relocated to the area following the war in 1967.) A
few hundred Israeli
nationals also have relocated to the Triad,
particularly for international business purposes.
Central European community
New residents also have arrived from Central Europe, from the
former
Yugoslavia that have immigrated
since 1994 as refugees, about 2,000 people. About 90% are from
Bosnia and the rest are from other Balkan nations. Greensboro has
become a resettlement site in the past few years for approximately
250 Russian and Ukrainian Jewish refugees.
Latino community
According to the 2002 and 2003 estimates of the Latino population
in Guilford County (published by Faith Action Inc.), there was a 4%
increase in Latino population between those years, and in 2003 the
population was estimated to be 26,981. Although there were not
follow up studies using this method, we can estimate that, if the
population has continued to increase by 4% annually, the current
Latino community would number approximately 29,182. Other studies
indicate the rate of increase may be even greater. More than two
thirds of the area's Latino immigrants are from Mexico, though it
is thought that all 26 Latin American countries are represented in
the region. Most Latino residents have arrived since 1990, and
their arrival is expected to continue and increase as long as
economic opportunities prevail.
Economic development

Downtown Greensboro

Dixie Building
Notable companies headquartered in Greensboro include the
Honda Aircraft Company,
Lorillard Tobacco Company,
VF Corporation,
Syngenta Crop Protection,
Mack Trucks,
Volvo
Trucks of North America,
RF Micro
Devices, the
International Textile Group,
NewBridge Bank,
Cook Out,
Biscuitville, and
Gilbarco Veeder-Root. Greensboro is
also a "center of operations" for the insurance company
Lincoln Financial Group. Although
traditionally associated with the textile and tobacco industries,
Greensboro leaders are working to attract new businesses in the
nanotech, high-tech and transportation/logistics sectors. The
University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina
A&T State University opened a joint research park,
Gateway University Research
Park.
Downtown area
Downtown Greensboro has experienced construction
investment in recent years with developments such as NewBridge
Bank Park
, and residential developments and office
construction. The Southside neighborhood downtown
exemplifies central-city reinvestment as a formerly economically
depressed neighborhood that has been redeveloped into an
award-winning neotraditional-style neighborhood. Downtown
Greensboro also has experienced a dramatic increase in nightlife
with the opening of numerous nightclubs, bars and restaurants. In
2006,
Elon University opened a law
school in the center city.
Downtown attractions include: the Carolina
Theater, Triad Stage (Pyrle Gibson
Theater), Blandwood
Mansion, Center City Park, NewBridge
Bank Park
, Greensboro Historical Museum, Greensboro Cultural
Center, the J. Douglas Galyon Transportation Depot, and the
Greensboro Children's Museum. A multi-million dollar greenway loop
around downtown is currently under construction. It will be among
the first urban greenway loops in the country and will have walking
paths, biking paths, parks, recreational facilities, outdoor
classrooms, and art show spaces. The project is being built in
phases and could take 5 to 10 years to complete and will also
connect with the greenway system throughout the city.
Airport area
In 1998,
FedEx chose to build and operate a $300
million mid-Atlantic air-cargo and sorting hub at Piedmont
Triad International Airport
, following an intensive competition for the hub
among other regions of the state, as well as locations in South
Carolina
.
After the hub announcement, the project faced court battles
concerning potential noise and pollution abatements from
neighborhoods located near the planned hub site. Nonetheless, the
hub is planned to open by 2009 and build on the city's effort to
strengthen its position as a transportation, distribution and
logistics hub in the Southeast and middle Atlantic regions.
In
February 2007, Honda Aircraft
Company announced it will develop a multi-million dollar jet
airplane facility and world headquarters at Piedmont
Triad International Airport
. The company will build the new
HondaJet at the site, and the first planes are
planned to roll off the assembly line in 2010. In 2001, the test
flight for the jet took place at the airport.
Education
Institutes of higher education
For-profit universities
Boarding schools
Private education
Public education
High Schools and Middle Colleges
Attractions
- The Bog Garden
is accessed by an elevated boardwalk that comprises
a half-mile of the of trails that wind through a garden of plants
and wildlife that thrive in a wetland ecosystem.
- Bicentennial Garden was developed in 1976 to commemorate the
U.S. bicentennial. The garden contains of paved trails, along with
outdoor sculptures and a pavilion.
- Greensboro Center City Park occupies half a city block
adjacent to the Greensboro Cultural Center. Sponsored by Action
Greensboro, the park features a fountain as well as works by
several North Carolina artists.
- Greensboro Arboretum
was completed as a partnership between Greensboro
Beautiful and the City of Greensboro Parks & Recreation
Department. It offers an extensive selection of fora for
study and enjoyment. The 17 acre site features 12 permanent plant
collections as well as special display gardens with a fountain,
overlook, arbor, gazebo, bridges, and viewing benches.
- Blandwood Mansion and Gardens
is the historic home of former North Carolina
Governor John Motley Morehead. Today the site serves as a
museum of national architectural and historical significance. It is
the earliest example of Tuscan Italianate architecture in the
nation, designed by New York architect Alexander Jackson
Davis.
- World War Memorial Stadium
was one of the oldest continuously used
professional baseball facilities in the nation before it was
replaced by the city's First Horizon Stadium in 2005. The
memorial stadium was constructed in 1926 to honor the memory of
lives lost during the first World War. It anchors the Aycock
Historic District and remains in use by collegiate baseball teams,
amateur leagues, and other special events throughout the year. The
stadium was home to the Greensboro Bats professional minor-league
club until the new First Horizon Park opened and the team became
the Greensboro Grasshoppers.
- Hagan Stone Park is a scenic
409-acre (1.66 km2) wildlife refuge and family campground owned and
operated by the city of Greensboro, North Carolina located on Hagan
Stone Park Road off U.S. Highway 421. It is open daily 8 am to
sunset, weather permitting. The park has several lakes, camp
shelters with charcoal grills, and playgrounds. The park is the
home of the Greensboro Invitational Cross Country Meet hosted
annually in September by the Greensboro Pacesetters for high school
and college athletes.
- Greensboro Coliseum
Complex The Greensboro Coliseum Complex was conceived as, and
continues to operate as, a multibuilding facility to serve the
citizens of Greensboro and the surrounding region by hosting a
broad range of activities including athletic and cultural events;
concerts, theater and other entertainment; educational activities,
fairs and exhibits; and various other public and private events
such as conventions, convocations and trade/consumer shows. The
coliseum complex has hosted prestigious events such as the
collegiate Atlantic
Coast Conference basketball tournament, East
Coast Hockey League and American Hockey League professional
hockey, the NCAA Men’s
Basketball Championship and Starrcade . Additionally, the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League called the
Greensboro Coliseum its temporary home while its permenent venue
was being constructed in Raleigh. Since 1959, the coliseum has
featured superstars ranging from Elvis
to the contemporary rap star Usher. The facility is scheduled to
again host ACC Basketball Tournaments (men's and women's) in 2010.
The complex has undergone several major renovations, most recently
in 1994, enlarging the maximum arena capacity to its current 23,500
seats. There is a proposal under consideration to build the ACC
Hall of Champions and Museum adjacent to the coliseum complex, as
the ACC was founded in Greensboro in 1953 and currently is
headquartered at the Grandover Office Park
in south Greensboro.

NewBridge Bank Park
- NewBridge Bank Park
is home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball
club. Completed in 2005, it hosts additional outdoor events
and concerts during the summer months.
- Guilford Courthouse National Military
Park
commemorates the Battle of Guilford Court House,
which occurred at the location on March 15, 1781. The battle
opened the campaign that led to the America's victory in the
Revolutionary War. The British lost a substantial number of troops
in the battle, which factored in their surrender at Yorktown
(Virginia) seven months later. The battle site remains largely
undeveloped with large stone memorials erected early in the
twentieth century to memorialize the nationally significant
event.
- The Natural
Science Center of Greensboro is a family oriented, hands-on
science museum and planetarium. The zoo reopened in summer 2007
after undergoing extensive renovations.
- The
Greensboro Children's Museum (GCM) offers hands-on and
interactive exhibits, educational programming and special events
all year long for children newborn through age ten.
- The revitalized downtown Elm Street area is known for its
collection of antique shops, art galleries, and restaurants and
clubs. Many people attend the First Friday events held each month
at the various participating merchants.
- Wet 'n Wild Emerald PointeHas
36 rides including Daredevil Drop, one of the
nation's tallest water slides, and family rides such as Tropical
Drop. The park also features two heavily themed family
sections known as Splash Island, and Happy Harbor. Emerald Pointe
is also the largest water park in both of the Carolinas. According
to Amusement Business magazine, Emerald Pointe boasts the tenth
highest annual attendance among American water parks at nearly
500,000 visitors.
Shopping
Greensboro is home to a large variety of retail shopping from
well-known national chains to local boutiques and galleries.
Four Seasons Town Centre,
located on the city's southwest side off
I-40,
is a three-level regional mall with anchors
Belk,
Dillard's, and
JCPenney.
Friendly
Center, located off Friendly Avenue is an open-air shopping
complex featuring Belk, Macy's
, Sears, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, the
nation's largest Harris Teeter
supermarket, Old Navy, and a multiplex
cinema. The Shops at Friendly Center, adjacent to Friendly
Center, is home to many specialty retailers and restaurants, many
of which that are exclusive to the Triad area, including
Anthropologie, the
Apple Store,
White House Black Market,
Sur La Table,
REI,
Brooks Brothers,
Bravo! Cucina Italiana,
P. F. Chang's China Bistro, and
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.Additional shopping
centers are located primarily on the West Wendover corridor near
I-40 and on Battleground Avenue on the city's northwest side.
Recently, "big-box" retailers have clustered at the site of the
former
Carolina Circle Mall on
the city's northeast side and on the city's far south along the
newly completed
Painter Boulevard
(I-85).
Sports
Arts
Greensboro is home to an active and diverse arts community. Events
and venues range from the nationally acclaimed annual Eastern Music
Festival to Weatherspoon Art Museum to the cutting edge
performances of the Triad Stage theater company.
- Carolina Theatre is a performing arts facility that
has been a part of downtown Greensboro since 1927. Since the
facility's renovation in the 1990s, the theater has served as the
home of the Greensboro Ballet, the Community Theatre of Greensboro,
the Livestock Players Musical Theatre, Greensboro Youth Symphony
and a variety of other local performing arts groups.
- City Arts showcases a variety of musical and
theatrical productions by The Livestock Players, Greensboro
Children's Theatre, the Music Center, Greensboro Concert Band,
Philharmonia of Greensboro, Choral Society of Greensboro, and the
Greensboro Youth Chorus. Most of these groups participate in the
city's annual OPUS Concert Series and the summer "Music for a
Sunday Evening in the Park" series.
- Community
Theatre of Greensboro has presented Broadway and off-Broadway
plays and musicals for more than 45 years. The CTG's Studio Theatre
is housed in the Greensboro Cultural Center.
- Eastern Music Festival brings more than 100 summer
performances, from symphonic works to chamber music to recitals by
professional and talented students from around the world. The event
also hosts the Fringe Festival, showcasing avant-garde and
nontraditional music and performances.
- Greensboro Ballet and School of Greensboro Ballet: A
traditional December production of "The Nutcracker" is just one of
the many artistic and educational activities offered by the ballet
company. The School of Greensboro Ballet is one of a relative few
nonprofit ballet schools in the nation.
- Cultural Center The Greensboro Cultural Center
houses more than 25 visual and performing arts organizations, five
art galleries, rehearsal halls, a sculpture garden, privately
operated restaurant with outdoor cafe-style seating, and an outdoor
amphitheater. Art galleries include the African American Atelier,
the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art, the Greensboro
Artists' League Gallery and Gift Shop, the Guilford Native American
Art Gallery and the Mattye Reed African Heritage Center Satellite
Gallery.
- Greensboro Opera Company is a highly-regarded regional
opera company founded in October 1981 that has experienced much
growth and expansion. Beginning with the production of Verdi's La
Traviata featuring June Anderson (then a rising young New York City
Opera soprano), the company expanded from a single fall production
of a major opera in the years 1981-89 to the addition of Sunday
matinee performances in the 1990-99 season when, in response to
successive sold out productions of Madame Butterfly and Carmen in
1997 and 1998, a second spring opera with two performances was
added, beginning in 1999-2000. The company has successfully blended
outside and local singers with a full orchestra, manned by members
of the Greensboro Symphony, in the pit at their home at
Greensboro's War Memorial Auditorium.
- Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Dmitri
Sitkovetsky, has developed a strong reputation among national
musical organizations, including continued exposure on National
Public Radio's Performance Today. Sitkovetsky began his career as a
violin soloist. He focused on the chamber orchestra repertoire when
starting out with the European String Orchestra, a superb group of
musicians pulled together by Sitkovetsky. The orchestra performs
classical and pops concerts and holds educational programs for
young listeners throughout the year.
- Reed African American Heritage Museum, located
at North Carolina A&T State University, hosts one of the most
acclaimed collections of African culture in the nation. The museum
houses more than 3,500 art and craft pieces from more than 30
African nations, New Guinea and Haiti.
- Triad
Stage is a not-for-profit regional theatre company based in
Greensboro's downtown historic district. All productions are
created in Greensboro using a combination of local and national
talent. The theater company recently was recognized as ‘One of the
50 Best Regional Theatres in America!’ by New York‘s Drama League,
‘Best Live Theatre’ in Go Triad/News & Record The Rhino Times,
and was voted ‘2003 Professional Theater of the Year’ by the North
Carolina Theatre Conference.
- Weatherspoon Art Museum, located at The University of
North Carolina at Greensboro, houses one of the foremost
collections of modern and contemporary art in the Southeast.
Composed of six galleries, the museum is nationally recognized for
its collection of 20th century American art. The permanent
collection also includes lithographs and bronzes by Henri Matisse,
and art by celebrated masters such as Willem de Kooning, Henry
Ossawa Tanner, John Graham, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, and
Andy Warhol.
Notable natives and residents
Born in Greensboro
- Patrick Barry, independent
filmmaker
- Thomas Berry, international
spokesman in support of ecology and care of the earth
- Hal "Skinny" Brown, former MLB
pitcher.
- Joey Cheek, Olympic gold-medal speed skater
- Levi Coffin, noted Quaker educator and abolitionist
- Vince Evans, former NFL
quarterback.
- O. Henry,
short-story writer
- John Isner, professional tennis
player
- John Anthony Lennon,
composer (b. 1950)
- Caroline Lind, 2008 Olympic Women's 8 rowing gold-medal
- Dolley Madison, First Lady and wife of
President James Madison
- Doug Marlette, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist.
- Jack F. Matlock, Jr. U.S. ambassador to the
U.S.S.R.
, 1987-1991
- Robert McAdoo, former NBA All-Star
and college basketball All-American.
- Edward R. Murrow, CBS News Anchor
- Fred "Curly" Neal, former Harlem Globetrotter
- Ronald Perelman, Billionaire
Investor
- Eddie Pope, soccer star of Real Salt Lake and the US National Soccer Team
- George Preddy, World War II ace
- Jeff Varner, Survivor contestant (Season 2)
- Kelly Wiglesworth, Survivor contestant (Season 1)
Current residents
- Rex M. Best, Emmy award winning writer for the CBS
daytime dramas "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the
Beautiful"
- Orson Scott Card, author,
journalist and professor; several of his books, including
Ender's Game and Shadow Puppets feature settings in and
around Greensboro.
- Eugene Chadbourne, composer
and musician
- Kay Hagan, United States Senator for
North Carolina
- H.T. Kirby-Smith, author and poet
- Richard Lambert, former U.S.
shot put champion
- Michael Parker, novelist
- Garry Peterson, long time drummer
of the Guess Who
- Ricky Proehl, retired NFL Player
Associated with Greensboro
- 2004 American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino briefly lived in
Greensboro and is from nearby High Point.
- 1960s American rhythm and blues and soul duo Inez and Charlie Foxx, known for their
hit single "Mockingbird," are
from Greensboro.
- Journalist and true crime author Jerry Bledsoe lives in nearby Asheboro
; his regular column appeared for many years in the
Greensboro News & Record, and his investigative
reporting is featured in the Rhino
Times.
- Jeff Bostic, NFL
player for the Washington
Redskins, born in Greensboro, graduated from Ben L. Smith High
School
- Joe Bostic, NFL
player for the St. Louis
Cardinals, born in Greensboro, graduated from Ben L. Smith High
School
- Joseph M. Bryan, businessman and philanthropist, lived
in Greensboro until his death in 1995.
- Andy Cabic of indie folk band Vetiver
lived in Greensboro while a member of indie-rock band The
Raymond Brake.
- Spencer Chamberlain, current
lead vocalist of the band Underoath, was
raised in Greensboro.
- Billy "Crash" Craddock, country
music legend, born and lives near Greensboro.
- Rock
star and 2006 American Idol contestant
Chris Daughtry is from nearby
suburban McLeansville
and is a resident of nearby Oak
Ridge
.
- Rick Dees, radio personality,
graduated from Grimsley High
School
- Marques Douglas, NFL player for San
Francisco 49ers, attended Dudley High School
- Barry Farber, radio talk show host,
author and language-learning enthusiast. Grew up in
Greensboro.
- Brendan Haywood, NBA player for Washington
Wizards, attended Dudley High School
- Torry Holt,
wide receiver for NC
State
and the St. Louis
Rams was born in nearby Gibsonville.
- Nationally acclaimed poet Randall Jarrell lived in Greensboro, where
he was a professor at the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro
until his death in 1965. He is buried near the
Guilford
College
campus.
- Haywood Jeffries, Retired
NFL player, played for the Houston Oilers.
- Frank Lucas, famous
heroin dealer, subject of American
Gangster motion picture staring Denzel Washington.
- Danny Manning,
an All-America basketball player for the
University
of Kansas
, attended Page High School in
Greensboro.
- Edward R. Murrow, famed World War II CBS radio
broadcaster and award-winning journalist, was born outside
Greensboro.
- Kyle Petty,
Nascar driver and racing commentator lives
near Greensboro in Trinity, North Carolina

- Lee Petty, Pioneer of Nascar racing. Three time National Champion. Founder
of Petty Enterprises, Level Cross,
NC, near Greensboro.
- Richard Petty,
Seven-time Nascar champion lives near
Greensboro, in Level Cross, North Carolina

- Singer Cat Power (Chan Marshall) lived
in Greensboro with her mother as a teenager in the late 1980s.
- Ricky Proehl, NFL player, played for Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, St.
Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers,
and Indianapolis Colts.
- Charlie
Sanders, 2007 NFL Pro Football
Hall of Fame
tight end for the Detroit
Lions, attended Dudley High School
- Ski, Hip-Hop producer and rapper,
lived in Greensboro
- Tooth and Nail recording
artists Sullivan formed and lived in
Greensboro
- Robert Walden, Pioneer Nascar driver lives near Greensboro
Transportation
Greensboro is served by Piedmont
Triad International Airport
, which also serves the nearby cities of High
Point
and Winston-Salem
as well as the surrounding Piedmont Triad
metropolitan region. PTI was a
hub for the now defunct
Skybus Airlines.
Amtrak's daily Crescent, Carolinian and Piedmont trains
connect Greensboro with the cities of New York
, Philadelphia
, Baltimore
, Washington
, Richmond
, Raleigh
, Charlotte
, Atlanta
, Birmingham
and New Orleans
.
Amtrak
trains, taxis, local and long-distance buses arrive and depart from
the Amtrak
station
and rail depot located at 236-C East Washington
Street. Originally constructed in the early 1920s, the
station and depot were renovated in 2004.
The Greensboro Transit Authority offers public bus service
throughout the city, including a service called
Higher Education Area
Transit, or HEAT, which links downtown attractions to area
colleges and universities. Regional public transportation
throughout the metropolitan area is coordinated by PART,
Piedmont Area Regional
Transportation.
Interstate Highways
Interstate 40 and
Interstate 85 share the same freeway facility
for several miles in the Greensboro area. The consolidated highway,
which is now the Interstate 40/
Business 85
junction, is located just south of downtown and forms the western
end of a stretch of freeway infamously known throughout the region
as "
Death Valley," a
congested and accident-prone stretch of roadway where six major
federal and Interstate routes combine into a single freeway
facility.
Construction is currently underway on the
Greensboro Urban Loop, a freeway that,
when complete, will encircle the majority of the city. Sections of
this
beltway may form the future alignment
of
Interstate 73.
U.S. Highway
29---which travels through the southern, eastern and northern
sections of the city before heading northeast toward suburban
Reidsville---is a major route in Greensboro and offers freeway
access to the more urban and central areas of the city.
Media
Newspapers
The
Greensboro News
& Record is the primary daily newspaper in Greensboro.
The Business Journal, a member of the American City Business
Journals chain of business weeklies, is based in Greensboro and
covers business across the Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. The
Carolina Peacemaker is a news weekly that covers the
African-American community. The
Rhinoceros Times and
Yes! Weekly are free weekly alternative
newspapers, along with the Hamburger Square Post monthly which has
published since 1979.
Q-Notes, a
bi-weekly newspaper serving the LGBT community
and published in Charlotte
, is distributed to locations in
Greensboro.
Broadcast television
Greensboro is a part of the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point
television
designated market
area and includes the following commercial broadcast stations
(listed by call letters, channel number, network and city of
license):
- WFMY-TV
, 2, CBS, Greensboro
- WGHP
, 8,
Fox, High Point
- WXII-TV
, 12, NBC,
Winston-Salem
- WGPX
, 16,
ION, Burlington
- WCWG
, 20,
The CW,
Lexington
- WUNL-TV, 26, PBS/UNC-TV, Winston-Salem
- WGSR-TV, 39, Independent, Reidsville
- WXLV-TV
, 45, ABC, Winston-Salem
- WMYV-TV
, 48, MyNetworkTV,
Greensboro
- WLXI-TV
, 61, TCT, Greensboro
Greensboro is also home to the Triad bureau of
News 14 Carolina
See also
External links
Documentaries
- February One California Newsreel
documentary on 1960 sit-in by the Greensboro Four.
- 88 Seconds in Greensboro PBS Frontline transcript.
Reported by James Reston, Jr. Directed by William Cran. Original
Airdate: January 24, 1983. Retrieved April 2, 2005.
- Greensboro Child, documentary about the 1979
Greensboro Massacre and the shadow it cast on the survivors.
References