I sometimes forget that Greensboro's legacy of destruction extends beyond my own East Greensboro neighborhood until another lifelong resident of Greensboro puts it back in focus for me. I've never met Ginia in person but I do know her brother Chris. Rather than narrate I'll simply steal and re-post the story I lifted from Ginia's blog.
Lost to Progress: The Otto Zenke buildings
by Virginia Zenke
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Henry Zenke, seated, & Otto Zenke, photo by Sonny Sherill |
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215 Eugene Street |
Well known and successful interior designer Otto Zenke moved to
Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1937 to join Morrison Neese Furniture
Company. Joined by his brother, Henry (our father) - in 1946 after his
service in the Army Air Corps, they went into business for themselves in
1951. They purchased the old Eugene Morehead house which sat on a
large lot on Eugene Street in downtown Greensboro. They renovated it
into Otto's home, studio, and gallery for his interiors and antiques.
Surrounding buildings were the attached kitchen which became the
drapery workroom, and nearby storefronts on Washington which housed the
upholstery and finishing departments. Across Eugene Street to the west
were three other buildings: 216 Eugene which houses shipping/receiving
and bookkeeping departments, 220 Eugene which housed several display
rooms, notably their two bay windows, and is the only structure
remaining from the original complex. There was also 222 Eugene, which
later housed drafting, fabric samples and office space. They also owned
6 or 7 other houses that Otto rented out on that same block.
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Living Room |
The Eugene home was reworked with delicate columns for the porch, adding
Otto's office with murals and bookcases for his library and opening two
rooms up into one, which became his much photographed living room. The
dining room bay overlooked a courtyard garden centered around a crepe
myrtle and the entrance framed by a pair of obelisks. The cottage was
most notable for its landscaping, studded with tall hardwoods, which
dappled the sloping lawns, bordered by boxwood, azalea and highlighted
with crepe myrtles, statuary, and tulips in the spring. It was a
standard on the spring house tours for the area Garden Clubs.
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Beginning days it employed 15 people, at its zenith it employed 35 |
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Gazebo with terraced garden, Frazier house in background right, IRS building center, and Carolina Theatre, left |
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Taken from drapery workroom; gate in left wall led uptown |
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215 Eugene looking West towards 220 Eugene across the street |
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220 Eugene - still standing |
In addition, 220 Eugene had a slate terrace across its front, but down
the driveway to the left side, one passed through wooden gates into a
concrete tiled and walled courtyard that, during warmer months had a
canvas canopy suspended from a tall hardwood, which was lit at night.
Art exhibits and photo shoots took place in this picturesque area, as
well as being set up for refreshments during house and garden tours.
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For garden clubs and house tours, punch was always served here. |
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216 Eugene - shipping & receiving |
In the mid 1955, the Chamber of Commerce president Orton Boren called
for a plan to rebuild downtown, which became the Roger's Plan,
"Background for Decision" published in 1963. In 1959 a study was
published "Greensboro's Future," that broadly defines Urban Renewal
based on Title II Federal funding. A committee was formed which came up
with the plan to build the Governmental Complex designed by Edouard
Catalano, appointed architect in 1966. From the orange booklet
"Governmental Center: "The architects were instructed to design a center
with an environment of vitality, civic dignity, and high architectural
standards which would offer no obstructions to close cooperation of the
city and county, would fulfill present and future space needs and would
complement downtown development."
Instead, two buildings were built, one for the County and one for the City.
This
proposal brought about the taking of the Otto Zenke property by eminent
domain and it was destroyed in 1968 in two days. While Otto was
extremely hurt that this was happening to him, his way was to outbuild
and outshine his surroundings with a vengence. Our parents begged Otto
to move the Eugene cottage but he wanted instead to build a large
commercial building that suited his purposes. He would lament publicly
about the loss of the trees and cottage - but he was on to bigger
things. Our parents fought for it, publicly, as well as his close
friends, Joe Morton going to bat for him by saying, "Two things are
known about Greensboro; Burlington Industries and Otto Zenke" It didn't
matter how much support Otto was given, it was a done deal.
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c. 1965 |
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1968 - just before the bulldozers arrived |
A few days later, one frequent visitor to Greensboro was driving down
the denuded Eugene Street, saw that Otto's house was gone, stopped her
car in the middle of Eugene Street, got out and started screaming, "My
God, what have they done? They tore it down! They took that beautiful
place and destroyed it!
In spite of its world famous architect, one City official has described
the common feeling for the government buildings in these terms, "Few of
us would lift a fire extinguisher to save them."
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So Otto built his new ediface, and it was lovely - no trees - but
lovely. Modeled on stuccoed English Regency which gave it very clean
exterior lines, but not quite modern and inside it was his vision of an
establishment of tradition and elegance. He moved the living room
panelling, the murals and bookcases and doorway from his office, and
other design elements from 215.
He filled it with English antiques and reproductions that were hand
selected or the best bench made furniture to be had from such firms as
Baker and Henredon. The best fabric houses were represented by
Scalamandre, Brunschwig & Fils, and Clarence House. All the best
product lines that had been building up nationally after the war,
through advertisement and high sales, were solidified in the period that
his business was active: 1951-1984.
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Glory days gone. N.W. corner of Washington & Edgeworth, now administration office for sheriff. |
All the departments were now under one roof. Upholsterers and drapery
makers, paint shop, bookkeeping, shipping & receiving, were on the
ground floor, galleries, his office and secretaries on the second floor,
and drafting, hardware and storage on the third. His living quarters
were on the garden gallery level which bridged the new building with old
220 Eugene.
And business was good in the 1970's
But relations weren't. Our parents left that business in 1982 to start
their own firm of The Zenkes, Inc. which we were proud to join in 1983.
Otto died in 1984 and the new executrix for the estate tried running
his business for a year, gave up, and cashed in everything possible,
including selling his building to the County, where the sheriff's
department has administrative offices now. As a public building we
doubt any of the interested public cross the threshold. As a private
concern, the world was welcome. Strange irony.
Other assets lost....
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Bellemeade, William Henry Porter's (O'Henry) playground,
thankfully 2 rooms were saved and put in the Greensboro Historical Museum |
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Dunleith, in the Charles Aycock neighborhood, now a dog park. |
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King Cotton Hotel - good downtown living space - gone, replaced by a new newspaper facility.
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O'Henry Hotel - Otto & Dad's first digs |
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Spencer Love's Burlington Industries HQ - Style Moderne, replaced by a baseball stadium,
The greenest building is the one still standing. Meaning it is not in
the landfill, but still being used, even if repurposed. Most older
buildings blessed with the traditional building arts are sound in frame,
materials, durability and artistic, human details. Mechanicals and
insulation are the things that need replacing. The difference is, in an
older building that is usually the only thing that needs replacing, In
a newer building, the whole building is usually replaced because of
poor construction & "cost effectiveness" in the first place.
Please visit our website at: www.zenkedesign.com |