Change…Change…Change. In just the blinking of an eye, the years roll on and change happens. Here are a few images that show how change looks in downtown Winston-Salem.
On the corner of N. Marshall Street and W. Fourth Street, the former J. C. Penney’s building is being transformed into Twin City Lofts. Interestingly, there was an apartment building adjacent to the J. C. Penney’s building (shown at left in the historical photo). The Hilton Apartments, originally designed for four apartments, were built in 1909 by J. H. Phillips. It became a rooming house soon after it was finalized and Mrs. Leet O’Brien managed the building for several years. Mrs. O’Brien’s dining room was well-known in the 1920s. Management of the building changed in 1943 and 11 apartments were fashioned from the rooming house. A fire burned part of the building in the 1950s but it was repaired and then sold to the Spruce Street YMCA in 1962. In 1968 (the date of this photo) the building was slated for demolition after being sold for $85,000. It was to be replaced by a parking lot. And we know today that Winston Square Park was built on this site in later years. The current photo shows the construction involved in transforming the former J. C. Penney’s department store into Twin City Lofts.
The photos below show the 200 block of West Fourth Street. Storefronts have modernized over the years, but the buildings are mostly the same, except for the highrise that replaced Davis Department Store. Note the building encircled by red ink in the current photo. This building is currently condemned and blocked off because bricks are falling from it. So the landscape will change dramatically when it either falls down or is taken down. Many people may recall that Singer Sewing Machines was located here in earlier days. Twin City Slice Pizza occupies the building which previously housed Kay Jewelers and earlier, Fisher’s Clothing Store, to the right of the condemned space. The last image is a close-up of the condemned building.
Historical photos courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
Current photos by Molly Grogan Rawls.
Stay tuned for the next delicious post on March 22nd and the next historical post on April 1st.
