If you have driven downtown lately, you might have noticed demolition work going on in the 500 block of West Fourth Street, between Spruce Street and Poplar Street. Part of the GMAC Building (the part that faced Poplar Street) is being demolished. And the former parking lot beside the building is also being demolished.
Here’s a look at the demolition site from West Fourth Street:
Here’s a look at the demolition site from Spruce Street:
Before this site held a parking lot, there were businesses lined up along Spruce Street. Here’s a view of the block in 1965:
The above view is significant because the photo was taken to show the power poles that were lined-up along Spruce Street.
The next photo shows… Voila! The power poles have been removed.
Some of the businesses along this block were Bocock Stroud (from the corner of the block, facing West Fourth Street), William McCall, McPhail’s, and Fashionaire Beauty Shop. The views with and without power poles were printed in the Winston-Salem Journal in November 1965.
The street light fixture shown above is likely the same as the fixture shown in the current image.
Photographs courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
