This 1911 view of West Fourth Street was taken just to the west of the disjointed North Trade Street intersection.
The tall stone building at the left is the Masonic Temple. The other section of North Trade Street runs between the Masonic Temple and the building on the opposite corner.
In the distance on the same side of West Fourth Street is the Winston City Hall. Notice the clock faces in the tower?
The Forsyth County Courthouse is just out of the photo on the right. Across Liberty Street from the Courthouse is the Phoenix Hotel. Other business buildings fill out the street to the other section of North Trade Street at the right.
The photo above shows the same image with the ID’s of the buildings and the streets written on the image.
Other buildings in the above photo are the Rosenbacher & Brothers Department Store at the left (corner of West Fourth and North Trade Street) and the Amuzu Theatre at the right.
The photo shown above was taken in 2008. It’s amazing how much the trees have grown because the view in 2021 is obscured by the trees.
Looking at the then and now (2008) images, can you name the building that is the constant in the then and is also shown in the now images?
City Hall has been replaced by the Reynolds Building. The Phoenix Hotel was replaced by the Pepper Building. The Masonic Temple was demolished for the CVS at the far left. The Masten Building (and the entire 300 block of North Main Street) was removed for the Wachovia Building. It is called Winston Tower today.
The building that is the constant in the images is the former Rosenbacher Brothers store, located on the northeast corner of West Fourth and North Trade Street. It has been occupied by several businesses over the years, such as Arcade Fashion Shop.
The tall brick building near the center of the “now” photo is the O’Hanlon Building. In the “then” photo, the three-story O’Hanlon Building was hidden at the corner of West Fourth and North Liberty Street.
The buildings beside the Phoenix Hotel at the corner of Trade Street were also demolished. Today the space is a park known as Merschel Plaza.
Black and white photos courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection. Color photo courtesy of Molly Grogan Rawls.
