Greensboro (Guilford County, N.C.) city directory, 1935, Part 2

Author:
Publication date: 1935
Publisher: Richmond, Hill Directory Co.
Number of Pages: 592

USA > North Carolina > Guilford County > Greensboro > Greensboro (Guilford County, N.C.) city directory, 1935 > Part 2

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Municipal Government

Greensboro has been especially for- tunate in its selection of those men into whose hands its affairs of gov- ernment are placed, and extraordi- nary municipal progress which the city has made is largely due to the complete confidence which the tax- payers have in the integrity and ability of municipal officials. With a councilmanic-city manager form of government and non-partisan elec- tions, modern machinery is provided for the efficient dispatch of the city's business, which insures business lead- ership of the highest character. At the helm of Greensboro's municipal government there have long been business men of unquestioned integ- rity and sound business judgment, often serving at great personal sacri- fice to themselves.

Among those who have served on the city council are men who have made outstanding successes of their own businesses. These men have brought to the city a managerial skill never possessed by cities in- fluenced by petty partisan politics. As a result, the physical facilities of Greensboro are strikingly attractive and effective.

Greensboro has good water, and plenty of it, carefully safeguarded as

to purity and sanitary distribution. The water works have a capacity of 1,417,000,000 gallons, with a 21,000,- 000-gallon reservoir for filtered water, a supply sufficient to serve the city for many years to come.

The sewer system is comprehen- sive, well-planned and adequate, with 186 miles of mains laid. A highly-ef- fective disposal system is in operation, and enlargements to accommodate future needs are definitely planned.

A well-planned program of street- widening, as well as paving, is being carried on under a comprehensive city plan designed to provide Greens- boro unusually adequate intra-city transportation facilities. The mileage of paved streets in the corporate lim- its has steadily increased from 32 miles in 1922 to 135 miles in 1934. Thoroughly up-to-date automatic traffic control systems have been in- stalled at possible danger points. The streets, totaling 187.55 miles, are well- kept and clean.

Greensboro's public school system is a point of genuine pride, having been rated 96.4 out of a possible hun- dred by the North Carolina Depart- ment of Education. The 13,000 school children have 22 modern school buildings, including three junior high schools and a new senior high school. The municipal school plant has a to- tal valuation of $4,225,000. There are 278 instructors, and the annual budget is one-quarter of a million dollars. The excellent collegiate edu- cational structure will be commented on later.

An up-to-date fire department con- sists of 47 men, efficiently governed and equipped with the latest appa- ratus. Greensboro has one of the most complete fire-alarm systems in use today. Every part of the city and many important buildings are covered with alarm boxes. Greensboro's rec- ord in reduction of fire losses is out- standing. In 1927 the inter-city award was won for the lowest fire loss of any city in its class in the United States, and in each year since that time, honorable mention was received in the same contest. There are five station houses strategically located in the city, and the equipment has a value of $433,531.91.

Greensboro's police department comprises 54 officers and men. It is provided with modern physical facili- ties, radio intelligence equipment, a complete and efficient identification bureau, and a comprehensive system of city-wide telephone signals with centralized control. Short-wave radio transmission has been installed at headquarters to maintain constant communication with "roving" police automobiles and to insure traffic safety. Greensboro has long been

INTRODUCTION

UNION RAILROAD STATION

kept free from organized lawlessness such as prevails in many other cities.

Two essential steps have been taken in planning for the future-the adop- tion of a comprehensive city plan ad- ministered by a competent planning commission, and the enforcement of a modern building code. Zoning laws have been passed to maintain desi- rable neighborhood classifications. Municipal activity has been governed insofar as possible with an eye to the future growth of Greensboro.

A Healthful Place to Live

Greensboro is blessed with a mild, life-prolonging, delightful climate. Its average monthly temperature compares favorably with that of fa- mous European resorts along the Mediterranean shores of northwest- ern Italy and southern France (Monte Carlo, Nice and Genoa). Greensboro has neither bitter winters

nor oppressive summers, but rather only a moderate fluctuation from the coldest to the warmest days.

Greensboro's altitude (843 feet) and drainage practically eliminate "low-country" ailments, such as ma- laria fevers. The air is clear and bracing, with no violent atmospheric disturbances. The Government Weather Bureau figures over a pe- riod of forty years show that Greens- boro has more clear days (136 per year) than Jacksonville (129), Miami (99), Tampa (126), Atlantic City (123), or Asheville (124). Greensboro has comparatively little

snowfall (total average, 6.8 inches per year) as compared with such centers as At- lantic City (16.9), Denver (40.4), Asheville (11), Omaha (19.9), and Chicago (33.7).

United States Weather Bureau re- ports for Greensboro:

GUILFORD COUNTY COURT HOUSE, GREENSBORO

INTRODUCTION

VIEW OF AYCOCK AUDITORIUM AND MUSIC BUILDING AT COLLEGE FOR WOMEN, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA

Normal average temperature (an- nual), 59 degrees.

Average humidity, 53.185. Annual precipitation, 47.47 inches.

Greensboro is only two hours' drive from those famous winter resorts- Pinehurst and Southern Pines, and only four to six hours' drive from mountain summer resorts such as Asheville, Blowing Rock, Linville,

Roaring Gap and Chimney Rock, and Atlantic Coast resorts. Its climate is the "happy medium" between that of these resort centers, being on the plateau between the mountains and the coastal plain. Taking advantage of this climatic ideal, a beautiful all- year resort center has been estab- lished at Sedgefield, near Greensboro, which has become widely known as a golfer's and sportsman's paradise.

Relatively high day-time tempera- tures give relief from the severity of Northern winters, and low night tem- peratures permit comfortable sleep, in contrast to the enervating heat prevailing farther south

Recreational Facilities

Greensboro is the sports-lover's paradise. Golf, tennis, horseback- riding, hunting of all sorts, fishing and a variety of other sports are available either in Greensboro or in the immediate vicinity. A prominent part of this phase of the city's life is played by the new World War Me- morial Stadium, within a few blocks of the heart of the city, which at- tracts many of the major college ath- letic events of the section, and the leading inter-scholastic events. The stadium seats 9,200 persons, and is

SEDGEFIELD INN AND GOLF COURSE

INTRODUCTION

equipped with fields for day or night- time football, baseball, track, tennis. and other sports. The stadium was erected in 1927 at a cost of $150,000, donated by citizens of the city and county.

In 1934 Greensboro established a recreation center near Guilford Bat- tle Ground National Park, expending more than $600,000 in improvements, including three lakes for fishing, boating and swimming.

Greensboro has one public and two private golf courses. The famous Val- ley Brook course at Sedgefield Inn is a championship layout, where compe- titions of national import are staged. The Southern Amateur Tournament was held there in 1930; and the sec- tional tournament qualifying for the National Open in 1935 was also held there. The Greensboro Country Club

course is one of the oldest Class "A" courses in the South and is regarded as one of the most attractive. The Hamilton Lakes course, now known as "Starmount," an 18-hole layout of rare beauty, was put in play in the fall of 1930. Designed and built as a championship course, it is considered favorably for the National Public Links Tournament. The equable year-around climate here makes Greensboro ideal for golf.

Greensboro's theatres are up-to- date, both as to their houses and the character of their entertainment. The moving-picture houses have a total seating capacity of 5,800.

Due in part to the local colleges, Greensboro has, for ten months of the year, the satisfying advantage of fine music, famous singers, orches- tras, opera, outstanding lectures and

JEFFERSON STANDARD LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY BUILDING

INTRODUCTION

ONE OF GREENSBORO'S THREE PUBLIC LIBRARIES

kindred cultural advantages. Such organizations as the Civic Music As- sociation and the college dramatic societies make a real contribution to the aesthetic life of the community.

About 1,700 acres of land have been set aside for parks and playgrounds in Greensboro and the city has the reputation of having more play area per student about its public schools than any city in the country. Three Y. M. C. A.'s, Y. W. C. A., professional league baseball, public and private swimming pools, trap-shooting and "skeet," bowling, and similar facili- ties offer a wide variety of recrea- tional opportunities.

Five miles from the heart of the city is beautiful

Guilford Court House National Park, the scene of the famous encounter between Cornwal- lis and General Nathaniel Greene. The battlefield contains twenty-two memorials to Revolutionary heroes. This historic preserve is visited yearly by thousands of tourists, and in 1931 was the scene of the sesqui-centen- nial celebration of the battle, which was attended by over 40,000 spectators from all parts of the South and East.

Educational Facilities

An outstanding advantage of

Greensboro is its extraordinary edu- cational structure. Several thousand out-of-town students and faculty members attend its schools and col- leges.

Greensboro College, organized in 1838 by leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, has an en- rollment of over 300 women students, and assets amounting to $1,056,000. The College for Women, University of North Carolina, created by legislative enactment in 1891, has a yearly en- rollment of about 2,000 and a faculty

of 170, and includes a college of lib- eral arts, a school of education, a school of music, a school of dramatic art, a school of commerce, a depart- ment of secretarial science, a depart- ment of health, school of physical education, and a school of home economics. Five degrees are given, including A. B., M. A. and B. S.

Five miles west of Greensboro is Guilford College, organized by the Society of Friends (Quakers) in 1837. Its enrollment is now about 500. On the other side of Greensboro is Oak Ridge Institute, a preparatory mili- tary school for boys. It was founded in 1852, and in 1926 became a Junior R. O. T. C. unit. It now has over 250 students and an adequate plant val- ued at $250,000. It is a preparatory school for college, and offers a com- mercial course.

Other institutions in Greensboro are the Greensboro Bible and Liter- ary School and King's Business Col- lege.

Greensboro is a center of educa- tion for the Negro race as well. Here is the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, with a yearly enrollment of 900 and a million-dol- lar plant. Bennett College for Women, with 300 students, and Immanuel Lutheran College for ministers and teachers, with 200 students, are also here.

Practically every religious denom- ination is represented among Greens- boro's 73 churches.

Present Industrial Structure

In Greensboro, textiles predomi- nate, but do not dominate. Industry is well diversified. There are great cotton spinning and weaving and fabricating plants; broad silk and silk hosiery mills; structural steel, foundry and machinery establish-

INTRODUCTION

ments; terra cotta and chemical works. `Greensboro's manufacturing industries, totaling 107 plants, manu- facture $40,000,000 worth of goods per year, and 9,100 workers are employed.

The largest single industry is that of the Cone interests (White Oak, Proximity and Revolution Mills), the White Oak cotton mill being the largest denim mill in the world. The Blue Bell Overall Co. has the largest overall plant in the country. Four hosiery mills are here-Mock-Judson- Voehringer, Inc., Greensboro Full- Fashioned Hosiery Mills, Inc., Ju- venile Hosiery Mills, Inc., and Bogle-

Numerous advantageous industrial sites and a few industrial buildings are available, with adjoining railroad trackage or highways. There is a plentiful supply of native white and Negro labor, easily trained and in- dustrious. There has never been a general industrial strike in Greens- boro, and industrial disturbances of any kind are exceedingly rare.

A constant supply of power is avail- able from almost unlimited resources, and at reasonable rates. Great re- sources of various raw materials are close at hand.

These factors have tended to diver-

"CONE MILLS" -- TOP LEFT, WHITE OAK MILL-TOP RIGHT, REVOLUTION MILL-BELOW, PROXIMITY MFG. CO., WORLD'S LARGEST PRODUCERS OF COTTON DENIMS

Watkins Co. Greensboro is an out- standing full-fashioned silk hosiery center.

Greensboro Mfg. Co. and Universal Apron Co. manufacture sleeping gar- ments and a variety of cotton textile products.

Greensboro is the "home town" of Vick's Vaporub, Vick's Nose Drops, Voretone and Vick's Cough Drops; El Moro, ElReesO and other popular brands of cigars; Pomona terra cotta, Glascock stoves and ranges, leather goods, fabricated steel and iron, clay products, medicines, automobile bodies, elastic webbing, lumber prod- ucts, fertilizers, dairy products, ice, laundry machines, woodworking ma- chines and foundry products.

sify Greensboro's industrial structure, as well as develop it. The city is not dependent on any one line of manu- facture, and consequently is immune from those periods of violent depres- sion which paralyze communities in which a majority of the workers are employed in a single line of work. Throughout the entire period of na- tional business decline beginning in 1929, there has been no general shut- down of industry in Greensboro. Major industries have operated con- tinuously.

It is impossible to present ade- quately here either Greensboro's pre- sent or potential industrial advant- ages. Those interested may obtain from the Greensboro Chamber of

INTRODUCTION

Commerce more detailed information. A research staff is maintained to compile intelligently specific indus- trial and distribution data for re- sponsible inquirers. Inquiries are handled with professional confidence.

Retail Trade

Greensboro is a recognized retail center attracting partial purchasers from an area of from 55 to 75 miles in several directions. Approximately 1,000,000 people reside in this trade area. Within one hour's auto ride of Greensboro live more than 700,000 people, according to the 1930 U. S. Census figures. This area has a great- ter rural and urban purchasing power than any similar area in the South- eastern states, and more paved roads and more automobiles to enable pur- chasers to reach the market center. Statistical data show 133,000 families with an annual purchasing power of $157,000,000 residing within Greens- boro's trade territory.

Due to its tremendous market, the retail trade in Greensboro is of a very high type. The shops are modern, and the merchandise handled of a variety and quality above the average. Prom- inent in the retail life of Greensboro are the two daily newspapers and the several weeklies published here. The Greensboro Daily News, with a morn- ing circulation of about 44,500, is one of the most powerful in the state. The Record is a fast-growing and popular afternoon daily, with a circulation of about 12,150.

Greensboro has 8 hotels, most of which are of the modern fireproof class, offering about 900 "Class A" rooms. The O. Henry, King Cotton and Sedgefield Inn are the most prominent.

Wholesale Trade

Due to its strategic position in transportation and communication and the centralization here of the business interchange of the Piedmont area, Greensboro's wholesale houses and agency representatives reach out far beyond the bounds of its retail trade. More than

1,500 traveling agents have found Greensboro a logi- cal place for their homes and head- quarters, a great many of them traveling from district and territorial

offices located here. The city has an abundant supply of modern offices and bonded warehouse space at rea- sonable rents, and this fact, coupled with an advantageous position, is causing the location here of numerous branch warehouses, district offices, laboratories and agencies.

Within Greensboro's wholesale trade area of approximately 100 miles live nearly 1,500,000 people, with twelve towns of 10,000 or more popu- lation. In this jobbing area are more than 2,000 miles of paved, and 700 miles of sand-clay roads, which, to- gether with rail facilities, greatly simplify distribution and close cus- tomer contact.

Greensboro holds a dominant place in the state and reaches into the sur- rounding states, in hardware distri- bution. In drugs it is almost as favored, and it is particularly strong in the distribution of food products, produce, tobacco, bread, dry goods and clothing.

The Greensboro Chamber of Com- merce has compiled exhaustive data on the consuming power and distri- bution advantages of this territory.

Insurance Center

Seven insurance firms have their home offices in Greensboro, and a number of state headquarters for out- of-state companies are located here. The city is frequently referred to as "the Hartford of the South." Almost every type of insurance coverage is provided locally, giving Greensboro companies an annual premium in- come of approximately $20,000,000. These companies have made substan- tial investment in physical properties in Greensboro and the surrounding section. Their business is steady; their payrolls constant. They provide a stable and diversified commerce enjoyed by few contemporary cities.

Greensboro has adequate facilities for doing business-banking, trans- portation, communication, profes- sional services, etc. It is a natural banking center. The Security National Bank, with commercial branches in several other North Carolina cities, and The Guilford National Bank, ad- minister in Greensboro the financial resources of a considerable area.

PILOT LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY HOME OFFICE

INTRODUCTION

THE O. HENRY HOTEL

The services of nationally-recog- nized accountants, accredited ap- praisers, outstanding lawyers and technical advisors are available as a necessary business aid.

The municipal government is or- ganized and equipped to provide the physical facilities and services needed to promote and safeguard the com- mercial and industrial interests and progress of Greensboro.

Greensboro possesses unusually well-balanced economic advantages. All its "eggs" are not in one "basket." The sources of income, the facilities for commerce and the potentialities for progress are widely diversified,

providing insurance against excessive fluctuations, booms or depressions. Greensboro is a safe, sound, secure and stable place in which to live and make a living.

Increase in Population in Greensboro (U. S. Census)

1890

3,317

1900

10,035

1910

15,895

1920

19,861

1930

53,569

(Hill Directory Co. estimates based on

actual canvass)

1933

58,769

1934

61,693

1935

67,932

KING COTTON HOTEL

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MORE GOODS ARE BOUGHT AND SOLD THROUGH THE CLASSIFIED BUSINESS LISTS OF THE

DIRECTORY THAN ANY OTHER MEDIUM ON EARTH

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The City Directory

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CLASSIFIED BUYERS' GUIDE OF THE CITY OF

GREENSBORO (NORTH CAROLINA)

1935

MORE GOODS

ALE BOUGHT AND SOLD

THROUGH THE

CLASSIFIED BUSINESS LISTS

OF THE

Greensboro (Guilford County, N.C.) city directory, 1935, Part 2

Author: Publication date: 1935 Publisher: Richmond, Hill Directory Co. Number of Pages: 592

Author:
Publication date: 1935
Publisher: Richmond, Hill Directory Co.
Number of Pages: 592