Historic Salisbury Foundation to Save Another Historic NOMA Home!

Our NOMA neighborhood has been so grateful to the Historic Salisbury Foundation for stepping up to save (3) endangered historic homes along the North Main Street corridor over the last two years. Our famous, or infamous, 'scaffolding house' can no longer earn that moniker! The beautiful Prairie Four-Square home at 1428 N. Main Street now lives up to its formal name, the Myers-Morris House, circa 1898. What a transformation has been accomplished on this fine home, that before HSF's intervention may have been a fine candidate for the wrecking ball! But no more!

Another home stabilized by HSF is at 1600 North Main ~ The ca.1912 Hunter-Mowery House. Both the Myers-Morris House and the Hunter-Mowery House have been purchased and the NOMA neighborhood looks forward to having them further restored . . . and to having new neighbors.

The third home stabilized by the foundation is the adorable bungalow high on its elevated lot at 1628 N. Main Street ~ already seeing the effects of investment by its new owner!

And now . . . we have even better news ~ as if this could be possible after these three enormous improvements to our neighborhood!

The gorgeous Victorian home at 1008 N. Main has been donated to the Historic Salisbury Foundation (the ink is still drying) and soon we hope to see improvements there!

This beautiful home has been treated as a rental for several years, and frankly, despite its designation as a 'pivotal structure' in the National Register of Historic Places, it has been a 'problem house' for the neighborhood. On Friday, December 9, 2016, the Historic Salisbury Foundation announced the donation of the C.L. Emerson House at 1008 North Main St. from James Isaiah “Ike” Emerson and his mother, Bonnie Rufty Emerson. And 1008 North Main Street just happens to be one of the very special and prime examples of historic residential architecture in the North Main neighborhood and historic district!


The house has been in the Emerson family since it was built in 1900 by C.L. Emerson, Ike Emerson’s great-grandfather. This beautiful, late Victorian home has been in the Emerson family since it was built in 1900 by C.L. Emerson, Ike Emerson’s great-grandfather. C.L. Emerson was Salisbury’s first oil dealer, moving from Ohio to work for both the Standard Oil Company and the Indian Refining Company. He later shifted his work to real estate, and among other property ventures, he built three additional houses in the 1000 block of North Main Street.


C. L. Emerson House 1008 N. Main St. c.1900 is classified as a 'Pivotal' property in the United States Department of the Interior National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. This is one of just (25) homes listed in the North Main Historic District with the 'Pivotal' classification.


Long considered a fine example of late Victorian architecture, the C.L. Emerson House continues to draw attention, particularly with its beautiful fluted stone columns. Residents in the North Main District cherish this one-of-a-kind Victorian home along the main corridor through the neighborhood. This unusual two-story dwelling emphasizes the asymmetry and irregular massing so characteristic of the late Victorian period. Unlike its more eclectic Victorian contemporaries, it features a steeply pitched side gable roof interrupted by a broad gable and majestic five-sided turret on the front, and gabled and hipped roof dormers at the rear. The asymmetrical first floor facade is defined by a porch supported by the notable tall, fluted, stone pillars, found only on one other structure in the vicinity.

A hint of the rich exterior ornamentation found on some of district's other Victorian dwellings is provided by circular sawn vent located high in the front and side gables and by diamond-shaped mullions which divide the upper sash of windows in the front gable and turret, as well as those windows which rise up the south elevation along the course of an interior stair.

Ike Emerson’s father, the late Maj. Gen. James Willard “Jim” Emerson, owned and rented out his family’s house for several decades. An electrical fire this past summer persuaded Ike that the house needed a new caretaker. Donating the house to Historic Salisbury Foundation was an ideal solution.

Historic Salisbury Foundation will stabilize the house and put protective covenants in place to maintain its architectural features and to preserve the association with the Emerson family. The importance of this property to North Main Street cannot be overstated. The renovated C.L. Emerson House will provide an important anchor to this central section of North Main Street.

The Foundation works on houses such as this as part of their Revolving Fund. Don't know what the Revolving Fund is? Check out this amazing video explaining it!



We are nothing short of thrilled that the Historic Salisbury Foundation will kick off 2017 working on this pivotal NOMA property.

It IS a Happy New Year!!

















The North Main Neighborhood
Salisbury, North Carolina 28144
www.facebook.com/NOMAnorthmain
www.NextDoor.com / NOMA North Main

The 40th Annual OctoberTour™ ~ Coming to the North Main Neighborhood!

 

OctoberTour™ - October 10th & 11th, 2015

In just one week, Historic Salisbury Foundation hosts its annual OctoberTour™ of historic homes! This October 10th & 11th is the 40th anniversary of this extremely popular tour that brings thousands of visitors to Salisbury, North Carolina.  And this year, the North Main Neighborhood is pleased and privileged to have (3) properties on the tour!

Ramsey-Voss House, ca. 1929: 927 North Main Street

Built in 1929 by Robert W. Ramsey, a worker for Southern Railway, this brick cottage has only had three owners - Ramsey, his daughter and son-in-law, T. E. Voss, and the current owners. Typical of the English influenced cottages built in the late 1920s and 1930s along the east side of North Main Street, the home occupies an elevated lot and is separated from the road and sidewalk by an attractive stone retaining wall, creating a sense of place.

Lombardy-John Steele House, 1799-1801: 1010 North Richard Street

Lombardy, a two-story with attic, side-hall plan frame house, was constructed for John Steele in 1799-1801. Steele (1765-1815) was one of the most prominent politicians from Rowan County and was elected to a number of local, state, and federal offices, receiving an appointment by President George Washington as Comptroller of the Treasury in 1796. This plantation home was Steele’s principal residence until his death in 1815.

The John Steele House is the oldest house in Salisbury, and is in the North Main Neighborhood!

Myers-Morris House, 1893: 1428 North Main Street 

Constructed for rural route postman, D.R. Myers and his wife, Mittie, this two-story framed house is offered on OctoberTour as a 'rehabilitation-in-progress'. The Myers’ daughter, Floise, married Zeb Morris, and their five children were born in the same room in this home. It was later an antique store and then sat vacant for many years before being stabilized by HSF’s Revolving Fund in 2014, and recently sold to new owners in the summer of 2015!

The North Main Neighborhood could not be more thrilled to have had Historic Salisbury Foundation stabilize this important house in our neighborhood, and one of the (5) Morris children has been writing one of our representatives with stories and photos of growing up in this beautiful house!  And to now have this wonderful home on the OctoberTour is just the icing on the cake!

With our fine array of late 1800-early 1900 residential architecture along the North Main Corridor, it's hard to imagine that much of this landscape was once part of a large plantation. Part of the many segments of OctoberTour is the annual tour luncheon, and this year's topic is the Plantations of Rowan County.

This year's luncheon, with a delicious meal and wine catered by Buttercup Café and Catering, features a discussion by noted historian, Gary Freeze, as he presents "Re-Discovering Rowan County's Plantation Heritage." the luncheon will be held at the Rowan Museum at 202 N Main Street (11:30-2:30).

Following this insightful talk, each participant will have the opportunity for a sneak preview of the newly renovated Peter Kern Home.

Tickets for the luncheon ($45.00 per person) are available at www.octobertour.com.

Meanwhile, up on North Main Street, the neighborhood is a-bustle with activity in preparation for bringing this wonderful event to our community!  The City of Salisbury installed lengths of new sidewalk and performed sidewalk repair, particularly in OctoberTour site proximity, along the eastern edge of North Main!  We love it!

AND . . .

We could just HUG the City of Salisbury for edging our beautiful granite curbing down the length of the Main Street corridor from the railroad tracks to the Spencer town line.

What a difference this investment to the NOMA neighborhood makes!

All in all...we can barely contain our excitement in this rare opportunity to have the Historic Salisbury Foundation bring OctoberTour to the North Main Neighborhood!  We thank the Foundation for the investment it has made in our neighborhood and our historic homes, and for recognizing the strength, history, and beauty in our neighborhood culture and architectural fabric that makes up our community!

Special NOMA thanks to Historic Salisbury Foundation Executive Director Brian Madison Davis for spear-heading this movement to NOMA, and to volunteer Doug Black for the absolute gazillions of hours invested in stabilizing some of our most strategic homes!


Please visit the North Main Neighborhood during the 40th Annual OctoberTour!  Share the joy!

* OctoberTour™ site photos courtesy of the Historic Salisbury Foundation.  www.historicsalisbury.com / www.octobertour.com

The North Main Neighborhood
Salisbury, North Carolina 28144
www.facebook.com/NOMAnorthmain
www.NextDoor.com / NOMA North Main

No BlockWORK for NOMA This Fall. But BlockWORK Still Needs Us!

The North Main Neighborhood association (The Old North Salisbury Association)submitted an application to the City of Salisbury's Community Appearance Commission on behalf of NOMA for its annual award-winning BlockWORK program.  But alas...once again we were not selected!

What is BlockWORK?

BLOCKWORK is grassroots program of the Community Appearance Commission's Neighborhood Leaders Alliance (NLA) designed to bring community supporters together to promote cleaner and safer neighborhoods - one block at a time.  BlockWORK addresses needs along a single residential block, and invites 100s of volunteers to the neighborhood to clean, re-landscape, and perform minor repairs on homes along the selected block. Neighborhood leaders are encouraged to submit applications for a block of their choice to compete for an intensive work day with volunteers.

After careful review of applications, a selection committee chooses a block based on potential impact to the community, feasibility of the project and neighborhood support. The selection committee also reviews the ratio of owner-occupied vs. rental homes, and whether there is strong support from neighborhood representatives. Once a year, typically coinciding with United Way's 'Day of Caring' in October, the selected block is closed to traffic and truckloads of volunteers, plants and shrubs, mulch, and tools descend upon the neighborhood in a whirlwind transformation effort!

The North Main 2015 BlockWORK Application

Members of the Old North Salisbury Association, the neighborhood association for NOMA, submitted the 800 block of North Main Street. Unfortunately, the BlockWORK program is unlikely to ever happen right on a Department of Transportation (DOT) highway such as Main Street (NC 29), and is traditionally conducted in a side-street portion of a neighborhood.

816 N Main Street ~ abandoned 10+ years

The abandoned home at 816 N Main that is in serious stages of demolition-by-neglect (and is the site of a dangerous storm drain failure in the front yard and sidewalk area - not shown here), a home which the application suggested be repaired, is also beyond the scope of what the BlockWORK project can accomplish. (A new City initiative is in the works to address abandoned homes.)

The North Main application was summarily rejected.

Bad News / Good News

That's the bad news. The good news is that a very deserving block in the Chestnut Hill Neighborhood was selected. Chestnut Hill is going through major revitalization efforts thanks to its neighbors and residents, the many churches in the neighborhood, and to organizations such as the Historic Salisbury Foundation that has stayed demolition on several circa 1900 homes there.

BlockWORK is in its 5th year and was awarded national recognition (and $10,000 to the City of Salisbury!!!) for its work, its interactive nature, and what the program represents to Salisbury.

BlockWORK History

Prior BlockWORK projects have transformed:

• 200/300 Block S. Shaver Street - 2011
• 1000 Block S. Fulton Street - 2012
• 700/800 Block E. Franklin Street - 2013
• 900 Block W. Horah Street - 2014

E. 11th & N. Main Street Beautification Project

Some extra funding from the 2013 BlockWORK project was used in NOMA for the 11th Street Beautification Project that helped us get the new green space, sidewalks, curbing, and bus shelter at the corner of E. 11th Street and North Main Street.

The City of Salisbury additionally helped us with the demolition and subsequent mini-beautification project at the corner of W. Steele and Main, so we can't complain too greatly! We certainly appreciate the impact these projects have made to the neighborhood!

Prior NOMA Applications

800 Block of N. Lee Street

The North Main Neighborhood submitted the 800 Block of N. Lee Street during the very first run of BlockWORK in 2011. This block remains a great candidate for the project, and we hope it will get submitted again in future years.

900 Block of N. Jackson Street

We submitted dual applications in 2012, submitting the 900 Block of N. Jackson Street and the 1200 Block of N. Church Street.  The 1200 Block of Church is still a viable candidate, while on Jackson, someone purchased the (3) cute little brick cottages and invested substantially in sprucing them up nicely ~ making an enormous difference to this portion of the NOMA neighborhood.

1200 Block of N. Church Street

Both years, a small team of neighbors cruised up and down all 40+ blocks of the North Main Neighborhood, taking photographs & notes on which streets could be viable candidates...and there are several!

NOMA did not submit for BlockWORK 2013 & 2014, knowing the 11th Street Beautification Project was in full swing.

FUTURE BlockWORK for NOMA

Anyone can submit a block for BlockWORK....as long as we can show a strong support team, submit a block that can be closed to traffic, and offer a street that has homes that represent a feasible project, we should be able to secure a BlockWORK project in the future for North Main.

In the meantime...if you've never volunteered for the BlockWORK day ~ you're really missing out! What a fun event and so heartwarming to see the community come together to 'make a difference'!

SAVE ♦ THE ♦ DATE ♦ BlockWORK 2015

This year's BlockWORK will be held on 'Make a Difference Day' October 24th, 2015 in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood (S. Church Street).

Save the Date and join in ~ there is a mini-project for every skill level, from serving food and drink, registering helpers, or painting/scraping/planting/repairing!




What we give now, we're sure to get back one day when BlockWORK comes to NOMA!










The North Main Neighborhood (NOMA)
www.NextDoor.com
www.Facebook.com/NOMAnorthmain

Volunteers Wanted for 1600 N Main Street

This week, the Historic Salisbury Foundation will continue to focus on the scraping and painting of the front porch railing at 1600 N. Main Street. Doug Black/HSF and team will be working Monday-Tuesday, but then the HSF volunteers will be out of town for nearly a month!

Anyone interested in continuing the work while they are gone can contact Doug Black for a key and tools. Call HSF at (704) 636-0103 for Doug's contact info.

The Hunter-Mowery House, a handsome working class cottage, was built about 1912 by L.F. Hunter, a Southern Railway machinist, who occupied the home until 1925 when he sold it to J. L. Mowery, a railway blacksmith.

1600 N Main is the best preserved working class Victorian cottage in the district with its high hipped roof with projecting front gable, accentuated with a colonial lunete, its asymmetrical stuccoed facade with recessed side entrance, and a handsome porch with turned posts and an interesting sawn dentil gallery.

HSF is also always happy to welcome volunteers to help on the Depot windows, doors and lamp post paint job over the summer months. Pitch in, if U can . . . every hour counts!

The North Main Neighborhood
www.NextDoor.com
www.Facebook.com/NOMANorthMain

North Main Home Wins a Preservation Award!

Congratulations to our NOMA neighbors!  Historic Salisbury Foundation will award Glen and Julie Upp one of several Private Preservation Awards for rehabilitation of the J.C. Cress House at 928 N. Main Street at the upcoming Preservation Awards Ceremony!

Historic Salisbury Foundation will honor the past year’s best historic preservation success stories at its 2015 Preservation Awards Ceremony. The event will be held May 28 at the Salisbury Station, 215 Depot Street with a reception beginning at 6:30 p.m., followed by the awards presentation.

Reservations are $20 per person and may be purchased at www.historicsalisbury.org, or by calling 704-636-0103 by May 22.

Award categories include:

• Commercial Revitalization through Historic Preservation 
• Private Preservation and Neighborhood Revitalization 
• Longtime Preservation Leader 
• Preservation Craftsmen and Professionals 
• Volunteers of the Year 
• President’s Award 

The J. C. Cress House at 928 N. Main St. is classified as a 'Contributing' property in the North Main National Register of Historic Places Inventory. There are four categories: Pivotal; Contributing; Intrusion; and Fill.

Built about 1912 by J. C. Cress, who also occupied 108 W. Steel Street, 928 N. Main Street was occupied by Cress into the 1940s. Sitting on a slightly raised lot, this home demonstrates the transition from the late Victorian to Colonial Revival domestic architecture which characterized the North Main district at the time. Although strongly Victorian in its asymmetrical composition, its projecting front gable, and its turned post porch with interesting carved gallery, its boxlike shape and high hip roof with projecting attic dormer are reminiscent of the large unadorned four squares influenced by the Colonial Revival, which were being constructed along N. Main Street.

For many years, the concrete block wall that ran down both sides of the property line at 928 N Main plagued the neighborhood. Previous owners began, bit by bit, to remove the wall, rumored to have been installed as a 'hate-wall' by a previous neighbor. The Upps have removed a much of the front portion of this wall in addition to many other restoration projects for this home.

The J. C. Cress house neighbors the circa 1911 C. W. Isenhour house at 926 N. Main Street, a 'Pivotal' property which was one of NOMA's first brick homes, this unique dwelling demonstrates the transition from late Victorian to more formal and restrained Colonial Revival architecture. The Insenhour house, or the 'Octagon House' as it is fondly referred to by NOMA neighbors, home is most noted for its its steep side gable roof and dominating octagonal central tower with tall tent roof. It was built about 1911 by C. W. Isenhour, part owner of Isenhour's Brick Yard in nearby Spencer. By the 1930s it was broken up into apartments. Current owners began a massive restoration project, which is again on hold, and the home is listed for sale 'as-is' for $69,900.

Glen and Julie Upp are officers in the newly reformed North Main neighborhood association, known as NOMA in recent years but once again called the Old North Salisbury Association. Glen holds the president's position and Julie is association secretary.  Other ONSA officers are Jeanette Vargas/Vice President, and Cherie Turner/Treasurer.

The ONSA Board of Directors are:

• Mike Pryor 
• LaDonna Mills 
• Jacqueline Millican 
• Michael Crabb 
• Robert Crum 
• Jenni Pfaff 
• Jeff Cannon 
• Kelly Cannon 
• Max Vargas 

Please join us in celebrating another star home and restoration in the North Main neighborhood!  Go NOMA~~!!!

NOMA The North Main Neighborhood 
NOMA North Main at www.NextDoor.com
NOMA The North Main Neighborhood on Facebook.com

Volunteer Day in NOMA a Huge Success!

We had plenty of work to do this Saturday during our NOMA Volunteer Work Day, and the morning rain and cold might have tried, but did little to slow us down!

Historic Salisbury Foundation, through their revolving fund, is working on... not one...not two...but THREE endangered homes along North Main Street in the historic district here. We called on volunteers to help with interior and exterior cleanup ~ and boy! Did they come! Volunteers could be seen up and down the north section of the neighborhood with rakes, pruners, loppers, chainsaws, and more ~ working at 1428, 1600, and 1623 North Main ~ all wanting to be a part of this awesome neighborhood revitalization!

1428 North Main Street

1428 North Main Street, built in 1900 (some think 1898), has been known as the neighborhood's 'Scaffolding House' for far too long.  This grand home had become an unfortunate landmark along the North Main corridor into the City of Salisbury, so you can imagine the neighborhood's delight when Historic Salisbury Foundation retained ownership of the home and began restoration efforts in earnest!  When Elaine Myers-Hillard, who was born and raised in this home, heard of the preservation effort of her family home, she contacted NOMA with donations and stories, expressing a deep gratitude for these restorative efforts!  This home has already gone through dramatic change, and volunteers today cleared vast piles of overgrown brush from the surrounding landscape...rain and all!

Volunteers are finishing the last of the window repairs upstairs at 1428 North Main Street and beginning work on the ones at ground level. Faust Historic Restorations is replacing damaged wood on the exterior, in preparation for new paint. A brick sidewalk was also uncovered this week.

The circa 1900 Myers-Morris Home at 1428 will be a masterpiece when finally restored. A huge home with 5 bedrooms upstairs, it will charm your socks off with its vintage beadboard walls, arched entry to the parlor, and original mantels! Much more work will go into this home, but it is FOR SALE through the Historic Salisbury Foundation.

Be sure to contact HSF at (704) 636-0103 to learn more about this great opportunity!

1600 North Main Street

1600 North Main Street is another circa 1900 home that HSF is helping to restore! This once-gorgeous Folk Victorian cottage with its pebble-dash exterior has more glory days in its future ~ thanks to the efforts of HSF and the many volunteers that descended upon the property today...cleaning inside and out!   This home is a wonderful example of the late Victorian character of the North Main Neighborhood with steeply sloped hipped roofs with projecting gables and dormers, its asymmetrical facade featuring recessed entry on one side, and its wrap-around porch with turned posts.  Speaking of porch ~ just look at that sweep of veranda!  You can see yourself enjoying a summer evening there, for sure! 

1623 North Main Street
 

1623 North Main Street, although cute as a button, is another endangered home in the area. Set above the street level on a terraced lot, this interesting Victorian frame cottage with its gabled roof is strongly influenced by the Colonial Revival style with its pedimented porch, supported by tall columns with a simple balustrade, which wraps around its projecting front parlor section. Neighborhood tradition states that it was built about 1910 by southern Railway clerk, J.D. Barber, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the J.D. Barber House. Volunteers worked tirelessly to clear the interior to make way for restoration efforts, and clipped and raked exterior landscaping until you might not recognize that it's the same abode!

Our fantastic team of volunteers worked for hours clearing heavy brush and overgrowth from the landscape. This 2-bedroom cottage with its own wrap-around porch and large yard will make a very fine home for its new owner in the near future!

If you couldn't make it out today, but you wish you could be a part of this revitalization and restoration effort...it's not too late!  The Historic Salisbury Foundation has a Go Fund Me Campaign in effect to help raise the many thousands of dollars to  implement the necessary repairs to stabilize these homes!  You can help by donating...even just a little bit!  Every dollar helps!

Neighborhoods Unite!

We'd like to give a shout-out to Salisbury's Brooklyn South Square, West Square, and Park Avenue Neighborhoods for joining our efforts today!  What a great vibe this creates in our downtown neighborhoods!  Thanks, all!

And . . . Koco Java!

We have one last shout-out...

Koco Java!

Thanks for the donation of much-needed and appreciated COFFEE today!  THANKS SO MUCH!








So...to all our wonderful volunteers today ~ Historic Salisbury Foundation ~ donors to Go Fund Me ~ and to Koco Java  ~ Thank you, thank you, thank you!  You are FABULOUS!

The North Main Neighborhood
northmainneighborhood@gmail.com  

Photo credits to Brian Davis and Doug Black at Historic Salisbury Foundation