The Glenwood neighborhood [†] is located south of UNC-G. It is bounded by West Lee Street and the railroad tracks to the north, West Florida Street to the south, Route 220/Freeman Mill Road to the east and Aycock Street to the west.
Glenwood grew as Greensboro's blue-collar streetcar suburb between 1907 and the early 1930s. Employment opportunities, mostly in the lumber industry and other construction-related industries, abounded along the Southern Railroad and the Lee Street industrial corridor.
Glenwood's landscape is typical of early twentieth-century streetcar suburbs. Its gridded streets are lined with sidewalks. Streams and creeks wind through the neighborhood's parks and vacant lots, although they are not formally incorporated into the landscape as in Lindley Park and Starmount Forest. Mature trees are present on some blocks but not others, limiting the canopy effect. The Ruth A. Steelman Park is situated on the west side of the 900-1000 block of Gregory Street. The park contains open space, a playground, community vegetable gardens and a creek.
Glenwood's housing stock is characterized more by its form than overt references to style. Many dwellings are one to one-and-half stories in height and L-plan, side- gable or Bungalow in form. Stylistic details reflect Queen Anne, Craftsman and Colonial Revival influences, although many of the houses are so simple as to defy categorization. The modest dwellings reflect their origins as speculative or rental housing.
Glenwood's building stock is not limited to housing, as Lee Street is lined with commercial, industrial and institutional buildings that provided work, worship, and educational opportunities for its residents. The National Register-listed former Charles D. McIVer School is located at 617 West Lee Street.
† City of Greensboro, Historic Architecture Survey Update, Phase 1-A, 2007, www.greensboro-nc.gov, accessed December, 2022.
Nearby Neighborhoods
Street Names
Aycock Street • Berringer Street • Dick Street • Florida Street West • Freeman Mill Road • Gate City Boulevard • Glenwood Avenue • Gregory Street • Grove Street • Haywood Street • Hertford Street • Highland Avenue • Lee Street West • Lexington Avenue • McCormick Street • Neal Street • Oak Street • Portland Street • Richardson Street • Saint Josephine Boyd Street • Silver Avenue • Union Street • Whittington Street West • Willowmore Street