Category: From Neglect to Action: Rocky Mount, NC

Clean Up on Aisle Atlantic Avenue: A First Look at Rocky Mount

I take the Atlantic Avenue exit often. I always look for improvement. Sometimes there is obvious work going on, but overall, year after year, the street is a terrible first impression. I keep meaning to count how many used car lots there are. There are houses sitting in deep neglect. Rooflines sagging. Windows boarded. Yards … Continue reading Clean Up on Aisle Atlantic Avenue: A First Look at Rocky Mount →

Hope Shows Up on Branch Street: Rocky Mount NC

I watch a lot of the videos of lawn clean-ups and repost some on my Main Street Facebook page. With the right equipment, one or more people find a neglected, overgrown yard and offer, for free, to reclaim the property. The results are always remarkable. In a matter of hours the transformation lifts more than … Continue reading Hope Shows Up on Branch Street: Rocky Mount NC →

The Steadfast Face of Main Street’s Historic Core-#3

109 S.E. Main Street (c. 1907) A two-story brick commercial building on S.E. Main, immediately south of the 1918 Rocky Mount National Bank. Historic forms describe a pilastered upper façade with round-arched second-story openings over a storefront, a look typical of Main Street construction just after 1900. Over time, alterations (a replacement storefront, bricked-in arches, … Continue reading The Steadfast Face of Main Street’s Historic Core-#3 →

The Dentist Upstairs: Circa 1917 – #2

A two-story brick commercial building was constructed circa 1917 for I. W. Rose. It housed Rose Drug Store and remained in operation in that location at least through 1980, making it one of the longest continuously operating drugstores in Rocky Mount’s Central Business District. Built by contractor R. T. Fountain, the structure reflected the optimism … Continue reading The Dentist Upstairs: Circa 1917 – #2 →