Honoring the Past, Building a Future
When I look up at the Rocky Mount National Bank, I don’t just see architecture. I see a standard that still asks something of us, about stewardship, pride, and whether we believe our Main Street is worth the same care today. This Beaux Arts building was designed to do something specific. It was meant to … Continue reading An Invitation to See Main Street With Fresh Eyes
The New Year has a way of pressing a question upon us, whether we ask for it or not. After the holidays pass and the decorations come down, there is a pause, a moment when we ask, What’s next? Sitting on my bench, looking down Main Street, I ask a version of that same question: … Continue reading Happy New Year !!! The Quiet Work of What’s Next
My Main Street Rocky Mount Facebook page has been freshened up to begin the New Year. On this page you will find, Where the Heart of Rocky Mount Lives. I’ve updated the look and expanded what I’m sharing on the Facebook version of Main Street, pairing Rocky Mount’s Main Street with broader architectural inspiration. Through … Continue reading CHeCK It OuT –
When future historians look back on this era of preservation and renewal, they will find that, it is the stories they uncover that give this movement its heartbeat. The world of preservation in America emerged from a growing awareness that progress, unchecked, was erasing the very places that told our nation’s story. As postwar development … Continue reading Stories Give Preservation Its Heartbeat
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
Winstead Electronics at 126 N.W. Main, the Philips Building, also known as the Bulluck Phillips Building, has been part of Rocky Mount’s downtown streetscape since 1907. Designed by local architect John C. Stout, the two story brick building is an impressive example of Beaux Arts architecture. Four Corinthian pilasters frame the upper story, arched windows … Continue reading The Steadfast Face of Main Street’s Historic Core -#1
Main Street Rocky Mount 