A neighborhood in the United States city of Greensboro, North Carolina, located in the city’s south central part, Southside is an urban neighborhood. Southside has been referred to as the Ol’ Asheboro neighborhood, Arlington Park, the Asheboro Street area, and the South Greensboro neighborhood, among other nicknames.
It is located in downtown Greensboro, and its streets are lined with historic Queen Anne homes and bungalows, which are complemented with contemporary development that has drawn a varied population to the neighborhood. The downtown neighborhood has received several national awards, including the 2003 Outstanding Planning Award, the 2004 National Award for Smart Growth, and the Sierra Club named the Southside Neighborhood as one of America’s best new developments in 2005, placing it in the top 12 of the country’s best new developments.
A large number of late-19th- and early-twentieth-century residences can be found in South Greensboro and Arlington Park, two of Greensboro’s most substantial and preserved concentrations of such structures. Their inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 as the South Greensboro Historic District was a result of this designation.
These houses, which are situated on small city lots, showcase a variety of designs and forms that are prevalent elsewhere in the city and around North Carolina. Particularly noteworthy are the Italianate and Queen Anne-style residences, both modest and big, as well as the subsequent bungalows built in the area.
According to a recent story in Greensboro’s New North State, South Greensboro’s Asheboro Street is quickly becoming one of the city’s most attractive streets and a very desired area to live, and it is quickly becoming one of the most beautiful streets in the city. In this street, there is a significant deal of demand for construction materials. According to maps from 1879 and 1882, this demand was primarily confined to Asheboro Street alone, with little development occurring off of it. Only a few of the residences built in the 1870s are still standing, with the William Fields House being one among them.
The Italianate-style George S. Kestler House, which was completed in 1876, is a historic landmark. In 1899, William C. Bain resided at 739 Plott Street, a huge two-and-a-half-story Queen Anne-style mansion built in the Queen Anne style. In this beautiful Queen Anne/Colonial Revival-style home, Alphonso N. Perkins lived for many years.
Additionally, the neighborhood is home to a number of important institutions, including Bennett College for Women, Skenes Chapel (previously known as Asheboro Street Friends Meetinghouse), and several important architectural treasures, including the William Fields House.