Fisher Park Walking Tour

From Gothic to Post Modern, North Carolina’s classic streetcar suburb has it all

Captain Basil J. Fisher turned a swamp into Greensboro's most fashionable Gilded Era address in 1902 when he donated lowlands for a city park that bears his name. Residents took full advantage of ample lots overlooking the park by commissioning notable architects to design sometimes palatial houses. The neighborhood is recognized as Greensboro's first suburb, and is the city's most popular historic district.

With the establishment of the convenient trolley line through the heart of the neighborhood by 1909, industrialists, bankers, and professionals erected homes based on popular national styles such as Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced Prairie style, Asian-influenced Craftsmen style, and New England-inspired Colonial Revival styles. The district remained the epicenter of Greensboro's elite until it was overshadowed by Irving Park, just a mile to the north.

The 1950s and 60s brought challenges to the neighborhood bordering Greensboro's center city as the development of office buildings threatened to replace historic homes. Efforts to regulate development advanced in 1982 when the neighborhood was designated as Greensboro's second historic district. Since then, the rate of destruction of historic homes has slowed (but not halted), the park has received a much needed make-over, and land values have spiraled upwards.

Fisher Park remains a popular destination for city residents who walk the tree-lined streets and wooded park during lunchtime and enjoy shaded yards full of flowering annuals and perennials in the evenings. The district contains a diversity of private historic homes, some dating to the nineteenth century. Most of the houses in the neighborhood remain privately owned, so please respect their privacy!