Product Description

Central North Carolina boasts a rich and varied architectural landscape--from the early plantation houses and farms of its northeastern reaches, to the red brick textile mills and tobacco factories that line railroads across the region, to the glamorous New South skyscrapers of downtown Charlotte.

This richly illustrated guide offers a fascinating look at the Piedmont's historic architecture, covering more than 2,000 sites in 34 counties. Highlights include cabins and stone houses dating to the region's early settlement; mill villages and main streets that depict its subsequent industrial and agricultural growth; and twentieth-century landmarks such as Durham's Duke University and Winston-Salem's Wachovia Building. As North Carolina faces massive changes in its economy and landscape, residents and travelers alike will value this unparalleled portrait of an American region, which traces its history and culture through its buildings and communities.

A project of the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office of the Division of Archives and History, the book reflects more than twenty-five years of fieldwork and research in the agency's statewide architectural survey and National Register of Historic Places programs. Previous volumes cover the eastern and western portions of the state.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1179597 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-26
• Released on: 2009-02-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 592 pages

Review
"This guide offers more insight into North Carolina's development and lifestyles than do most histories of the state.
(Jack Claiborne, coeditor of Discovering North Carolina)"

About the Author
Catherine W. Bishir, formerly senior architectural historian and survey coordinator at the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, is author of the award-winning North Carolina Architecture. Bishir and Southern previously collaborated on A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (with Jennifer F. Martin) and the award-winning Guide to the Historic Architecture of Eastern North Carolina.

Michael T. Southern is a research historian with the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Bishir and Southern previously collaborated on A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina (with Jennifer F. Martin) and the award-winning Guide to the Historic Architecture of Eastern North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

A Great Sourcebook
I am a documentary photographer, specializing in endangered historic buildings. Having explored New England for a number of years, I am in the process of moving to Charlotte, NC.
This book will be the starting point for my work in the south. It is well organized, with sites listed by counties and there are clear maps. The book is detailed, with a good basic history of the area at the beginning. A particularly nice feature is the notation as to whether a site is private, open to the public or may just be viewed from the highway. I also own the Guide to the Historic Architecture of Western North Carolina and find it equally valuable.

Perfect.
I've enjoyed this book ever since I bought it hot off the presses back in 2003. Its coverage is absolutely exhaustive. The entries are long enough to be truly informative, but short enough to keep your attention from wandering. There are many effective small black & white photographs that make for hours of casual browsing. A word of warning on this point, however: The book is not intended to be a picture book, but is a reference work. Don't buy this one for your coffee table.

The author includes an introductory essay about the development of architecture throughout the region, and then tears loose on the catalog of buildings; a wonderland of dates, styles, functions and locations. This book, along with its companion volumes for eastern and western North Carolina, does justice to a beautiful state, rich in historic sites.

A must for all architectural historians, preservationists and serious enthusiasts. They don't get any better.

Not bad, but could have been more
My mom moved to Charlotte, and thought this book might list not only architectural landmarks, but places to visit as well. This was a little less than expected.


This book is broken up into two sections. The first is interesting - 70-odd pages on the 'history' of architecture in the Piedmont area. Some nice reading, some learning on why things are they way the are, and how certain styles made their appearance into NC.

The second part, the bulk of the book, is a bit of a dictionary of examples. Small black & white photos with short descriptions of the buildings and their architecture. This part was kind of dry, and of better use as a reference than good reading. It was surprising to see entries like "There's a great example of XX on 1234 main street". Well, it may be a great example, but I'm not exactly going to drive to this persons house to admire their house. Given that, the small, B&W photos, it make it hard to appreciate the examples given.

I also have to give my gripe about a lot of books today - printing in color today is cheap. having a book such as this on architecture, color would do so much to enhance my experience in the architecture examples. Yet despite the grand cover, all the photographs in this book are small and black and white. Big let down.

I expected a lot from this book, and was disappointed. it might be a great book for a classroom or such, but not the best choice for your coffee table.