Known as the Gate City because of the trains that made Greensboro a “gateway” to the West and South in the 1800s, today the city of about 285,000 is the third largest in the state. It feels like a small town, though, and you can expect to regularly bump into people you know.
Here are 20 more things to know about Greensboro if you are thinking of making it your home.
1. Half way to the mountains and half way to the ocean.
Otherwise known as the Piedmont, Greensboro is one of three cities (High Point and Winston-Salem are the others) that make up the area. Drive three hours east and you find beaches, head two and a half hours west for the mountains.
2. Civil Rights history happened here.
Woolworth Five-and-Dime, site of the first #Greensboro sit-ins & now a very cool museum dedicated to #CivilRights pic.twitter.com/coupATtiFg
— Andrew Collins (@TravelAndrew) October 23, 2013
One of the most famous events was the 1960 sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter. The site of the store is now home to the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, which includes the counter where the AT&T four staged their nonviolent protest, kickstarting the civil rights movement.
3. Denim was once king in Jeansboro.
Here is just a sneak peek at two of the six new #Jeansboro statues in downtown Greensboro. pic.twitter.com/U0mIfO8hAl
— City of Greensboro (@greensborocity) August 2, 2016
Textiles were a leading employer in Greensboro, with the Cone brothers’ textile empire that started in the 19th century and extended into the 20th. To honor that heritage, Wrangler (whose headquarters are in Greensboro) and Cone Denim paired up to place more than a dozen permanent jean sculptures in and around the city’s downtown.
4. Greensboro helped win the Revolutionary War.
Or more accurately, the Battle of Guilford Courthouse was the largest battle in the War’s Southern campaign, and it signaled the turning point for the colonists. In fact, Greensboro was named for one of George Washington’s favorite generals, Nathanael Greene.
5. We have award-winning theater.
As well as other fine artistic institutions (The Weatherspoon Arts Gallery, the Greensboro Cultural Center and 17DAYS Arts & Culture Festival, to name but a few), Triad Stage demonstrates the Gate City’s devotion to the arts. For almost 20 years, it has brought classic and contemporary drama to the city.
6. Art is everywhere.
“What makes home?” Greensboro artist Justin Poe collected the answers into a design, overlaid on a map of the city for this public art piece at the Interactive Resource Center. — part of The Greensboro Mural Project#GSOart #publicart
@greensboromural pic.twitter.com/8bYGVpgSjH— Downtown Greenway | Greensboro, NC (@DowntwnGreenway) December 29, 2017
The Greensboro Mural Project has created more than a dozen murals around the city. The group aims to use public art as a tool to communicate, record history and make Greensboro more beautiful, or in their words they are “building bridges by painting walls.”
7. Our academics can’t be beat.
Greensboro may not be the first place you think of when you say college town, but with five colleges located three miles or less from the city’s center, obviously higher education is important to the residents. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro started as a women’s college and at one point was the largest all-female institution in the United States. NC A&T State University was the first land grant college for people of color in the state of North Carolina, and Bennett College is now one of two historically black colleges that enroll women only. Founded by Quakers, Guilford College is the oldest coeducational college in the South, while Greensboro College was the first college in the city, opening in 1838.
8. Enjoy baseball, served with a side of history.
War Memorial Stadium was dedicated on the 8th anniversary of Armistice Day, November 11, 1926, making it one of the oldest minor league ballparks still being used in the country. You might recognize its ornate, triple-arched entrance, which was featured in the iconic baseball film, Bull Durham.
9. Some famous folk call the city home.
Over the years, Greensboro has introduced some well-known people to the world. From short story writer O.Henry, to journalist Edward R. Murrow, the city also claims Dolley Madison, wife of our fourth president, and in more recent years, American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry.
10. Basketball is a big deal.
Take a walk through ACC history! The @theACC Hall of Champions is open ALL WEEK here @gbocoliseum for the @accwbb Tournament! #accwbb #tourneytown pic.twitter.com/32lkff5F48
— Greensboro Coliseum Complex (@Gbocoliseum) March 1, 2018
The ACC Conference was founded in Greensboro in 1953. Today the city is home to the Atlantic Coast Conference Hall of Champions, whose displays and exhibits showcase the league’s history.
11. The first stop on the Underground Railroad.
Quaker abolitionist established a stop on the Underground Railroad, dating back to 1819, on what is now home to Guilford College. Ten years earlier, Quaker slaveholders in the area started working to relocate African Americans to the North, as well as Haiti and Liberia.
12. A summer music camp for the students.
For more than 50 years, the Eastern Music Festival, or EMF, has been offering student musicians educational experiences as one of America’s finest orchestral, piano, conducting and classical guitar studies programs. Famous alumni include Wynton Marsalis, Rion Wentworth of the New York Philharmonic and Thomas Kraines of the Daedalus Quartet.
13. Flour, buttermilk and shortening.
They say today is #NationalFriedChickenDay. Does that mean there are days that aren't? pic.twitter.com/IrD3fSCsPM
— Biscuitville (@Biscuitville) July 6, 2018
That’s all that goes into the handmade biscuits at Biscuitville, a regional Southern breakfast chain, which has made its headquarters in Greensboro since 2007. Started in1966, the family-owned company has been baking its made from scratch biscuits every 15 minutes.
14. Putting the green in Greensboro.
The city is home to so many parks, it can be hard to keep track. From downtown’s LeBauer park, which shows free movies on Friday nights, to the 17-acre Arboretum, which is home to 14 different plant collections. Whether you want to play a sport, take your dog off leash or simply enjoy some pretty flowers, the Gate City has a park for that.
15. And if the parks weren’t green enough …
Proximity Hotel is the first hotel in America to receive the LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The hotel is also one of only a few employee-owned restaurant and hotel companies in the entire nation.
16. Chill with the penguins.
It's Penguin Awareness Day 🐧. We're enjoying African Penguins at the Greensboro Science Center. Did you know they are endangered? Check out the science center to see how you can help.
. #visitGSO #penguins #gso #gsosciencecenter #sanccob #africanpeng… https://t.co/ZrwC3TqeZc pic.twitter.com/af53POvkaM— Visit Greensboro (@VisitGSO) January 20, 2018
The Carolina SciQuarium is the only inland aquarium in North Carolina. Part of the Greensboro Science Center, the SciQuarium is home to penguins, rays, otters and more.
17. Our china is the finest.
Need to find a plate from your grandmother’s china? Odds are that you will end up locating it at Replacements, the world’s largest supplier of vintage and current dinnerware, crystal, silver and collectibles.
18. We like beer.
There are five breweries in the city and three homebrew stores. Obviously, Greensboro residents know a few things about hops and malted barley.
19. Enjoy America’s best burger.
https://t.co/nkZOpl5zdH has named Greensboro's Hops Burger Bar the best burger in the state https://t.co/Nr5tHSJ1zQ pic.twitter.com/KpDtsdiOml
— City of Greensboro (@greensborocity) December 3, 2015
What goes great with all that brew? A burger of course! In 2015, TripAdvisor ranked Hops Burger Bar the best hamburger in the nation. Now with a second location in Greensboro, you will want to see what all the delicious fuss is about.
20. Heal what ails you.
Clearing up stuffy noses for generations now, Vicks VapoRub was created by Greensboro-based pharmacist Lunsford Richardson, who patented his Vick’s Magic Croup Salve in 1894.
