GUILFORD COUNTY PLANNING and DEVELOPMENT Historic
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GUILFORD COUNTY Historic Preservation Commission PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION for LANDMARK DESIGNATION Name of Designated Landmark (Historic and/or Common): Frank and Minnie Lyon Leak House Property Address/Location: 909 North Elm Street, Greensboro, NC 27401 Tax Parcel Number: 4416 PIN: 7865606972 Deed Book and Page Number: Guilford County Deed Book 8147, p. 1745 Plat Book and Page Number: N/A Acreage to be designated: 0.43 Owner Names and Contact Information: Jeffrey Segal Giraffe Neck, LLC 1 Staunton Court, Greensboro, NC 27410 (336) 324-8772 [email protected] _________________________________ Jeffrey Segal Applicant Name and Contact Information: Heather Fearnbach Fearnbach History Services, Inc. 3334 Nottingham Road Winston-Salem, NC 27104 (336) 765-2661 [email protected] ____________________________ Heather Fearnbach The application is due no later than twelve noon (12 noon) on the last Tuesday of the month. The regularly scheduled meeting held on every third (3rd) Tuesday of the month. Return completed applications to: Guilford County Planning and Development Independence Center, 5th floor 400 W Market Street - Post Office Box 3427 Greensboro, North Carolina 27402 O (336) 641-3334 F (336) 641-6988 Guilford County Historic Landmark Application Name of Property Page 2 of 2 READ CAREFULLY AND SUPPLY ALL INFORMATION The following information must be provided before the application can be reviewed, deemed complete and placed on the next available Historic Preservation Commission agenda. 1. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The property must be deemed historically, architecturally or archaeologically significant. Please describe and document the seven aspects of integrity which include the significance of location, design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling, and association. Include significant dates in the property’s history. 2. MAPS: Provide a location/vicinity map for the property. Also provide a scaled site plan of the property indicating the proposed landmark boundaries and location of all buildings to be included in the designation. 3. PHOTOGRAPHS: Provide a complete photographic record of the property. Include photographic views sufficient to document all significant aspects of the property proposed for designation. All photographs must be labeled and submitted in a digital format such as TIF or JPG. 4. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: Describe the original and current appearance and style of the significant structures such as houses, barns, well houses, and other buildings to be designated. The description should include the following: date of construction; date(s) of alterations, description of overall form, and exterior details (and interior details if included). Include a drawing of the existing and original (if different) floor plan with rooms labeled. 5. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: Describe the history of the property. The details should include the following: former uses of the property, list of owners (from Grantor-Grantee index), a list of builders and/or architects if known. Also, if available, provide and label further documentation such as newspaper or periodical articles, excerpts from books, cemetery records, register of deeds documents, and oral history documentation. 6. BIBLOGRAPHY: Provide footnotes and a list of information resources. I (WE), THE UNDERSIGNED, HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE STATEMENTS ARE TRUE AND ACCURATE TO THE BEST OF MY (OUR) KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEF; AND SUPPORT LANDMARK DESIGNATION OF THE PROPERTY DEFINED HEREIN. I (We) acknowledge that theGuilford County Historic Preservation Commission may require additional information. I (We) acknowledge that the designation includes the exterior as well as the interior, and the land, unless otherwise noted in the approved application. I (We) acknowledge that any alterations of the property and/or features designated, require a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) issued by the Guilford County Historic Preservation Commission or its staff. I (We) acknowledge that all final application materials submitted become the property of Guilford County and cannot be returned. Signature of Owner(s) Date Signature of Owner(s) Date Revised 12/16/2019 Frank and Minnie Lyon Leak House LOCAL HISTORIC LANDMARK DESIGNATION REPORT Prepared by: Heather Fearnbach Fearnbach History Services, Inc. 3334 Nottingham Road Winston-Salem, NC 27104 May 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Statement of Significance 4 Integrity Statement 4 National Register of Historic Places Status 5 Architectural Context 5 James Henry Hopkins, architect 6 Architectural Description 9 Setting 9 Exterior 10 Interior 13 Rehabilitation Scope of Work 18 Historical Background 20 Fisher Park Development 20 Ownership History 22 Frank and Minnie Leak 18 John V. and Jessie D. Berry 22 Preservation Greensboro Connections 23 Bibliography 24 Designation Parameters 26 Boundary Description and Justification 28 Fisher Park National Register Historic District Map 29 Original Floor Plans 30 Rehabilitation Floor Plans 38 Photograph Contact Sheets 41 Frank and Minnie Lyon Leak Local Historic Landmark Designation Report 3 Fearnbach History Services, Inc. / May 2020 Statement of Significance This report demonstrates that the Frank and Minnie Lyon Leak House possesses the requisite historical and architectural significance and integrity for local historic landmark designation. The sophisticated Colonial Revival-style 1913 dwelling designed by prolific Greensboro-based architect James Henry Hopkins was erected during Fisher Park’s early 1910s development boom. Although Hopkins rendered plans for many residences, the Leak House is notable due to its size and finely executed classical features. Approximately 130 Colonial Revival-style dwellings stood within the Fisher Park Historic District at the time of its 1991 inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.1 The Leak House, embellished with stepped parapets and classical porticoes that emulate colonial Tidewater Virginia plantations, is one of the most intact and architecturally distinctive residences of its type and age remaining in the district. Integrity Statement The Frank and Minnie Lyon Leak House possesses the seven qualities of historic integrity—location, setting, feeling, association, design, materials, and workmanship—required for local historic landmark designation. The dwelling maintains integrity of location as it stands on its original site. Granite walls and steps front North Elm Street. The setting—a prominent ample lot in a neighborhood of late- nineteenth to mid-twentieth-century residences—remains much as it was during the Fisher Park Historic District’s period of significance, thus allowing for integrity of setting, feeling, and association. The Leak House also retains integrity of design, materials, and workmanship. Current owner Giraffe Neck, LLC, acquired the property in April 2019 and oversaw the completion of a comprehensive rehabilitation in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s standards. The spacious residence comprises a two-and-one-half-story side-gable-roofed brick main block with a two-and-one-half-story gabled frame west (rear) wing and a one-story hip-roofed brick and frame rear wing with a central engaged open porch. Colonial Revival stylistic elements include stepped parapets, robust modillion cornices, classical porticos, and pedimented dormers. Reconditioned original one-over-one and multipane double-hung wood sash and casement windows of various sizes illuminate the interior. The brick and concrete accessibility ramp at the east portico’s south end was constructed in a non-invasive and reversible manner. The floor plan is intact and primary rooms possess original volumes and finishes including smooth plaster walls and ceilings, tongue-and-groove oak floors, tall baseboards capped with molded trim, and molded wood cornices and window and door surrounds. Single- and double-leaf raised-panel wood doors and wood-framed multipane French doors and transoms retain original hardware. The living room and dining room feature coffered ceilings and brick fireplace surrounds with segmental-arched fireboxes, brick hearths, and wood mantel shelves. The dining room retains paneled wainscoting and a built-in cupboard north of the fireplace. The staircase at the center hall’s northwest corner has slender turned balusters capped by a molded wood handrail that terminates in a spiral around the turned newel post at the bottom. Two original beadboard-backed cabinets remain on the kitchen’s east elevation and a wood-shelf-lined pantry projects from its northwest corner. 1 Most construction dates delineated in the nomination are approximate. Therefore, it is impossible to make definitive assertions regarding the quantities of originally listed or extant Colonial Revival houses in the district. Marvin A. Brown, “Fisher Park Historic District,” National Register of Historic Places nomination, 1991. Frank and Minnie Lyon Leak Local Historic Landmark Designation Report 4 Fearnbach History Services, Inc. / May 2020 National Register of Historic Places and Local Historic District Status The 1913 Frank and Minnie Lyon Leak House is a contributing building in the Fisher Park Historic District, which encompassed 670 resources when listed in the National Register in 1991. Most are single- or multi-family residences, associated outbuildings (primarily garages), and structures such as stone retaining walls and steps. The district contains only five non-residential primary resources: three churches and two commercial buildings. The period