Side Streets and Back Alleys

The difference between "main" streets and "side" streets:

Today we finished up in the College Hill neighborhood. We have ventured all around this area, starting with the main streets like Tate and Mendenhall, and then went to the smaller side streets. I noticed several differences in the 2 types of streets. One is that most of the houses seem to look similar on main streets. When we observed Tate St., we filled out a worksheet that showed us that most of the houses are of 2 specific styles. When walking along the side streets on Thursday, we saw more houses that stuck out and were different, like the house in the following picture.

To me, this house looks almost like the entrance to Circuit City, like the big plug in front. Maybe it's just me.

One of the first houses we saw on Thursday, and Andrew's head.


Another difference from the main streets was the presence of fences on the side streets. This shows how people are more protective of their turf and how personal space seems to be valued more than community and togetherness.


There also seems to be a lot more problems with parking back on the side streets, which seems strange because you would think that there would be more problems out on the busy road. However, back in the side streets and alleys, people seem more territorial about parking. In the picture below, there is a personal parking lot for the 3 houses surrounding it.

There is a sign at every parking spot specifying who can park there. This shows that there is a problem with parking in this back alley.

More no parking signs. Parking must really be an issue around here.

The funny thing is, we have an abundance of parking on campus.
The parking lot.



There also seem to be a lot of historical and unique things hidden back on the side streets, like the lamp, the fire hydrant, the brick in the road, and the small house.

Older lamps.

The brick along the road indicates that the streets used to be paved with brick.

Mature shade tree like one seen previously with sidewalk built around it.

The 2 room, 2 story house.



The side streets and back alleys seem to provide a sense of exclusivity, creating what Clay would probably call a turf.
The apartment complex that is only accessible through a side street.

Walking through an alley.

Another alley.



Another thing that we saw often on the side streets and alleys were side/additional buildings, like the one pictured below.



Side streets and back alleys provide a different view of campus than the main streets like Tate St. and Market St.
View from behind Tate St. Building is Eberhart.

View from behind Tate St. Building is Mexican restaurant/sushi restaurant.



Altogether, College Hill was an interesting experience. The name, College Hill, fits perfectly with it's location between Greensboro College and UNC-Greensboro. It has edges/fronts along Tate, Market, Mendenhall, and Spring Garden. Generally speaking, the buildings are commercial along these fronts, with the inside being residential homes. We looked at the different types of homes that are prevalent in this neighborhood, and they seem to be pretty much the same. We talked about infill, and what it meant to infill something with something else. We also saw buildings that were unique and stuck out in the neighborhood, like the firehouse-turned-home, the big apartment buildings, and the church. I think that the beats in the neighborhood seem to run along the fronts, because that is the way that most of the college students that live here get to campus. It seems like the things back on the side streets and back alleys were pushed away and almost hidden from sight. I don't think that we could've gotten this much out of the experience from just driving through the neighborhood. Overall, it seems to be an eclectic, yet well-pulled-together neighborhood full of a mixture of college students and long-term residents. This neighborhood seems to have a little bit of everything, and that's what one would expect from a place so close to not one, but two college campuses.