North Carolina Hubs
Raleigh
Raleigh’s five extant Green Book sites are all located in or near the downtown area. G&M Tailoring, New York Cafe, and Capital Cab Company were all located between Fayetteville and Blount Streets along East Hargett Street. This area was known as Raleigh’s “Black Main Street” during the Green Book era. Black Main Street was home to numerous Green Book businesses. The heart of the business district - The Lightner Arcade Hotel - was also featured in the Green Book but is no longer standing.
Peter & Mike Grill, owned by Greek immigrants, was located on Dawson Street. Hall’s Beauty Parlor was located across the street from St. Augustine’s University, a private HBCU.
Rocky Mount
Rocky Mount’s extant Green Book sites are not located in a central area. The sites are spread along a three-mile stretch that begins at the Lincoln Park Historic District and ends at the modern-day Wright’s Center, adjacent to Buck Leonard Park.
The Lincoln Park Restaurant and Hotel, located in the Lincoln Park Historic District (listed on the National Register of Historic Place), was built to provide lodging for African American tourists in Rocky Mount and to provide a restaurant and event facility for the Lincoln Park neighborhood. The Wright’s Center was Wright’s Chick-Shack Motel during the Green Book era, owned by the prominent Bryant-Parker family. In between these two sites were John Wimberly Tailor, City Barber Shop, and Shaw’s Service Station. A quick drive connected African American visitors to Rocky Mount to food, lodging, a haircut, gasoline, and a place to get their dry cleaning done.
Wilmington
Wilmington is home to fifteen extant Green Book sites. These include six beauty parlors, two barber shops, a hotel, a tourist home, three restaurants, a service station, and a taxi business. Two hubs were identified within Wilmington among these extant sites.
Murphy Hotel Hub
The Murphy Hotel was owned and operated by Robert Murphy. Murphy opened the hotel in a residential building that previously served as his personal residence and a billiards hall. He operated the hotel from the mid-1940s until his death in the mid-1980s. The hotel building frequently housed other businesses, including a dry cleaner, seafood restaurant, and radio and television repair service.
Other businesses in this hub included Greyhound Taxi (owned by prominent local physician, civil rights activist, and Jamaican immigrant Dr. Samuel James Gray), Gertrude’s Beauty Parlor, La Mae Beauty Parlor, Johnson’s Barber Shop, and Ollie’s Restaurant.
Payne’s Tourist Home Hub
Payne’s Tourist Home, owned by Charles and Annie Payne, was located in downtown Wilmington and was popular with musicians on the Chitlin’ Circuit. The tourist home was in operation from the 1930s until the late 1960s. Payne’s Tourist Home is now an apartment building.
Five extant Green Book businesses were within a mile of the tourist home. These included three beauty parlors (Germany’s, Beth’s, and Lezora’s) and two restaurants (Hill’s Restaurant and Johnson’s Restaurant). Frank and Lulu Freeman Hill opened Hill’s Restaurant after their oceanfront resort for African Americans at nearby Freeman Beach, “Monte Carlo By-the-Sea,” was destroyed by the effects of environmental racism and natural disasters.
Fayetteville
Fayetteville was home to over two dozen Green Book sites. Only five of those sites are still standing. The building that housed Gregory’s Tailor, a white-owned business, is located on Fort Bragg Road. The other four businesses were located in the Fayetteville Downtown Historic District on Gillespie and Person Streets: Modiste Beauty Parlor, Royal Beauty Parlor, Silver Grill, and Big Buster Tavern. These businesses were minutes away from lodging, service stations, barber shops, and additional dining options during the Green Book era.
Modiste (130 ½ Person Street) and Royal (127 ½ Person Street) beauty parlors were owned by local businesswoman Ethel Brown Harvey, who also owned Brown’s Beauty Parlor. The three beauty parlors, all located on Person Street, were known as “The Harvey Beauty Salons.”
Silver Grill and Big Buster Tavern were both located at 115 Gillespie Street. Big Buster Tavern was open from the mid-1930s through the mid-1940s; Silver Grill operated at this location from the mid-1940s until 1957. 114-115 Gillespie Street, also known as the Williston-Henderson building, was established in 1885.
Greensboro
Greensboro’s three extant Green Book sites are located within a mile of one another. The Historic Magnolia House has been renovated and reopened as a hotel, dining, and entertainment facility that pays homage to its historical roots. The house is located near the campuses of Bennett College and NC A&T University, a historically Black women’s college and a historically Black university, respectively. The Plaza Manor Hotel, a three-minute walk away, currently operates as the Plaza Manor Boarding House.
Harris East End Gulf Service Station was a quick two-to-three minute drive from both hotels.
Asheville
“The Block” is an African American commercial district at the intersection of Market and Eagle Streets in Asheville, NC. Seven Green Book businesses were located in The Block, including a beauty salon, two barber shops, a restaurant, a tavern, a garage, and a hotel. Of those sites, Wilson’s Tavern, Palace Grille Restaurant and Wilson’s Barber Shop are still standing. The Block was a true “one-stop shop” for African American travelers and Ashevillians alike. The heart of the neighborhood was – and is – the YMI Cultural Center, which stands at 39 S. Market Street. The Block has experienced a renaissance in the past few years and is again home to many thriving African American businesses.