Lost to Progress: The Otto Zenke buildings

Henry Zenke, seated,  & Otto Zenke, photo by Sonny Sherill

215 Eugene Street

Well known and successful interior designer Otto Zenke moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1937 to join Morrison Neese Furniture Company.  Joined by his brother, Henry (our father) - in 1946 after his service in the Army Air Corps, they went into business for themselves in 1951.  They purchased the old Eugene Morehead house which sat on a large lot on Eugene Street in downtown Greensboro.  They renovated it into Otto's home, studio, and gallery for his interiors and antiques.  Surrounding buildings were the attached kitchen which became the drapery workroom, and nearby storefronts on Washington which housed the upholstery and finishing departments.  Across Eugene Street to the west were three other buildings: 216 Eugene which houses shipping/receiving and bookkeeping departments, 220 Eugene which housed several display rooms, notably their two bay windows, and is the only structure remaining from the original complex.  There was also 222 Eugene, which later housed drafting, fabric samples and office space.  They also owned 6 or 7 other houses that Otto rented out on that same block.

Living Room

The Eugene home was reworked with delicate columns for the porch, adding Otto's office with murals and bookcases for his library and opening two rooms up into one, which became his much photographed living room.  The dining room bay overlooked a courtyard garden centered around a crepe myrtle and the entrance framed by a pair of obelisks. The cottage was most notable for its landscaping, studded with tall hardwoods, which dappled the sloping lawns, bordered by boxwood, azalea and highlighted with crepe myrtles, statuary, and tulips in the spring.  It was a standard on the spring house tours for the area Garden Clubs.

Beginning days it employed 15 people, at its zenith it employed 35

Gazebo with terraced garden, Frazier house in background right,  IRS building center, and Carolina Theatre, left

Taken from drapery workroom; gate in left wall led uptown

215 Eugene looking West towards 220 Eugene across the street

220 Eugene - still standing

In addition, 220 Eugene had a slate terrace across its front, but down the driveway to the left side, one passed through wooden gates into a concrete tiled and walled courtyard that, during warmer months had a canvas canopy suspended from a tall hardwood, which was lit at night.  Art exhibits and photo shoots took place in this picturesque area, as well as being set up for refreshments during house and garden tours.

For garden clubs and house tours, punch was always served here.

216 Eugene - shipping & receiving

In the mid 1955, the Chamber of Commerce president Orton Boren called for a plan to rebuild downtown, which became the Roger's Plan, "Background for Decision" published in 1963.  In 1959 a study was published "Greensboro's Future," that broadly defines Urban Renewal based on Title II  Federal funding. A committee was formed which came up with the plan to build the Governmental Complex designed by Edouard Catalano, appointed architect in 1966.  From the orange booklet "Governmental Center: "The architects were instructed to design a center with an environment of vitality, civic dignity, and high architectural standards which would offer no obstructions to close cooperation of the city and county, would fulfill present and future space needs and would complement downtown development."


Instead, two buildings were built, one for the County and one for the City.

This proposal brought about the taking of the Otto Zenke property by eminent domain and it was destroyed in 1968 in two days.  While Otto was extremely hurt that this was happening to him, his way was to outbuild and outshine his surroundings with a vengence. Our parents begged Otto to move the Eugene cottage but he wanted instead to build a large commercial building that suited his purposes.  He would lament publicly about the loss of the trees and cottage - but he was on to bigger things.  Our parents fought for it, publicly, as well as his close friends, Joe Morton going to bat for him by saying, "Two things are known about Greensboro; Burlington Industries and Otto Zenke"  It didn't matter how much support Otto was given, it was a done deal.

In spite of its world famous architect, one City official has described the common feeling for the government buildings in these terms, "Few of us would lift a fire extinguisher to save them."

c. 1965

1968 - just before the bulldozers arrived

A few days later, one frequent visitor to Greensboro was driving down the denuded Eugene Street, saw that Otto's house was gone, stopped her car in the middle of Eugene Street, got out and started screaming, "My God, what have they done? They tore it down!  They took that beautiful place and destroyed it!




So Otto built his new ediface, and it was lovely - no trees - but lovely.  Modeled on stuccoed English Regency which gave it very clean exterior lines, but not quite modern and inside it was his vision of an establishment of tradition and elegance. He moved the living room panelling, the murals and bookcases and doorway from his office, and other design elements from 215.

He filled it with English antiques and reproductions that were hand selected or the best bench made furniture to be had from such firms as Baker and Henredon. The best fabric houses were represented by Scalamandre, Brunschwig & Fils, and Clarence House. All the best product lines that had been building up nationally after the war, through advertisement and high sales, were solidified in the period that his business was active: 1951-1984.

Glory days gone. N.W. corner of Washington & Edgeworth, now administration office for sheriff.

All the departments were now under one roof. Upholsterers and drapery makers, paint shop, bookkeeping, shipping & receiving, were on the ground floor, galleries, his office and secretaries on the second floor, and drafting, hardware and storage on the third. His living quarters were on the garden gallery level which bridged the new building with old 220 Eugene.

And business was good in the 1970's

But relations weren't.  Our parents left that business in 1982 to start their own firm of The Zenkes, Inc. which we were proud to join in 1983.  Otto died in 1984 and the new executrix for the estate tried running his business for a year, gave up, and cashed in everything possible, including selling his building to the County, where the sheriff's department has administrative offices now.  As a public building we doubt any of the interested public cross the threshold.  As a private concern, the world was welcome. Strange irony.

Other assets lost....

Bellemeade, William Henry Porter's (O'Henry) playground,
thankfully 2 rooms were saved and put in the Greensboro Historical Museum  

Dunleith, in the Charles Aycock neighborhood, now a dog park.

Spencer Love's Burlington Industries HQ - Style Moderne, replaced by a baseball stadium,

O'Henry Hotel  -  Otto & Dad's first digs

King Cotton Hotel - good downtown living space - gone, replaced by a new newspaper facility.


The greenest building is the one still standing.  Meaning it is not in the landfill, but still being used, even if repurposed.  Most older buildings blessed with the traditional building arts are sound in frame, materials, durability and artistic, human details. Mechanicals and insulation are the things that need replacing.  The difference is, in an older building that is usually the only thing that needs replacing,  In a newer building, the whole building is usually replaced because of poor construction & "cost effectiveness" in the first place.