Celebrating the History and Diversity of Winston-Salem's Historic West End

Planned in 1890 by Jacob Lott Ludlow, the historic West End has been a center of pride and preservation for the citizens for Winston-Salem for more than 100 years. Designed as a "street car" suburb for the citizens working in "downtown," it has remained one of the most popular areas for homeowners interested in tradition, historic architecture, involved neighbors and "porches."

Its curvilinear streets and parks contain well-detailed examples of the Queen Anne, Neo-Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, and Craftsman styles. Many of the houses were designed by locally and regionally-known architects and executed by prominent local construction firms.For more than 20 years, West End residents have invited their Forsyth neighbors to visit their homes to celebrate the holidays, with a tour of Winston-Salem's most famous architectural treasures and holiday traditions.

For 2008, the Tour is sponsored by the West End Association, in partnership with Preserve Historic Forsyth, Inc. The 2008 West End Holiday Tour has been designed to display the varied development activities that are under way in the Heritage District.  Five of the Tour sites are residences, one is an apartment building, one is a church, one is a design center, one is an office for a non-profit organization, one is vacant, and one is a converted service station  -- that soon will be renewed as a 100 seat theater.

The Tour Sites will be open for your visit from Noon until 5 PM, on Sunday, December 14,2008.  Docents will be present at each of the sites.  You may visit as few or as many sites as you wish, in any sequence that you wish. The Tour headquarters and registration point is the historic Bahnson House, at the corner of Spring and 5th Streets in downtown Winston-Salem.  The house is adjacent to the Forsyth County Central Library.  The Tour Ticket cost is $15 for each person. Bring all your family and guests to this historic, Winston-Salem holiday tradition.

Holiday Tour Sites: 

Tour Headquarters & Tour Registration 1919 Bahnson House Owner: Winston-Salem Foundation 702 West 5th St. Corner of Spring & 5th Street in downtown Winston-Salem Adjacent to Central Library, Forsyth County Public Library
1912 Gregg House Owners: Thomas & Alison Craven
1912 Rufus E. Johnson House Owners:  Peggy & Jackson Smith
1917 J.J. Gentry House Owner: Fellowship Home
1917 Thomas McClung House Owners: Bill & Becky Gibson
1921 Kerner E. Shore House Owners: Idlewild House / Hawthorne Galleries
1922 Nicholas Mitchell House Owners: Mark & Cindy Lively
1928 St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
1938 Quality Oil Headquarters Owners: JDL Castle Corp
1955 Apartments Owners: RCH Properties Residents: Anchal Vithlani, Daniel Gossett, Reed Miller