Work Trip: Winston-Salem, North Carolina

It's already October, which ususally means work is starting to slow down for me. Well, not this year. My first October shoot was taking me to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After spending the day photographing the circa-1772 woman's only boarding school, Salem Academy, I went for a little walk around Old Salem.

Winston might be the more urbane half of the North Carolina Twin City, but Salem was settled during the colonial era by Morovians. They were, and still are, a protestant sect that settled here via the modern Czechia (Czech Republic).

The neighborhood is a living museum with restaurants and residences intermingled with homes-turned-museum spaces.

The architecture felt of its era, but also representative of the German-speaking Moravians.

These doors were so rad.

I especially appreciated the glazed first floor bricks on many of the buildings.

In some cases the glazed-brick was replaced by stone.

I'd definitely add Old Salem to your list if you're interested in historic American architecture.

I decided to explore the 4th Street corridor on the west end of Winston-Salem's downtown after doing a few more 360 shots for my client away from Old Salem.

And then meandered my way back through downtown and north to the arts district.

The town still has a big corporate presence from Reynolds cigarettes. It was once the whole economy.

The old cigarette factory on the east end of downtown had been converted into hip lofts and restaurant spaces.

It's fun to see how the historical local industry has been repurposed across the states. In Minneapolis its the old flour mills, but in Winston-Salem it's the remnants of big tobacco.