The blog returned to the Washington Park area on Wednesday evening to fill in the gaps from its earlier walk. Despite the fact that any child growing up in one of the homes here is losing IQ points as a result of lead exposure, and despite all of the no trespassing signs and home security company notices, it is hard to imagine a more appealing older neighborhood. That the residents appreciate what they have is revealed by the excellent Washington Park Neighbors web site. This site devotes much attention to the history of the neighborhood, including useful information from the National Register of Historic Places. The blog learned much, including the fact that for most of its existence (since the 1890s) the neighborhood has been known as "Sunnyside." The designer was a disciple of Frederick Law Olmsted, and the neighborhood was one of the first in Winston-Salem to have curved streets rather than a grid. It turns out not to be a coincidence that this is similar to the layout of the West End. "One of the most fashionable of the residential areas to emerge in the early decades of Winston's boom period, Washington Park was a planned development. It is situated on rolling farmland and on lands previously used by the Moravians as hunting grounds because it was thought too steep for development. The plan for its development was designed by Jacob Lott Ludlow who also drew the West End plat."
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