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North Carolina Kress Stores

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Kress
Salisbury, NC
This Kress was built in 1910 and was the first air-conditioned building in town. This building design was typical of Kress' "yellow brick" stores. It is believed to have been store #221 of the chain. Restoration of the building began around 2006. "Kress Plaza" offers office, retail, and residential space. [top photo thanks J.C. Ludwig] [map]

Kress
Greensboro, NC
This Kress was built in 1929. It was the first Kress building designed by Edward F. Sibbert who was responsible for Kress' Art Deco designs. He joined the company in 1929 and designed about 50 stores over a 25-year period. They typically had glazed white terra cotta façades and marble encrusted interiors.

This Kress building was built on the site of a previous Kress store from 1903. This Kress is famous for the sit-in protests that took place here in 1960 when the lunch counter was for whites only. The store closed in 1973 and sat vacant for nearly 30 years. It was restored in 2000. The building is now used for offices, a nightclub, and lease-able space for special events. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Kress
Asheville, NC
This Kress was built in 1928. It was designed by E.J.T. Hoffman. This store originally had two large rooftop electric signs at each corner. The signs' freestanding letters spelled out Kress with incandescent bulbs. The store closed in 1974. This building has been converted into the "Kress Emporium" (art gallery and condos). The last photo shows the backside entrance. [map]

Kress
Gastonia, NC
This Kress was designed by Sibbert and built in 1930. The building recently housed the Hickory Furniture Outlet and, before that, the Chavis Hardware store. It has been vacant since around 2009. These photos are from 2010. In 2016, the building was restored. For more, see this website. [map]

Kress
New Bern, NC		 Kress
Goldsboro, NC
The Kress building in New Bern was adapted from a previous occupant. It was adapted for Kress in 1909 by Julius H. Zeitner. The store closed in 1980. The building now houses Theo's Restaurant and other tenants. [photo thanks Kathy Passot] [map]

This Kress in Goldsboro was designed by Edward F. Sibbert. It was built in 1936. The store closed in 1980. The building now houses Citi Trends, a clothes store. [map]

Kress
Durham, NC
This Kress was built in 1933 and is one of the largest and most detailed Art Deco buildings in NC. It was built just a few doors from their original 1912 building. In the 1990s, a BB&T bank occupied the ground floor. It now houses offices and condos. For more, see this website. [map]

More North Carolina:
Fayetteville
Rocky Mount
Wilmington [map]

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