- What I love about Greensboro is that you go five minutes
in any direction, you're gonna start seeing
different architecture, different restaurants,
different things to do.
- We're never without something to do on the weekends.
- [Woman] It's a place where you can do
about anything you'd like.
- It's got culture, it's got great food,
it's got, you know, beautiful restaurants, parks,
but the people, you just don't meet a stranger
here in Greensboro.
[laughing]
[gentle music]
- Greenboro's a bit unusual in North Carolina history,
in that we have places that represent
three important periods of time, in how the state evolved.
The Revolutionary War had an impact on Greensboro,
with the battleground, and we have
a national military park here to show for that.
- Greensboro got its name from Nathanael Greene.
["Yankee Doodle"]
- This is a monument to Major General Nathanael Greene,
the overall commander of American forces in the South.
He's commanding the Army,
here at Guilford Courthouse, on March 15th.
Charles the Earl of Cornwallice
is the commander of British forces in the South.
One of the most aggressive combat commanders
the British have.
He is trying to invade North Carolina,
as well as pacify North Carolina at this time.
The significance of this battle
is that it forces the British,
or specifically Charles Cornwallis,
to reconsider what strategy he's using here.
And from here, he starts making one bad decision
after another, after another,
until he gets captured at Yorktown.
- In the mid 19th century,
Governor Morehead was quite influential in the state.
[classical music]
Blandwood certainly represents that important period
in North Carolina's time.
This was the family home of the Morehead family.
The Morehead family is known across the state,
through their scholarships with UNC,
they had business interests in Charlotte and in Durham.
Morehead City is named after the Morehead family.
And this is where it all came from.
So Blandwood stands today
as the earliest standing Italian Tuscan Villa
in the United States,
and it was really the grandfather
of all Italianate architecture in the country.
And then in the mid 20th century,
North Carolina was a role model
for the civil rights movement.
[mellow music]
- 59 years ago, a remarkable action took place,
right here at the F.W. Woolworth's
whites only lunch counter,
where African Americans were first served a meal.
If you'll reflect on conflict throughout the world,
people often refer to what took place in Greensboro
as a reference for non-violent social movements.
People around the globe, they know Greensboro
because of the sit-ins.
- Greensboro has been a powerhouse
in the textile industry for more than 100 years.
[gentle guitar music]
In fact, our Wrangler brand got its start right here
in downtown Greensboro, more than 70 years ago.
So I think the name Jeansboro is fitting for a community
who really helped kind of launch
denim as an international icon.
- Greensboro's known as Jeansboro
for a very good reason.
And that being, mainly Cone Mills, for the longest time,
they started several plants.
They really put Greensboro on the map,
and made it essentially the thriving city that it is now.
- It's a building that was built in 1939,
and it has adapted and reused as the new hotel.
But we couldn't find a building that's built in 1939,
so we built the 1939 building we would like to have found,
and adapted and reused it as a hotel,
which is a wonderful fantasy.
I love the name Proximity, because the original Cone Mills,
which is the largest denim manufacturer in the world,
is based here, the original name
was Proximity Manufacturing Company.
And the idea was is the proximity to the cotton fields,
and the railroad, it was a good proximity to put that mill,
and it's a happy word.
So many of the innovation that we have here
really aren't innovations.
The idea of heating the hot water with the sun is sorta duh,
you know, it's pretty easy to do.
There's 68 items that we did.
It's just a matter of considering these things,
and employing them.
A lot of energy goes into sort of starting a business,
but we believe that an equal amount or even more energy
ought to go into what happens on a day to day basis.
I mean we just don't believe in setting up a business,
and then just saying okay, we checked all the boxes,
it's running, see ya later.