The Progressive Mansion of Greensboro

Well, here I am again!! This time, we went to a new part of Greensboro, out past McGee St. and onto Blandwood Estate. Blandwood Estate is a place that stands out today and in the past. It was the home of former Governor of North Carolina, John Motley Morehead, and his family. It was a progressive style of house that changed over time, but why did it change so much? Also, a little note to remember is that this mansion was built by James Bland in the 1770s.

Now, why did this place change so much? Well, from its time of being built to its final change, it was meant to impress the masses of guests that came in the building. It stood out so much that even people were scared to go in, but most people still did. Still, Gov. Morehead was a porgressive governor. He saw that his house had to represent what he stood for. Therefore, his house had to change to fit the progressive style. Now, to begin the tour.

Now, this was the ceiling of the first room people saw when they entered the Mansion. Right off the bat, you can see that this is a different ceiling from what you see in a normal house back in the 1800s. It's too nice for any other ceiling. Plus, when you came in, your breath was taken away from the beauty of the room. Once you came in, you would go to one of two parlors if you were a guest. One's the King's Parlor and the othe ris the Queen's Parlor.

Now, the King's Parlor is the one on the left. This area was a parlor for quiet entertainment and good conversation among the Governor and the guests. The furniture is set comfort and there are so many interesting things in this room. The big thing is that there were mirrors on the back of the doors. For what reason, you ask? Well, it was used to reflect light from the big window directly across from it and light up the room. The rooms were still old-age rooms, which meant that they were dark. This could mean that Governor Morehead had guests over even into the still of the night.

On the right, we have the chandelier from the Queen's Parlor. Now, if you can see, there is a crown on the chandelier. It's a little crown of leaves. CONTEXT CLUE!! If there is a crown on the Queen's Parlor's Chandelier, then the King's must have one as well. Indeed. The crown on the King's Chandelier is bigger and more royal-looking. Now, the Queen's Parlor was the entertainment room. There was music (mostly) and more furniture for talking. Now, each of these rooms had the strong decorations and, especially, the ceiling decoration we saw earlier. Why are these rooms so nice? Well, my belief is these rooms were the main areas for guests to be in and the other rooms, like the bedrooms and upstairs rooms, were not.

Now, I'm going to use the kids' room to represent all of the rooms of the Blandwood Mansion. First, these pictures were just a little indication to know that this was the kids' room. There's c cage over the fireplace in the room and there's games for the kids to play. Interesting, huh?

Now, this represents the rooms. Each had the style kind of like this. There's nothing special about it or anything that sticks out. It's a nice rom that is relaxing. This could represent the idea that the people of the house did not expect anyone back here , but kept them in the guest rooms at the front.

Now, the final part of the blog is the big question. Why did they change the house so many times? Well, I believe that the house represents what the state of North Carolina was changing into. It was becoming a progressive state. NC was changing and Morehead knew this. He had to represent what NC was becoming. So, he changed his whole lifestyle to fit change. Plus, he had to impress due to the fact that he had so many guests. So, he changed the house a lot to fit the changing style of North Carolina. Now, you see that this is a great Estate that is esteemed by all of North Carolina.