To spot the Vernon Building, look for a tall, four-story brick structure with big storefront windows on the ground floor, classic decorative trim at the roof, and the name “Vernon” right above you-just across from the busy street and next to newer buildings.
Now, as you stand here, imagine yourself on this corner in 1883: top hats, long dresses, horse hooves clopping on the dusty road, and right in front of you, Greensboro’s grandest new building. The Vernon Building began its life selling fancy men’s clothing to all the sharp dressers in Guilford County. Will Armfield was the first to own it, and you might picture him proudly arranging fine suits behind the heavy doors. Just four years later, the building was snapped up by a railroad man named Robert Vernon and his wife Virginia. She liked the family name so much she plopped it in gingerbread cut-out letters right above, so it would watch over downtown forever.
Fast forward through fashions and department stores-W. T. Grant tried their luck here, and the noisy Belk next door was eventually knocked down so Washington Street could breathe. Over time, passing through the hands of the Vernon children, cousins, and finally Ruth Best, the building always seemed to draw new owners into its story. In the 1980s, the humble Baptist Church bought it for a mere $167,500-about as much as a single luxury handbag today! Not long after, John and Beverly Meier brought women’s fashion back in, until tragedy struck: John was killed on a fabric trip in Guatemala, leaving Beverly to carry on.
The ’90s brought hammers and hard hats as Milton Kern guided the Vernon’s transformation: retail on the first floor, apartments above, and a shiny penthouse up top. For over a decade, local hotspots like Liberty Oak Restaurant and snazzy shoe shops filled the ground floor. Today the old building is owned by a group of lovers of Greensboro’s spirit. Every brick carries a tale, and the Vernon’s still watching over all who pass by, as stylish as ever.
