State

For Rent: Room To Create The SWfnbergef House, built in 1926 <md an outsland.ng example ol Venetian Renaissance Revival architec¬ ture. stands in vivid contrast to the fast-paced scene of modern Summit Avenge, In Greensboro. Today the gracious old home Is playing a new role. Thorp's a lot going on in Iho old Stornberger House. By NANCY GOITER GATES The house sits back from ihe busy street framed by dogwood, crepe myr¬ tle. and huge oak trees. I sometimes think of it as a prim and proper lady, who doesn't notice that her heels are run over and her slip is showing, sitting patiently and with dignity between the squat and graceless newcomers on either side that house the radio station and insurance company. This lovely old home, a reminder of the elegant Greensboro neighborhood that existed here in the early days of the century, is one of the few remaining on the street. Most of the others were razed long ago for business offices, and Summit Ave¬ nue. once one of the most desirable residential streets in town, is now a four-lane thoroughfare lined with fast fooo restaurants and shopping centers. I spend every morning in this house, the Sternberger Artists' Center, in a corner room upstairs. It was a former sunporch. and rows of windows lining the east and south walls flood my room with sunshine. There’s more than am¬ ple room for my old oak desk with typewriter, four-drawer file, and bookshelf crammed w ith “how-to- write" books. There are nineteen other studios in the house and carriage house- garage. and each is rented to a w riter or artist. Sternberger House was built in 1926 as the private residence of Sigmund Sternberger, treasurer of Revolution Cotton Mills, the first cotton flannel factory in the south, founded by his father. The home is considered an out¬ standing example of Venetian Renais¬ sance Revival architecture with arches and arcades and a recessed entrance porch supported by two Corinthian col¬ umns. It is said the gardens surrounding the house were especially beautiful in their heyday with roses and lilacs, spring bulbs and iris, and an orchard filled with apples, grapes, figs, peaches, and pears. Today the back yard is paved as a parking area, and w hat is left of the gardens, mostly overgrown, still bloom throughout the summer in spite of the fact that they are untended. It's as if the house refuses to foresake its gracious beginnings and wills the flowers to adorn the lawn, weeds, or no. Sigmund Sternberger was a human¬ itarian well known for his good works, and he established the Sternberger Foundation in honor of his parents in 1955. At the time of his death in 1964 the house became part of the Founda¬ tion. and in 1971 it was turned over to the United Arts Council which used it for offices for several years before mov¬ ing to a downtown location. Since that time, in 1979, the rooms have been rented out. at cost, to painters, potters, and writers. I’ve been spending mornings at Sternberger for two years now. and I find that I can accomplish much more here than I ever could working at home. Of course it gets me away from the in¬ furiating distractions like telephones and dirty laundry', but there is much more to it than that. The serenity of this beautiful old home and unobtrusive companionship of the other writers and artists lends impetus to my own muse. The stained glass artists down the hall fashion extraordinary windows in Tiffany-like detail; I keep hoping to sell enough articles to commission a win¬ dow- from them some day. Downstairs an artist paints a landscape of the Blue Ridge mountains where she has a sum¬ mer home, while her roommate creates avant-garde sculptures inspired by the woman's movement. The garage houses a huge collection of molds and para¬ phernalia belonging to Peter Agostini, faculty member at UNC-G. whose sculptures are found in such museums as the Metropolitan and the Museum of Modern Art. Many of the artists have fulltime jobs and use their studios only in the eve¬ nings and on weekends so our paths sel¬ dom cross. But I often see the results of their efforts in local art shows, and I always feel a certain pride, as if some¬ one in the family had painted the pic¬ ture or fashioned the sculpture. Because w-c are a "family" at Sternberger House. In the studio next to mine is a writer of considerable accomplishment. Can¬ dace Flynt’s novels. Chasing Dad and Sins of Omission, have received critical acclaim and her short stories have won awards and one will soon be published in Adamic Monthly. In a studio at the top of the stairs another talented writer. Marianne Gingher. has been putting the finishing touches on her first novel. Marianne has had twenty stories published in such magazines as Seventeen and Redbook. There is an aura of creativity about Sternberger which sustains and sup¬ ports me when the writing bogs down and the muse is temporarily stalled. There is almost an electric quality to the (Continued on page 31) THE STATE. April 19BS 14