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R.J. Reynolds warehouses among Triad sites designated 'Historic Places'

North Carolina has added 15 sites to the National Register of Historic Places. Several former R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company warehouses are on the list.

The two buildings on East 25th Street in Winston-Salem were constructed in 1919 and used for tobacco leaf storage. Officials say they’ve been chosen for the Historic Places registry due to their industrial significance. R.J. Reynolds fueled economic prosperity in the city and eventually became the nation’s largest tobacco manufacturer. The warehouses that span 2.5 acres have not seen any significant usage since 1973.

Other Triad sites added to the registry include One Center Plaza in High Point, one of the few mid-20th-century office buildings remaining downtown. Its development and construction were touchstones of urban renewal planning and design.

The Copland Fabrics complex in Burlington has been included in part because of its importance in the evolution of fabric production, as well as its adoption of slow-burn construction that protects against fire damage.

And the Sidney Cotton Mill in Graham remains a largely intact example of turn-of-the-century Italianate-style architecture.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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