Ghent Historic District

Located approximately one mile southwest of the central business district of New Bern, North Carolina, The Ghent Historic District encompasses some 67 acres developed as a suburban residential neighborhood in the early twentieth century. The district extends along three principal streets --both sides of Rhem and Spencer avenues and the north side of Park Avenue between first and seventh streets. The district is typical of a streetcar suburb in North Carolina, with Colonial Revival and Craftsman-style houses and Craftsman bungalows standing close to the street on narrow lots.

The Ghent Historic District is composed of approximately fourteen blocks of houses and associated outbuildings erected on lots which for the most part are 100 feet by 150 feet. A grassy median with small trees runs down the center of Spencer Avenue; it replaces the streetcar tracks of the New Bern-Ghent Railway Company which operated from 1913 to 1929.

A small number of architectural styles and forms characterize the district, representing the popular modes of the early twentieth century when the majority of the houses were built in Ghent. While approximately thirty houses used the side hall plan prevalent in New Bern from the late eighteenth century, the majority of Ghent residences were built in variants of the Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles. The American Four Square and the Bungalow also enjoyed a substantial vogue throughout the period of significance, with the Bungalow being the dominant form built during the 1920's and early 1930's.

While the majority of contributing houses in the district are of frame construction, a significant number are brick or brick veneered. With one exception, houses are one, one-and-one-half or two stories in height, relatively deeper than they are wide, in conformity with the lots on which they stand. Ornament is largely derived from the Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles fashionable in the early twentieth century. Designs are typical of the period as found in the many pattern books and periodicals available to the builders and owners. They are generally well crafted, demonstrating the skill of local builders.

Lots as originally laid out on the south side of Rhem Avenue, the north side of park avenue (west of the 1500 block) and both sides of Spencer Avenue are 50 feet wide by 150 feet deep. Those on the north side of Rhem Avenue vary from 50 x 50 feet to 50 x 173 feet. Except where houses stand on double or triple lots, they are closely spaced with shallow front yards in characteristic early twentieth century middle class suburban fashion. Planted early in the century along the main streets, trees such as pecans and oaks have matured to create an attractive canopy for much of the year. In individual yards, vegetation includes the typical azaleas, sasanquas, crape myrtles and other flowering plants, as well large pine trees and hedges. A small number of open spaces exist within the district.

Architectural styles which derived their inspiration from the fashions typical of America's colonial and early national periods were popular for residents in Ghent, as in most of the country, throughout its period of significance and have continued to influence construction to the present. The Farris Nassef House, erected in 1916 for a department store owner, exhibits a two story portico with monumental Ionic columns and is the principal example of the Neo Classical Revival style, which was based on the Classical Revival of the early nineteenth century.

More characteristic are the numerous colonial revival houses, built as early as 1913, with both frame and brick examples occurring on both Rhem and Spencer avenues. Examples from the 1940's and after appear on all three streets. This group of large frame houses was built during the period 1915 to 1917 and all have porches with groups of classical columns or posts resting on brick piers, as well as other details typical of the Colonial Revival Style, such as transoms and sidelights and a pedimented roof.

The majority of houses constructed after the districts period of significance fall into one of a small number of categories. In the mid and late 1940's, one story frame houses, often covered with asbestos siding and exhibiting the continued influence of the Colonial Revival style, were built on all three streets. The 1950's through 1970's also witnessed the enduring popularity of the Colonial Revival on the small number of brick ranch type houses scattered around the district. A departure from these post World War II Colonial Revival dwellings is the Lustron House on Rhem Avenue, one of two erected in New Bern in the mid 1950's. The Lustron Houses were early examples of mass produced manufactured housing, built of porcelain enameled steel.

The Ghent Historic District is distinguished from its surroundings by different land uses, differing periods of construction and man made boundaries. To the south south of Park Avenue, the area once known as Ghent Park where the Ghent Pavilion stood is a YMCA, except at the eastern edge which has the city's maintenance garages and warehouse storage. At the eastern edge of the district, the south side of Spencer Avenue has 1950's housing. The area east and south of Park Avenue has now been almost fully developed. The new area is appropriately named Trolley Run.