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Camel town

 That was what it used to be called.  In honor of the famous cigarette brand made by RJ Reynolds Tobacco.  The hyphenated town of Winston-Salem.  Built on Tobacco.

In the deep south.  This is quite a town /city.  We visited today.  Started by checking out a monolith quartzite sticking out some 1,500 feet up called Pilot Mountain.  Quite striking in its majesty as you are cruising north on highway 52 just north of Winston.



Then we drove back into town to check out some legacy money that built some mansions of repute. Both with wonderful gardens who had withered with the onset of winter.  But still charming.

One was the home of RJR family matriarch called Reynolda.  Good southern Chinese dumplings were a nice surprise for lunch.  We even took some soup home.





Across the road is former estate of one of the other prominent people back then - this one in banking.  Son of Wachovia Bank founder had an estate built called Graylyn.  Grounds are vast and the facade of the building is quite stunning.  Today it is a nice restaurant.




An institute of higher learning called Wake Forest University sprawls across hundreds of acres and now owns and operates both these former properties.  Their campus has some awe inspiring architectural sites as is the decorating the students do as part of a tradition on winning a football game.


Our final drive took us into downtown W-S to admire the art deco building that was the original RJR HQ called Winston Tower.  That building served as the blueprint for architect Shreve and Lamb to design the Empire State building in NY.  Striking resemblance having seen them in person a week apart.



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