The Downtown Wake Forest National Register Historic District is a small district of less than thirty contributing buildings constructed of brick between one and four stories tall. The district stretches just three blocks in length on the east side of the railroad tracks that spurred downtown development in Wake Forest after 1877.
The small one-story brick building located at 153 S. White Street was built in the 1940s with restrained Art Moderne elements. Though small, its impact to the streetscape cannot be understated. A slight jog in South White Street – at the corner of E. Jones – makes this small brick building a standout, highly visible from both directions of South White Street.
Serving as a barbershop for over fifty years, when the barber decided to retire and sell the building there was lots of interest in the location, most of it, however, involved tearing the historic building down and erecting a new, taller building. Luckily for the preservation community, those ideas were abandoned and the Burkhardts stepped in to rehabilitate and adaptively reuse the building and the unique downtown streetscape.
The original corner building featured a recessed entry with flanking storefront windows. The south display window wrapped the southern corner to allow light into the whole space. A greenstone knee wall was present, as were raised brick detailing in the parapet wall. Over the years, the storefront windows were removed and infilled with modern materials and replacement windows. The Burkhardts were determined to restore the storefront to its original appearance and to reuse the building as a gathering space for local residents.
The Burkharts undertook the restoration project in 2016 completing it in September, 2018, breathing new life and adaptive re-use into the downtown corridor. The historic knee wall and brick detailing were retained, the original storefront configuration restored by removing infill and replacing it with full display windows that wrapped the corner as it had historically been designed. This small change made a big difference in the streetscape and in the historic character of the Downtown District. On the interior, the inside was transformed to accommodate the Burkhardts’ new business, Unwined on White, an upscale wine lounge and yoga studio. The rooftop allowed for Wake Forest’s first and only rooftop bar. Thanks to the Burkhardts’ vision, Unwined on White has added new life to a prominent “little” corner of downtown Wake Forest.
The Board of Directors of Capital Area Preservation, Inc. is pleased to present a 2019 Anthemion Award to Brian & Amy Burkhardt; Hale Architecture, PC; Stonewall Engineering, PLLC; Kusan Construction Company for the Commercial Rehabilitation of the former Ben’s of Wake Forest, 153 South White Street, Wake Forest.