THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 20, 1996 TAG: 9609200557
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: 91 lines
Come Saturday, people from all over the region will gravitate to Elizabeth City's waterfront for the Museum of the Albemarle's eighth Annual Moth Boat Regatta.
The event honors the city's heritage as the birthplace of the small sailing craft that is so light it sometimes appears to ``flit'' across the water's edge.
Boaters will hit the water early Saturday for a day on the river and continue with the Moth Boat Nationals on Sunday. The Pasquotank River Yacht Club will assist.
This year, landlubbers also will have a reason to attend, thanks to an expanded calendar of events that gets under way at 10 a.m. and lasts into the night.
Guided tours of three historic districts normally not on the beaten path will be the highlight of hourly walks in and near downtown Elizabeth City.
``These tours honor the other areas of Elizabeth City and generate a greater awareness of other historical areas of town,'' said LuAnne Pendergraft of the Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce, which is helping to coordinate the trips.
``These places have interesting social histories that locals and tourists may not be aware of,'' she added.
The tours include the city's first ``suburb'' in what is now the Shepard Street/South Road Street District.
``This was the first major area of residential development away from the original core of the city,'' said Tom Butchko, the area's premiere architectural historian who helped organize the tours.
That city core extended from what is now Elizabeth Street, Grice Street and First Baptist Church on Main Street. Elizabeth and Grice were creeks, however, until being covered over in the 20th century.
``That is why, after a big thunderstorm, you do not drive on Grice Street or Elizabeth Street,'' Butchko said referring to the roads' frequent flooding.
Houses in the Shepard/South Road district date from the 1840s to 1930s. The neighborhood, once the site of a race track before the Civil War, includes the first building of a school that became Elizabeth City State University.
Saturday's guided tour will include five churches, the Episcopal Cemetery and the future site of the Museum of the Albemarle.
The museum, now located on U.S. 17 North, is sponsoring the regatta and co-sponsoring the tours with the Chamber and the Elizabeth City Historic Neighborhoods Association.
Volunteers from each organization have been undergoing training for about a month to lead this weekend's tours.
Another area of interest is the Riverside Historic District, which runs along the Pasquotank.
Views of the regatta will no doubt be available as walkers learn about the district that began in the 1890s and includes the Albemarle's only historic house built over the water.
That home, known as the George S. Beverage House for its original owner, also is a shining example of the unembellished Craftsman Bungalow. Other examples on Raleigh and Preyer Streets will be noted.
Riverside grew out of land subdivided from an Antebellum plantation built in 1857 that still stands today.
The brick veneer home can be easily identified by its circular driveway and large cast concrete columns that were once part of the old St. Vincent's hospital in Norfolk.
A house made famous by a previous occupant is the Nellie Crospy place a few blocks down the street. Cropsy's mysterious death in 1901 remains the city's most famous crime.
The final ``new'' tour on Saturday will be of the Northside Historic District, now best identified as the site of Roanoke Bible College.
The neighborhood took off after the Norfolk-Southern Railroad was finished in 1881. The city's first depot once stood where a brick college dormitory now does.
The character of the district is overwhelmingly Victorian, with some of the historic structures now occupied by the college and its faculty.
Guided tours of the more traditional downtown areas of Elizabeth City also will be offered. They include the Albemarle's first ``skyscraper'' - the Virginia Dare Hotel.
Built in 1927, residents balked at the $5-a-plate dedication dinner, which was a sizeable portion of paychecks that averaged about $10 weekly.
The ``skyscraper'' moniker was penned by former newspaperman W.O. Saunders ``who always had a habit of sort of poking fun at everything,'' Butchko said.
The Shepard/South Road District tours will take place at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.; Riverside tours begin at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Northside walks start at noon and 2 p.m., and the downtown district at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Boat tours of the Elizabeth City waterfront also will be available every hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tours originate at the Chamber office on Ehringhaus Street, and reservations are recommended. Those interested in attending can call the museum at 335-1453 or sign up at the Chamber office.
A barbecue dinner begins 5 p.m. at the WaterWorks outdoor deck.
Tickets are $10 per plate, with proceeds going to the museum's building fund. Trophies also will be awarded at the dinner. by CNB