For renovation of the Goldsboro Fire Department, an art- deco structure built in 1939 and considered one of downtown Goldsboro’s most distinctive architectural statements.

The old Fire Department building is one of Goldsboro’s most distinctive architectural gems, and it’s sited at a pivotal downtown location. The art-deco structure was built in 1939 under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration. In 1977, the city vacated the building and sold it to a local resident. That owner died in the 1980s, and it then sat vacant — and deteriorating — for more than two decades.

As downtown revitalization took shape in Goldsboro, the Fire Department building became a point of contention, with some local leaders seeking to demolish the building and others arguing that it was just too important to raze. Eventually, under orders from the city to rehabilitate or demolish the structure, the owner took the first steps toward having the building torn down.

A group of citizens were galvanized into action by imminent loss of the historic building. Within days, they gathered 500 signatures on a petition and took it to Mayor Al King for help. The mayor got the owner to postpone demolition while a better solution was sought.

Kristie and Bobby Parker, owners of Parker Advertising and PACC-10 TV, approached the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation with an interest in buying the building for use as a television station and offices. The DGDC staff and the State Historic Preservation Office worked with the Parkers on their plans, and renovation work began in November 2006. The building is now a source of pride for the community and has brought a new business downtown.

According to the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation, the Fire Department project, "more than any other downtown project to date, proved to our community that a historic building, even in the third stage of condemnation and declared demolition-worthy, can be saved, restored and reused.”

For their vision and determination in restoring and reusing Goldsboro’s 1939 Fire Department Building, Preservation North Carolina is proud to present Bobby and Kristie Parker with this Gertrude S. Carraway Award of Merit.