The Mary and Norman Jarrard Residence at 616 East Lake Drive is one of Westerwood’s best exapmples of Mid-Century Modern Architecture.
This unique home was built in 1969 for Mary and Norman E. Jarrard, an English professor at nearby A&T and Greensboro College. The home was designed by Jarrard himself, as inspired by his favorite designs and architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright.
Mid-Century Modern architecture is just now gaining popularity, especially among younger crowds who are intrigued by the style’s open flow and engagement with the outdoors. MCM homes are often designed in terms of rethinking traditional applications of public rooms versus private space, re-thinking room-uses and their proximity to each other, and the use of natural materials and flow of space to the outdoors. The Jarrard House is an excellent example of the style, a marked difference from traditional floor plans that are synonymous with Westerwood.
Norman Jarrard was born on New Year’s Day in 1927. He achieved a distinguished educational resume that included an A.B. from Salem College; an M.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas. He was also an avid tennis player. In 1947 he married Dr. Mary Elizabeth “Pat” Wilkins in Winston-Salem. The couple had one child, a son named Porter Conley Jarrard, born in 1966.
Pat Jarrard also embraced education as her career as an instructor at the UNCG School of Business, UNC Chapel Hill, and Guilford College. Her husband is remembered for his fiery spirit and intellect, including his 1960 University of Texas dissertation that edited the Timoleon poems by Herman Melville, which remains a benchmark today and his incendiary letters to the editor sent to the local newspaper and to Time magazine. His contractor Don Setliff would likely recall his passion for detail in the construction of his 3,874 square foot home on one of the last remaining lots in Westerwood. Jarrard took advantage of the steeply sloped and wooded lot in 1969 by designing a multi-level home with large windows that looked out high into surrounding trees. Jarrard’s sketches were professionally drafted by B. A. Hendrix drafting service in Winston-Salem, and many features point to Jarrard’s eye for detail, including hard-to-procure 4x10s of fir for the ceiling and push-button lights that he marked with a felt pen to indicate what they turned on.
Norman remained in the house after Mary passed away in 1987. He sold the property to Allison and Roger Hunt in 2007, who made several changes including the carport, which is now an enclosed garage, new sliding glass doors to access the large new deck off the living room, and the removal of the original main entry to the house from East Lake Drive. Inside, the Hunts installed wooden floors that originated from an old tobacco barn, and the same tobacco barn wood is used in the kitchen for shelving and elsewhere throughout the house. In 2013, the home was sold to Chandra and Ed Young, who have expertly adapted their eye for color and passion for art into this spectacular home.
Tickets are available online through the link below, or at The Extra Ingredient (Friendly Center) and Brown and Gardiner (N. Elm Street). Stay tuned to our website, this blog and our Facebook page for additional tour information!
You must be logged in to post a comment.