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Living Museum
Like the downtown areas of most minor metropolises,
Greensboro, N.C.s Elm Street buildings have witnessed
much of the past century, crumbling yet still steadfast
amidst most of the citys cultural oferings. Roughly a year
ago, I found myself dining with several other students at
the Mellow Mushroom, a regional pizza chain, on South
Elm Street. We were attending a play and had about an
hour to spare. One of our companions suggested we walk
across the street to a self-advertised living museum,
where his friend, a local artist, worked and lived. Tis was
my frst venture into Elsewhere.
As I return to Elsewhere a year later, I am at frst
intimidated by the eclectic group of characters just inside
the combined two storefronts. One girl looks as if she
stepped out of the storeroom at Vogue. Another bearded
fellow admittedly hasnt seen the inside of his shower since
Herman Cain. A third is gorgeous, though his or her gen-
der is rather ambiguous. Tese Bohemians, however, are
not nearly as eclectic as the innumerable museum pieces
housed within this artist colony.
Dalton Cox
North Carolinas
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Just inside the door, a bookcase-lined
wall is nearly overfowing with what
appear to be kids meal toys. A confes-
sionary stands, years vacant, to the
lef. A library of books, from Kafa to
Kardashian, beckons to the right. Vin-
tage spools of cloth drape down from
above. At frst one wonders if he or
she has wandered into some collabo-
ration of Hoarders and Antiques
Roadshow, but there is a method,
beauty and philosophy to the seeming
madness.
Te story begins during the Great
Depression, when Joseph and Sylvia
Gray founded the Carolina Sales Co.
on South Elm Street in Greensboro.
Te business was focused on selling
and acquiring various furniture and
materials that could be reused for
creative purposes. Afer the death of
her husband in 1955, Sylvia began
purchasing cloth and fabric supplies,
in hopes of increasing her stores revenue and
keeping her business alive. For the next few
decades, she would broaden her thrif shops
inventory to include books, toys, housewares
and a mounting array of knick-knacks.
Elsewheres documentarian, Lucia Carroll,
described the shop and its gargantuan collec-
tion.
Tis was her personal playground, Carroll
said. Tese were her toys.
Te original store stayed in operation on
South Elm Street until Grays death in 1997.
Ten in 2003, the Grays grandson, George
Scheer, visited his grandmothers almost
forgotten thrif shop. Afer discovering the
immense collection entombed inside, Scheer
joined with friends to excavate the property
and chose to sell nothing. Elsewhere was
founded a year later and in 2005 became an
artist residency, focused on bringing artistic
talent to Greensboro to utilize Sylvia Grays
collection.
Elsewhere was soon awarded a grant from the
United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro
and today operates as a nonproft organiza-
tion, consisting of the museum, residency
program and its collaborative learning labora-
tory.
Elsewhere stands where it has for almost a
century on 606 S. Elm St. Te museum is
open Wednesday-Saturday from 1-10 p.m.
Regular admission costs a mere dollar, though
the museum ofers a variety of membership
opportunities. Te workers and residents
are extremely convivial and usually more
than willing to strike up a conversation with
newfound friends.
Te afernoon I returned to Elsewhere,
I found myself chatting in the storefront
window with Valerie Wiseman, Elsewheres
communication curator. Te front window of
the street display was opened and the weather
was warm for the frst time in months. We sat
inside a model of a giant antique pedal car.
We are in a place that inspires people, Wise-
man said. It inspires curiosity and acts as a
launching point. Te objects act as a bit of a
medium themselves, you know? I think thats
why its important. Its a place for inspiration
and its a place for people to
think and, of course, its also
a place that asks the public
to reassess their assump-
tions about art and about
individuals who are diferent
or maybe just a bit eccentric,
kind of like the space itself.
''We are in a place
that inspires people. It
inspires curiosity and
acts as a launching
point.''
-Valerie Wiseman,
communication curator
at Elsewhere
Elsewhere storefront today
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