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1. The Barn Dinner Theater is the oldest continuously running dinner theater in the United States. It was opened in 1964 and is the last of the original Barn Dinner Theaters.

 

2. Robert De Niro reportedly acted at The Barn in Greensboro, until he was fired in the middle of a show.

 

3. Greensboro is named for General Nathanael Greene, who led American forces in the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781.

 

4. While working in Greensboro, Lunsford Richardson developed a number of home remedies under the name "Vicks”, including the Vick’s VapoRub we all know today.

 

5. Dolley Payne, born to a Quaker family in Greensboro, married James Madison and became the First Lady of the United States when he was elected the fourth President in 1809.

 

6. Chris Daughtry was working at Crown Honda in Greensboro when he auditioned for Season 5 of American Idol, finishing in fourth place. He lives north of the city, and occasionally provides free concerts in support of community endeavors.

 

7. In 1981 a fire broke out in the Carolina Theatre while it was closed, and a woman was killed. The woman was not supposed to have been there at the time, so it’s popularly believed that she deliberately set the fire. People now claim that her ghost continues to haunt the building.

 

8. Before 1895, Greensboro was spelled Greensborough.

 

9. Greensboro is where the first sit-in demonstration of the American Civil Rights Movement took place. Four A&T State University freshmen sat down at a segregated F. W. Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro in 1960 and asked to be served. The rest is history.

 

10. 17 US Presidents have visited Greensboro, starting with George Washington in 1791 through Barack Obama’s 2008 visit.

 

11. Former Greensboro Mayor Keith Holiday (1999-2007) proposed a measure to implement cryogenically freezing prisoners to prevent prison overcrowding. It did not come to pass, however.

 

12. Restaurants in Greensboro with sidewalk dining must post their menu so that it is clearly readable from the sidewalk, but not readable from the street.

 

13. Greensboro has 475 miles of sidewalks.

 

14. Greensboro College was the first state-chartered college for women in North Carolina.

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15. A company called Mother Murphy's in Greensboro produces flavors for commercial foods, which is why the city smells so delicious.

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16. The Edible Schoolyard at the Greensboro Children’s Museum is a founding program of the Edible Schoolyard Project, a nonprofit started by famous food activist and restaurateur Alice Waters.

 

17. Lydia's Bridge near Greensboro is a haunted site. The story is that a young woman flags down a passing car, rides in the back seat and when the driver goes to let her out at her home, she vanishes. If they knock on the door of her home, old woman answers and tells them Lydia died in a car crash at the bridge years ago. Creepy. 18. The Carolina Theatre, opened in 1927, was the first air-conditioned commercial building in North Carolina.

 

19. The 23,500-seat Greensboro Coliseum built in 1959 used to be the largest single-seat arena in the nation. Now it’s the 2nd largest in the nation and the 6th largest in the world.

 

20. Greensboro is home to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, the nation’s first national park established as a Revolutionary War site.

 

21. Greensboro is also home to Mack Trucks, which sells and services trucks in more than 45 countries worldwide.

 

22. The Fresh Market specialty grocery stores were founded in Greensboro in 1982.

 

23. You may know that Greensboro was the birthplace and home of William Sydney Porter, known to the world as the short story writer O. Henry, but what you may not know what that he robbed the bank he worked for, and went on the run as an international criminal to Honduras before being arrested and serving three years in prison.

 

24. Speaking of William Sydney Porter, he was an eyewitness to the occupation of Greensboro by Union troops. Years later, using his pen name “O. Henry,” he recounted his experiences in some of his short stories.

 

25. The oldest known house in Greensboro is the Francis McNairy House on the grounds of the Greensboro Historical Museum. It is said to have been used as a field hospital after the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781.

 

26. Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown established Palmer Memorial Institute in eastern Guilford County early in the 20th century, which became one of the most well known private college-preparatory schools for black students in the United States until it closed in 1971.

 

27. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) was founded in Greensboro on May 8, 1953 where its headquarters remain to this day.

 

28. TIMCO Aviation Services is the largest independent aircraft maintenance company in North America, with over 1,800 employees in Greensboro.

 

29. The first event inside the Greensboro Coliseum was the Holiday Ice show in October 1959.

 

30. Greensboro has been part of the green movement for almost 50 years. Greensboro Beautiful is a nonprofit volunteer organization that has partnered with the City to conserve and enhance the beauty and ecology of the city since 1968.

 

31. Greensboro was almost home to Busch Gardens, in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was planned to be built in Greensboro, but never materialized.

 

32. A wooded area on the Guilford College campus is where the Underground Railroad, an informal connection of people and homes across the United States that helped fugitive slaves, began.

 

33. Greensboro became the seat of the Confederacy for a brief time in April of 1865 as Confederate President Jefferson Davis arrived here after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Later, all Confederate forces in North Carolina were mustered out and paroled in Greensboro.

 

34. The Greensboro Coliseum is built over the Greensboro Fairground, which included one of the first Nascar stock-car race tracks.

 

35. Greensboro had a Metro. It’s true. From 1902-1934, the city had an above ground rail system composed of 24 trolley cars and 12 miles of inner-city track. What’s your favorite fun Greensboro fact? Tell us in the comments below!