Mayberry Modernism shares the story of why North Carolina is #3 in the USA for Modernist houses, the influence of the School of Design in 1948, and the basics of what makes a house Modernist -  then takes audiences on a visual tour of 50+ North Carolina houses, past and present. The preservation stakes are real: original architects and clients are mostly gone, real estate markets favor teardowns, and city councils resist calling a house "historic" when it still looks like the future.  The message for audiences is that grassroots documentation is within anyone's reach, and that you can't save what you don't know exists.

George Smart is Founder and CEO of NCModernist and USModernist, the world's largest nonprofit educational archive dedicated to the documentation, preservation, and promotion of Modernist residential design. A passionate advocate for Modernism, George has been one of the nation's leaders in raising awareness to preserve this important architectural movement. He is a frequent speaker to architecture, design, preservation, real estate, and museum groups and is one of the few people to be bestowed an Honorary AIA by the national American Institute of Architects.  DWELL called him the Lorax of Modernist houses. As host of the long-running USModernist Radio podcast, named by DWELL as the #2 architecture and design podcast, George has led 450 episodes and interviewed over 750 guests in architecture and design from around the world. His intrepid team of nonprofit staff and volunteers have documented over 500 major 20th century architects, researched over 30,000 Modernist houses and scanned over 5.2 million pages of architecture magazines going back over 130 years. George's work has helped to change the way people think about preservationand won 20 honors for leadership in preservation, including national AIA Institute Honors for Collaborative and Professional Achievement.



The Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina occupies a dignified mid-century building that has quietly served as the administrative heart of North Carolina Freemasonry for nearly seven decades. Dating to 1771, its offices were housed in the Masonic Temple Building on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh, a ten-story 1907 tower that was Raleigh's first skyscraper. By the 1950s, however, the decision was made to sell the downtown property and build a new administrative home. The commission went to Leslie Boney, the Wilmington-based architect whose firm designed a remarkable number of North Carolina's institutional buildings. Boney drew the plans in 1955, and the building was dedicated in 1958. His firm, founded in 1922, continues today as part of LS3P. Architecturally, the Grand Lodge is a handsome example of the mid-century institutional Modernism, intended to last. Inside, the building contains the Grand Lodge's administrative offices, its extensive library, the archives (which hold minutes and records stretching back to the eighteenth century), and a small museum of North Carolina Masonic artifacts.

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Tickets
 ($14.95 per person)

The Fine Print

Tickets are not mailed; your name will be on a list at registration.

Limited to 75 people.  Proceeds benefit the NC Grand Masonic Lodge Restoration Fund.

Once payment is made, there are no refunds for any reason except for tour cancellation.  However, you can transfer tickets to others - just have them ask for the tickets in your name at registration.

Please do not attend if you are experiencing COVID symptoms or have tested positive within a week of the tour.

Architects can get self-reported CEU hours if arranged in advance with the AIA.

Participants are welcome to take photos inside and outside.

Strollers are not allowed, but carried children are free.  No food, drink, or smoking inside. 

For tour inquiries, please contact Devra Dubroff, devra@usmodernist.org.

NCModernist is a 501C3 nonprofit documenting, preserving, and promoting North Carolina residential architecture.