1950-1989

In 1950 the Junior League of Greensboro established the Cerebral Palsy Training Center, now known as the Gateway Education Center, and hired one physical therapist to run it. The Center serves cerebral palsied and orthopedically impaired, severe and profoundly handicapped and autistic students from birth to age 21.

For the first two years the school operated out of an abandoned World War II Army barracks building. After several moves and expansions, the Center moved to its present location on Wendover Avenue in 1983. Gateway is a part of the Guilford County School System and, since 1986, has been listed among national models for programs benefiting the multi-handicapped. Over the years, the League has contributed over $97,000 and countless volunteer hours to this innovative facility.

In 1956 the League’s Junior Museum Committee secured $30,550 from the City of Greensboro for a Nature Museum building and in 1957 the Junior Museum, now known as the Natural Science Center of Greensboro, opened its doors to the public. It is said that Junior League Project Chair, Kay Pierce, initiated the center because of her love of the Museum of Natural History in New York.

In 1967, the League agreed to contribute $50,000 to the restoration of the Blandwood Mansion’s Carriage House. Blandwood, home of former North Carolina Governor John Motley Morehead, is a treasure of architectural and historical significance located in the heart of downtown Greensboro. From its humble beginnings as a clap-board farmhouse, Blandwood blossomed into an elegant country home when Morehead contracted with noted 19th century architect Alexander Jackson Davis in 1846. The house was restored with help from the Junior League of Greensboro to its mid-1800’s appearance and contains many of the original furnishings selected by the Moreheads with the help of Davis. Blandwood is a National Historic Landmark and is the oldest example of Italian villa architecture in the United States. Blandwood is operated as a house museum by Preservation Greensboro, Inc. and the Blandwood Guild.