RJ Reynolds Company ~ 401 North Main Street

The Art Deco masterpiece known as the RJ Reynolds Company skyscraper was built in 1929. The building is 314 ft. tall and 21 stories.

Perhaps the most architecturally significant building in Winston-Salem, a masterpiece of Art Deco design and detail.

The entrance lobby demonstrates the most ornate art deco adornment in any building erected in the state during this period, with ornamentation such as Benedict metal grille work, gold leaf accents on the ceiling emulating smoke rings, and carved marble detailing. Total height 395 feet from the Caravan Room entrance at the rear on Church Street to the top of the flagpole. (Official height is measured from the main entrance.)  Without the flagpole, it was the tallest office building between Baltimore and Birmingham. The official opening was on Saturday, April 27, 1929

The architects E.H. Shreve of Canada and William Lamb of Brooklyn were known for their elborate designs.

The RJR headquarters created attention for itself and Winston.

In 1929, the masterpiece won "Building of the Year" award by the National Association of Architects that led to another famous building. Can you guess which one?

The chief cladding material is Indiana limestone, while the lobby features marble finishes and metal detail. The top of the building is lit at night, one of the most distinctive features of the city's skyline.

Construction of the building was on top the site formally occupied by the Winston-Salem Municipal Building and housed the administrative offices and a Jail. When the building was demoshed to make way for the RJ Reynolds building, the clocks from the clock towers were removed and sold to a Moravian employee who donated the clocks to the Calvery Moriavan Church where they remain today.

In the early years, the new building was shared with various businesses including the RJ Reynolds company. By the 1960's, the building was almost entirely the RJR company. Extensive renovations had to be completed to the offices. In 1956, Air condition was installed and in 1963 the elevators were automated. Over the next ten years starting in 1987, the windows had to be replaced which consisted over 40 percent of the building including a thousand windows or more.

The Art Deco building was the winner of the 1984 Art Deco Society of New York award for best restoration.

The Reynolds Building has been seen as an icon of corporate power and prosperity unequaled in the South, and is still often regarded as a symbol of the city. The RJ Reynolds Company, member of the Reynolds America Incorporated, went through a merger with British American Tobacco in 2017.  They moved it's headquarters next door.  The Reynolds Building now is home to the Kimpton Hotel and luxury apartments.

The Reynolds Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in August 2014.

Were you able to guess which famous building was modeled after the Reynolds Building? Did you know?

 The awards and honors led  E.H. Shreve and William Lamb to a contract to design Manhattan's Empire State Building. Used as a model for the Empire State Building, Winston has had a tie to the Big Apple.

When the Reynolds Building turned 50 in 1979, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company received a birthday card from an  Empire State Building Company executive.

The gesture was entirely fitting. It celebrated the most important part of the history of the Reynolds Building, namely that it served as a prototype for the famed skyscraper in New York.

The card was first displayed in the lobby of the Reynolds building and then framed. The front of the card showed a dramatic color photo of the Empire State Building and the inside the card greeting, "We are appreciative of its roots in Winston-Salem!"

Fun Fact to know if you are a Nacy Drew or Hardy Boys fan. Under the building there were tunnels leading to the wearhouses and manufacturing plant in back. The Reynolds were afraid of a socialist uprising so they constructed a tunnel system to flee in case one happened. When the building under went renovations, the tunnels were sealed off due to many that had collapsed over the years.

*This concludes your "Talk".

Please proceed west on Fourth street 1 block to the O'Hanlon Building on the corner of Liberty and 4th street.