The Nissen Building ~ 310 West 4th Street

Built in 1927, the Nissen Building stands at a proud 238 feet and 20 stories tall. 

 Constructed of a steel frame and  pre-cast concrete.  The exterior of the Nissen Building is clad in buff brick laid in Flemish bond. Ornamentation is of granite, marble, and limestone. 

 The architect William Lee Stoddart of New York City, best known for the Battery Park Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina, was hired to build it.

William M. Nissen built the building with money from his famous Wagon Works (a company dating back to 1787). It was the first air-conditioned building in the Southeast. 

William and Ida Nissen lived on the top 18th floor of the building until 1954. 

The building was used a mix use office space. The first tentant, U.S. Air Force, stationed their headquarters for the Office of Flying Safety there. At street level were shops and the upstairs over 100 tenants who occupied professional offices such as hair salons, medical practices and apartments.

An addition was built in 1969 making the builing to a 18 story to a 20 story building.

After several years of complex negociations, settling of the Mrs. Nissen Estate, the building was slated for conversion to apartments and condominiums.I n 2005, the building started the process of being converted into 145 luxury apartments. A pool was added to the roof. 

Fun Fact....The building opened with a Bob-a-Link miniature golf course in the basement. What a fun idea! Wish it was still there.

Did you know?

John Philip (J.P.) Nissen at the age of 21, bought land in Waughtown on the Western Plank Road and began the Nissen Wagon Works. The shop began as a one-man manufacturing workshop but quickly grew.

In the 1850s, Nissen and his six workers turned out 65 wagons a year. During the Civil War the company provided gun carts and wagons to the Confederacy. In the decade after the war, Nissen’s manufacturing grew. JP Nissen eventually turned the company over to his sons William and George Nissen (two of his 12 children), he remained involved until his death at age 61. Nissen Wagon Works remained a family-run operation until 1925. William sold the company. He used his proceeds from the sale of the company to build the 18-story Nissen Building in downtown Winston-Salem.

*This concludes your "Talk". 

Please proceed along Fourth Street to the corner where you will find The Stevens Center. You can't miss the elaborate iron work and markee in front.