About the East Ward

East Ward is that area of the City bounded by New Walkertown Road on the north, Salem Creek, High Point Road and Happy Hill Gardens on the South, Marshall Street on the west and the city limits on the east.

This area is represented by Council Member Joycelyn V. Johnson. The original town of Winston is in the downtown section of East Ward.

Winston originally grew out from Courthouse Square. The town's first City Hall was on the corner of Fourth Street and Main Street where the Reynolds building now stands.
The current City Hall, built in 1926 was the largest city government building in North Carolina when it was completed.

Central to the area would be the Hall of Justice, the State Offices, the Courthouse, the Federal Building with U.S. Government service offices, Federal Courts and the Law Enforcement Detention Center.

The Piedmont Research Park emphasizing technology and new business innovation is on Chestnut Street. Bringing new life to the old RJR Tobacco Research Building, Albert Hall doubles as condos and commercial office space for these refurbished tobacco factories. The Forsyth County Government offices are located in the renovated RJR factory building.

East Ward is the home of the City's vehicle maintenance facility, sanitation headquarters, City property maintenance offices, streets, and sewer construction facilities all sprawling over some 50 acres along Stadium Drive. Winston-Salem State University's 94 acre campus continues to grow and prosper with over 5,567 students pursuing higher education here. Its growth due in part to redevelopment by the City of surrounding neighborhoods.

The City owned Bowman Gray Stadium is just to the southwest where the summer nights are cut by the roar of auto races and the fall afternoons by the cheers of WSSU Rams football fans.

One of the City's largest parks, the Winston Lake complex is located just off New Walkertown Road. It was orginally the town of Winston's water supply. Today the park is a great place to have a picnic or play a round at the beautiful Winston Lake golf course. Nearby is the Winston Lake YMCA.

Salem Lake, once the City's major water supply, now provides recreational fishing and boating opportunities. A seven mile bike and walking trail follows the Salem Lake shoreline.

The City maintains recreation centers on Fourteenth Street, the William Simms in Happy Hill Gardens, the Rupert Bell Recreation Center and Park and the Sedge Garden Center off Willard Road. In addition, there is Skyland Park and Civitan Park.

East Ward is home to a multitude of social programs... the Experiment in Self-Reliance just east of Martin Luther King Drive and the Downtown Health Plaza managed by the Wake Forest University Medical Center.

The privately funded Delta Arts Center on New Walkertown Road is our city's oldest incorporated non-profit Afro-American cultural organization offering visual art, drama, music and crafts to people of all ages.

The East Winston branch of the Public Library is now the East Winston Heritage Center dedicated to preserving the rich history of the African American community in
Winston-Salem. The collection contains materials for research and study, as well as current materials. You'll also find photographs from Atkins High School graduating classes displayed at the Heritage Center.

The Lowery Street Industrial Center, part of the eastern gateway to the city, is home to several businesses. East Ward has schools, numerous small businesses and shopping areas and quiet residential neighborhoods.

The City has been committed to East Ward for a long time. A good portion of Community Development monies have been funneled into East Ward over the last twenty years. The area around Cleveland Avenue north of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive was once row houses with inadequate plumbing and heating. Now, one sees examples of pride in ownership as single family homes.

Partnering with the City in a number of the revitalization efforts are the S.G. Atkins CDC, the Liberty Street CDC, Southside CDC, Downtown Development Corporation CDC, Goler CDC, and the East Winston Restoration Association and many more neighorhood organizations and associations.

This type of redevelopment extends to apartments such as the Southgate complex at Second and Woodland, the Forest Ridge Apartments and The Ivy Arms housing complex and club for middle income families.

From government, to religion, to industry, to education...some of all the good things that are Winston-Salem can be found in East Ward.