A $1.8 million project aims to restore the historic Mrs. W. H. Smith Tourist Home in Greenville’s Southernside neighborhood. The two-story house at 212 Asbury Ave. once served as a safe harbor for Black travelers visiting Greenville during the Jim Crow era.

History of the Home

The home was listed as the Mrs. W. H. Smith Tourist Home in the 1954 edition of “The Negro Travelers’ Green Book,” a travel guide detailing Black-owned lodgings, restaurants and businesses across the United States. The home has a rich history, having provided overnight accommodations for renowned Black jazz artists performing in Greenville, including Cab Calloway, Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie.

The home was built by William and Lurleen Smith for their daughter in 1910. Traci Lake, the current owner, represents the third generation of her family to own the home. Lake said her family has welcomed travelers into the home for as long as it has existed.

Restoration Plans

The project team, led by Melanie Brown, president and CEO of Restoration 52 LLC, plans to carefully restore the home back to what it once looked like in the 1950s to the early 1960s. Following renovations, the home will be used as a short-term rental. The first floor will include a sitting room, a keeping room, a kitchen with an eating nook and a bedroom/flex space.

A carriage house will be built at the rear of the 0.26-acre property for Lake to live in. The new accessory dwelling unit will feature two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen, a living room, a mudroom, a laundry room and a screened-in porch.

The historic preservation project is now in the fundraising stage. The project team plans to use a blend of charitable contributions and impact investments to fund the $1.8 million project. So far, approximately $800,000 has been secured for the project.

Original reporting: Greenville Journal — read the source article.