Saved Property
909 N. Elm Street
Fisher Park Historic District
The Frank and Minnie Leak House, 1914
“The circa-1914 Georgian Revival-style house of Leak, assistant secretary of the Cone Export and Commission Company, is dominated by three pedimented dormers, a heavy modillion-block cornice, and a Doric portico and side porch topped by ballustrades.”
— Greensboro: An Architectural Record
The Frank and Minnie Leak House had been become badly neglected for years. When the Fund acquired it in a foreclosure auction in 2017, its most prominent features were the temporary supports propping up the front porch.
County tax records list the date of the house as 1914. It has four bedrooms and four bathrooms in 5,118 square feet.
“The circa-1914 Georgian Revival-style house of Leak, assistant secretary of the Cone Export and Commission Company, is dominated by three pedimented dormers, a heavy modillion-block cornice, and a Doric portico and side porch topped by ballustrades.”
Frank (1878-1936) and Minnie Leak (1880-1955) bought the property in 1911. They were listed at the address in the 1915-16 city directory. In addition to being an executive at one of Greensboro’s major companies, Frank was “actively identified in practically all church and civic improvement programs over a long period of years,” the Greensboro Daily News said.
After Frank’s death, Minnie continued to live in the house until she sold it in 1952 to John V. Berry (1911-1990) and Jessie D. Berry (1918-2002). They lived in the house for 26 years. John was vice president and general manager of his family’s business, Berry Coal & Oil Company (his father was president; his mother and uncle were also executives).
By the time the Berrys sold the house in 1978, North Elm Street was no longer a fashionable address. A major thoroughfare, some of its stately mansions had begun to be replaced by small office buildings. Others had been converted to office or commercial use. A real-estate agency bought the Leak House and used it as offices. The next owners bought the house in 1988 and rented the house to businesses through at least 2012. They started a conversion to apartments but left it unfinished. The house deteriorated severely.
The Fund bought it, placed a preservation easement on it and sold it in 2019 to a buyer who has restored the house beautifully. It is now occupied by the company of the owner, a neurosurgeon/attorney who advises doctors on on medical malpractice issues, patient complaints and online reputation management.