The Franklin-Rosemary District

The Franklin-Rosemary District was established in 1976 and has been home to many past and present UNC presidents and professors. Along the tree-lined sidewalks in this distinguished old neighborhood you will find nineteenth Century Federal, Greek Revival, and Gothic Revival styles interspersed with vernacular farmhouses. Colonial Revival and bungalow styled houses were added in the early twentieth century, adding to the diverse palette of homes found here. 

The demand for these gracious, historic homes on large parcels of land near downtown and campus is timeless. Frame houses with deep and wide front porches are most prevalent, but the district also includes several brick and stucco buildings, fraternal residences, and a few institutional buildings. A mature tree canopy and low fieldstone walls unify the streetscapes.

Nationally known architects, such as Hobart Upjohn, originally designed some of the homes in the Franklin-Rosemary Historical District. His is located on a one-and-a-quarter-acre lot that has been designated a wildlife sanctuary through the National Wildlife Federation.

Prices for these homes along Franklin Street jumped substantially in price when former UNC President C.D. Spangler paid $1 million in 1997 for the 1800 square foot former Presbyterian manse that was purchased 23 years earlier for $80,000. Today most of the homes in the Franklin-Rosemary Historic District are on the upper end of prices found in Chapel Hill, with anaverage price of $748,985.