Charlotte has uptown historic buildings after all

[cityboi]

Historic buildings? Uptown? Really!

HOWIE PAUL HARTNETT

Staff Writer

Between its current gleaming skyscrapers and coming basketball arena, it's easy to think Charlotte has no historic buildings uptown.

Historians say that's wrong.

There are more than 50 buildings and structures worthy of being added to the local historic register, historian Dan Morrill told members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission on Thursday.

But, the commission consultant was quick to admit, not everyone will agree with all of his selections.

Among those likely to raise eyebrows:

• The old Charlotte Civic Center.

• The Hal Marshall Center -- formerly a Sears Roebuck and Co. store.

• The North Tryon Street railroad underpass.

"I'm sure a lot of your readers would say we're nuts," Morrill said in an interview. "We're not nuts."

They may not be graceful, but each is an artifact of uptown's history, Morrill said. "This doesn't mean they should be saved at all cost," he said. "It means they should be part of the discussion about the future."

Placing these buildings on the register does two things, Morrill said. It forces uptown developers and planners to consider how new construction could affect these buildings. And it keeps these buildings from being demolished inadvertently.

They could still be torn down, but officials would have to be alerted first.

Such notification would have given historic commission officials time to review the four buildings that were demolished along East Trade Street to make room for the arena.

That situation was among the reasons Morrill and assistant consulting director Stewart Gray decided to start a first-ever survey of uptown about 15 months ago.

Most of the buildings are located inside the Interstate 277 loop, but a few are outside.

Eventually, Morrill would like to get all 52 properties and three historic districts around uptown on the register. But 10 deserve attention now because there is imminent danger they could be demolished.

The civic center, the Virginia Paper Company building on West Third Street and the Alpha Cotton Mills Village off 12th Street are among those historians fear are on the chopping block.

Commission members agreed to notify the owners of the 10 properties about their intention to add them to the historic register. The owners will be invited to comment at the committee's next meeting Oct. 7 on whether they believe their properties deserve such designation.

PROPOSED ADDITIONS TO

LOCAL HISTORIC REGISTER

1. Alpha Cotton Mills Village

2. William R. Barringer Hotel

3. Blandville House

4. Carolina School Supply

5. Charlotte Civic Center

6. Charlotte Observer Building

7. Charlotte Union Bus Terminal

8. Court Arcade

9. E.I. Dupont Building

10. Elizabeth Apartments

11. First National Bank

12. First Presbyterian Church

13. First United Methodist Church

14. Guthery Apartments

15. Harding High School

16. Home Finance Company

17. Hovis Funeral Home

18. Ivey's Department Store

19. Montaldo's

20. Sears Roebuck and Co.

21. Second Ward High School Gymnasium

22. Southern Railroad Bridge over Piedmont & Northern Railroad

23. St. Peter Episcopal Church

24. St. Peter Catholic Church

25. Standard Oil Station

26. North Tryon Street Railroad Underpass

27. Union Storage And Warehouse Company

28. Virginia Paper Company Building

29. Wachovia Bank and Trust Building

30. West Avenue Presbyterian Church

31. West Sixth Street Railroad Underpass.

32. Western Newspaper Union Building

33. Woodlawn Ave. Apartments

34. Alexander Street School

35. William Bratton House

36. Whitman-Douglas Company

37. The Great A&P Tea Company Warehouse

38. Queen City Foundry

39. B. F. Avery and Sons Plow Company

40. American Brokerage and Warehouse

41. W. C. Newell Company Warehouse

42. Interstate Mills

43. John B. Ross Warehouse

44. People's Ice and Coal Company

45. Walter Hook Building

46. Southern Spindles & Flyer

47. Standard Oil of New Jersey

48. North Myers Street Duplex

49. Frye Chevrolet Company

50. Charlotte Fire Department Engine Co. No. 4

51. Carolina Rim and Wheel

52. White's Commercial Service

PROPOSED HISTORIC DISTRICTS

1. Woodlawn

2. Irwin Park

3. McNinchville

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Go to www.cmhpf.org/uptown

surveyindex.htm

Charlotte's Historic Properties

SOURCE: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission

[Raleigh-NC]

Great!!! Now it is time someone takes a walk around Uptown and takes pictures of those buildings. We'll settle for one shot per building

[Neo]

Wonder how many are brick?

[uptownliving]

I'm sure that Skylies would be the expert on that one.

[monsoon]

[Neo]

Haha, Little known by most are that many of the gold mines that were a part of the USA's first gold rush are all around downtown. None are accessable by the public however due to safety reasons.

Now THAT is interesting!

[reverbandwhiskey]

does anyone have pictures of these maps?

[uptownliving]

They are looking at possibly reoping on of the downtown gold mines as a tourist attraction.

[Neo]

They are looking at possibly reoping on of the downtown gold mines as a tourist attraction.

I think they should! Charlotte really doesn't have much in regards to tourist attractions. We definately need all of the attractions we can get, heck, I'd want to go if they reopened one of these gold mines! Would be very interesting!

[appatone]

They are looking at possibly reoping on of the downtown gold mines as a tourist attraction.

I've thought that they should do that for a long time now. I watched a show on the travel channel about touring various cities

[RiverwoodCLT]

I heard that they found gold when they were putting in the foundation for BOA tower. The land and building is worth more that the gold the found.

[DigitalSky]

They are looking at possibly reoping on of the downtown gold mines as a tourist attraction.

that'd be cool.