Building Facades Change Through the Years

South Broad St., early 1920s.

Comparing an early 1920s photograph of the buildings on the west side of South Broad St. with photos from 1940, 1968 and 2003 shows how the facades of the buildings have changed through the years.  The block is made up of four different buildings.

Starting at the Main St. corner the first building was constructed around 1900.  An early Glover photograph shows the two-story brick building with an ornate, false top on the front of building.  The false top was a popular architectural feature to give the appearance of a prominent, well-established business.

South Broad St., 1940s

Originally the front corner of the building was square with the entrance on Main Street.  By the late 1920s the corner on the main level was angled with windows around the door.  Over the years the building has been home to Davis-Walker Drug Co., Davis-Long Drug Co., Long’s Drug Store and Morris Pharmacy.  O.P. Taylor’s Toy Store has been located in the building for over 20 years.

The second building on the block was built by J.H. Pickelsimer in 1921.  There were three separate stores on the main level and offices on the second floor.  The exterior of the building has changed very little since it was built.  For many years Galloway’s Café was located there.  Diamond Rush Jewelers, which opened in 1995, is the longest existing current business in the building.

Third is the Dunn’s Rock Building, constructed in 1906.  It also has multiple stores on the main level.  From 1907 through the mid-1920s the Brevard Post Office was located in the south side.  For around 30 years Gaither’s Restaurant was located where Bracken Bakery is today.  As previously mentioned A & P was in the north side of the building for more than 20 years, followed by Crest Five & Dime from 1959-1970.

 

A metal awning stretched nearly the entire block on South Broad St. in 1968.  

Sometime in the mid-1950s the Dunn’s Rock Building received an extensive facelift when the detailed brickwork was removed and the front was painted white.  Today the exterior appears to be two completely separate buildings.

South Broad St., 2003

The final building on the block was built in the late 1920s.  Varner’s Drug Store, under three different owners, occupied this building from 1942-1993.  D.D. Bullwinkel’s opened there in 1994 and Rocky’s Soda Shop a year later.

Next week Picturing the Past will start down West Main St.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.

East Main Street Has Been a Busy Place

The Aethelwold Hotel shortly after completion. 

Around 1900 John McMinn built the Aethelwold Hotel on the corner of Main and Broad streets in the center of town.  The main entrance into the lobby was near the middle of the Broad St. side of the building.  Hotel rooms were located on the second and third floors.

Numerous early businesses  were located on the main level through the years.  These included Brevard Banking, Deaver & Loftis Grocers, Galloway, Duckworth & Co. (Real Estate), Morris Fred (Dry Goods), a barber shop and a pool room.

T.W. Whitmire behind the Waltermire Hotel lobby desk.

In November 1919 T.W. Whitmire purchased the hotel for $22,550 from McMinn’s estate.  Whitmire renamed it Waltermire in memory of his son Walter.

The Waltermire continued to operate as a hotel into the mid-1900s.  Brevard Hardware was located on the main level from the mid-1940s-1970.  In 1956 Mrs. Alma Cox purchased the building and moved her jewelry store in beside Brevard Hardware.  Brevard Jewelers closed in 1993. 

Tim Hall purchased the old hotel from Mrs. Cox and has worked to restore it since, including replacing the third floor which had been removed.

An article in the November 3, 1960 Transylvania Times states, “The gigantic job of removing the third story of the Waltermire hotel here in Brevard is now underway.  This work is being done in order to make the building structurally safe and help in eliminating a potential fire hazard.  Recommendations regarding the renovation work were made by the town manager, the Brevard building inspector, the fire chief and inspectors of the North Carolina Department of Insurance.  When the upper story is removed, the floor of the third story will become the roof deck.”

Early wooden frame stores on East Main.

In the early 1900s Weilt’s Clothing was located in a two-story wood frame building next door to the Aethelwood.  Other wooden structures down East Main housed a grocer and a dry goods business.  Between 1924 and 1931 these began to be replaced by brick structures.

East Main, south side, 1941.  Farmer's Federation, Feed & Seed at the corner
of Main and Gaston was a two-story wood frame structure at this time.

Stores between the Aethelwold and the alley over the years have included A & P, Austin’s Studio, Cato’s, Fall’s Landing, McBride’s 5₵ to $1.00 Store, Pender’s, Western Auto and various other businesses.

The building that is currently the home of Jaimes Creole Brasserie was B&B Feed and Seed in the late 1920s, Whitmire Motor Sales in the 1930s, Houston’s Furniture from 1941-1990, and from 1991 until 2005 Grover’s Office Supply.

Belk’s Department Store opened in a new store next door to Whitmire Motor on March 14, 1940.  It was there until moving to the Forest Gate Shopping Center in 1993.  Today the Brevard Antique Mall is located in the building.

Trantham’s department store was on the corner beside Belk.  It had moved to that location in 1939 but the store dated back to T.E. England’s general store established in 1885.   Trantham’s closed in 1976.

The next block also had wooden stores.  Around 1950 Farmer’s Federation, Feed & Seed and Western Auto opened in a new brick building on the Gaston St. corner.

North side of East Main in the early 1950s.

 On the north side of East Main St. there were not any commercial buildings past the Library and the Courthouse prior to 1950.  Pearlman’s Furniture, Dixie Home Super Market, Duke Power and Schulman’s shared the brick building constructed about 1950 for many years.  Later Dollar General, Rick’s Furniture and others were in this location.  Love’s Jewerly, originally Parson’s Jewelry, is a separate building and was built around 1958. 

A look back at downtown Brevard will continue on South Broad St. next week.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.

Downtown Brevard Changes Gradually

Over the next several weeks Picturing the Past will look at downtown Brevard—its development, what’s changed, and what hasn’t. 

When the town was originally laid out in the 1860s it included a town square for public use.  The primary streets were Main St. running east and west and Broad St. running south out of town.  Broad Street did not originally go north beyond the Courthouse.

The first courthouse was a two-story wooden structure on the northwest corner of the town square.

The old Courthouse stars can be seen at the
Heritage Museum on West Main St.

In 1881 the current brick courthouse was completed.  The courthouse tower originally had stars on each side.  As early as 1911 there was talk of a town clock in the tower.  Money was raised by showing moving picture shows at the courthouse throughout the summer.  According to a Transylvania Times article on Library History this money was diverted in 1912 to help pay for repairs and improvements to the U.D.C. Library. Clocks were eventually installed in 1984. 

The courthouse also has a bell.  At one time it was rung when superior court was in session.  Today it is not often used but was rung 150 times on February 15, 2011 for the Transylvania County Sesquicentennial Opening Event.

August 1910--Note the cannon and cannon balls in the middle of the walkway.
There was also a drinking fountain and fire hydrant

In 1910 Mayor Breese acquired an “obsolete cannon and some empty shells for decorative purposes”.  The cannon is on a mounted stand to the east of the Courthouse. 

In 1920-21 a new jail was built behind the Courthouse.  The two building weren’t joined until the 1980s when the jail moved to Morgan St. and the Courthouse was renovated.

Through the years there have been numerous the bandstands or gazebos on the Courthouse lawn.  Early photographs show a round, covered, raised bandstand on the west side of the building.  Later there was a large rectangular, covered and raised bandstand on the west side.  In May 1929 a major wind storm caused extensive damage throughout the county, including knocking down a large oak that crushed the municipal bandstand.  A smaller covered bandstand replaced it.  The current gazebo is located near where the U.D.C. Library stood from 1911-1956.

1905--The original bandstand and pool with a central fountain.
There is also a drinking fountain in the lower right corner of the photo.

At one time there was also a large round pool with a central fountain on the southwest corner of the Courthouse lawn.

During the early 1900s the city Fire and Street Departments were located to the west of the Courthouse of as well.  They were both relocated to West Main in the mid-1920s.

In 1926 North Broad Street was opened up from Main St. to Probart St. for the first time.  North Broad was also paved at this time.

A photograph dated 1926 shows a low stone wall across the front of the Courthouse lawn and a newspaper photograph from May 1929 shows the stone wall on both the south and west sides of the building. 

Overall the appearance of the Transylvania County Courthouse itself has not changed a lot in 134 years.  The major changes have been the additions to back and changes on the grounds surrounding it.

Next week’s article will feature businesses along East Main Street.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.

A&P Had Many Locations From 1925-1982

A & P Food Stores, South Broad St.

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company began in 1859 as tea and coffee stores in New York City.  By 1900 it had become the first grocery chain in the U.S. with nearly 200 stores.  Continued growth through the first third of the 20th century led to $1 billion in sales in 16,000 stores in 1930.

The first A & P store in Brevard opened on April 21, 1925 on Broad Street, next door to the Post Office.  A second A & P opened on Main Street beside the Waltermire (Aethelwold) Hotel.   For approximately 20 years both stores operated in downtown Brevard. 

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., East Main St.

For many years Harry Sellers managed the Broad Street store and A.E. “Whitey” York managed the Main Street store. 

In the 1950s A & P fell behind as new larger, modern supermarkets were being built by other companies.  Although the exact dates for the closing of the Main St. and Broad St. A & P stores has not been located, by 1954 there was one store located on Jordan St. behind the Aethelwold.  Harry Sellers was the manager at that location.

A & P Super Market on Jordan St.

Early on a very cold Sunday morning on February 7, 1960 fire completely destroyed the Jordan Street A & P.  The fire appeared to have been burning for several hours before being reported at 8:37 am when the front window was blown out.  A large crowd gathered to watch the fire and reported canned goods exploding as they became overheated.

Reportedly the "worst blaze in history" for Brevard, two adjoining businesses, Owenby Brothers Amoco and United Radio and TV, were also heavily damaged.  Both businesses relocated to Caldwell Street. 

A & P temporarily relocated to the former Schulman builidng on East Main Street.  In September 1960 A & P opened a new, modern supermarket on South Broad Street where Grover's Office Supply is currently located.

The Brevard A & P closed for good in 1982.  Today there are approximately 300 A & P Supermarkets located in the northeast United States.

The new A & P on South Broad St.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-3151 X242.