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.