Businesses Expanded to Meet Population boom

Between 1930 and 1970 the population of Brevard more than doubled, from 2339 to 5243.  Residents were spreading out and had more access to transportation.  Businesses slowly began expanding beyond the center of town during the mid-part of the century.  

Heading south from downtown, the Sunset Motel (1955) and Triangle Drive-In (1956) opened at the intersection of the Rosman Highway and Country Club Road.  Transylvania Community Hospital (1942), Brevard High School (1959), and Brevard Country Club (1939) were all located on Country Club Rd.  More businesses were opening along the Rosman Highway as well. 

Businesses like Deerfield Lodge (1954), McCrary Auto (1949), Harold’s Supermarket (1950), and Berry’s Restaurant (1959) were building north of downtown on the Asheville Highway.

Meanwhile the old brick buildings downtown were also undergoing changes.  When noted architect Richard Sharp Smith designed the Dunn’s Rock Fraternity Building on South Broad St. in 1906 the two-story building included an ornate brick facade with a parapet roofline and center gable.  An arched entryway provided access to a staircase to the second floor. 

In the 1950s much of the detailed brickwork was removed and the building was painted to reflect the clean modern facade that would become popular during the next several decades.  Later a full-height pent shingle roof covered the storefront to the left, which is today Bracken Mountain Bakery.   Aluminum siding covered the portion of the building to the right of second floor entryway.  It has been removed from the stores that are now The Children’s Center Emporium and Local Color.

The Aethelwold Hotel was a large L-shaped three-story Queen Anne style brick structure with a mansard roofline.  The hotel’s original entrance, located on the Broad St. side of the building, was framed by rough cut ashlar block.  A one-story portico with a balustrade provided cover when guests arrived.  The portico and stone arches on the northwest corner of the building were removed in the late 1940s or early 1950s.  In November 1960 the entire third floor was removed for safety reasons, leaving a flat roofed two-story building.  The third floor, the stone arches, and the west side entry have since been restored.

In November 1967 Patterson’s Department Store expanded to cover almost all of the space in the four buildings on the south side of W. Main St. from the Broad St. to Times Arcade.  The Chamber of Commerce was on the first floor of the building closest to Times Arcade.  A couple of years later Patterson’s would re-face the two middle buildings on the Main St. side with brick giving the appearance of one large modern building.  Today those buildings have been restored to look more they did in the 1940s.  At some time in late 1980s or early 1990s the corner building (today O.P. Taylor’s) was covered with vinyl siding.

This 1982 photograph of West Main St. shows an unappealing streetscape
with no trees or plantings and cracked and damaged sidewalks and curbs.

For many years beginning in the 1960s aluminum awnings also covered the sidewalk along the west side of S. Broad and the south side of W. Main streets.  Today many of the downtown businesses have more traditional awnings offering protection from the elements.

In 1990 the Heart of Brevard was created as a Main Street Program through the Trust for Historic Preservation to preserve not only historic downtown buildings but to ensure a vibrant downtown district.  Today through the efforts of the Heart of Brevard, business owners, and the City downtown Brevard is alive and thriving.

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 828-884-1820.