Historic preservation gems get their props at gala

COURTESY CHARLOTTE MUSEUM OF HISTORY

This McCrorey Heights home on Oaklawn Avenue is part of the neighborhood association that earned the Charlotte Museum of History’s 2023 Excellence in Preservation Award.

Preservation advocates get their turn in the spotlight at the Charlotte Museum of History’s largest fundraiser.

The eighth annual Charlotte Gem Preservation Awards ceremony on May 11 will recognize the best local projects that encourage preservation of historic buildings and streetscapes. Former U.S. Transportation Secretary and Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx will be the keynote speaker, and recipient of the first Charlotte Gem Award based on his history-making service to the region.

The gala starts at 6 p.m. at the Charlotte Museum of History. Cocktail attire is recommended, and tickets start at $75 online at charlottemuseum.org/events. All proceeds support the museum’s mission to save and share Charlotte’s history, including preservation of the 1774 Alexander Rock House, Charlotte’s oldest home, which is on the campus.

“There is a common refrain in our city that we don’t have any history left; that we are a city of teardowns. But Charlotte still has many buildings worth saving,” museum president and CEO Terri White said in a statement. “We hope the Charlotte Gem Preservation Awards will encourage more preservation projects in our region, as well as sensitive new construction that integrates into our existing historic environments.”

A panel of local architects and preservation advocates picked six restoration and building projects for awards, along with a pair of honorable mentions. Mecklenburg County projects swept the prizes, including the McCrorey Heights Community Association, which won the Excellence in Preservation Award. The association preserves the historically Black neighborhood’s history, and advocated for its designation as a historic district, which became official last year.

Before and after the ceremony, the gala will include moonshine tastings, axe throwing, musical performances by The Summer Soul Xperience, a Chinese dragon dance performance by Thundering Wave Martial Arts and special access to the newest exhibits.

Charlotte Gem Preservation Award winners:

Charlotte Gem Award – Anthony Foxx

As a student at Davidson College, Foxx was the first Black Student Government Association president and as Charlotte Mayor led the city’s effort to bring the first major national political party convention here with the 2012 Democratic National Convention. He also chaired the Commission on Race and Slavery at Davidson.

Excellence in Preservation Award – McCrorey Heights Neighborhood Association.

McCrorey Heights sits on approximately 71 acres just north of Uptown. Founded in 1912 by H.L. McCrorey, the second Black president of Johnson C. Smith University, the area developed in the 1950s and ‘60s as a neighborhood for Black teachers and preachers.

McCrorey Heights residents were the first Black people to demand desegregation of Charlotte Douglas International Airport’s restaurant, join city government, to become top administrators at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and desegregate public schools.

Most of McCrorey Heights older homes remain relatively intact.

Preservation Award with Distinction (residential) – The Wadsworth Estate & Carriage House, Wesley Heights, 400 South Summit Ave.

In 1911, businessman George Pierce Wadsworth commissioned the design and construction of The Wadsworth Estate, located in what is now Wesley Heights, as his family home.

The house was bought by Judge Shirley Fulton, the first Black woman prosecutor in Mecklenburg County, the first Black woman on the Superior Court bench in North Carolina and an advocate for Wesley Heights’ historic designation.

In 2018, Mark and Alyson Miller bought the estate and restored it by rehabilitating the home’s bedrooms, bathrooms, fireplaces, porch and cedar shake siding. The Millers also restored the property’s Carriage House and added a rear patio for use as an event space.

Preservation Award (residential) – Cohen-Fumero House, Coventry Woods, 1154 Cedarwood Lane

The home, built in 1961, is one of just a few high-style, midcentury modern buildings left in the region. Noted architect Murray Whisnant designed the house for artists Herb Cohen and Jose Fumero, who wanted a home built for artistic expression and entertaining.

The home sat vacant for years and was in disrepair when realtor Charlie Miller bought it and began restoration efforts in 2019, starting with refurbishing historic interior elements. Miller rehabilitated its tiger-stripe mahogany paneling, floor-to-ceiling mahogany doors with original hardware and expansive glass windows and sliding doors.

Preservation (commercial) – First Presbyterian Church, Fourth Ward, 200 West Trade St.

In 2021, First Presbyterian began extensive renovations to its main buildings, including its sanctuary, to meet the congregation’s changing needs. The church, originally built in 1857, is one of Charlotte’s oldest structures and a reminder of the Gothic Revival style common for church architecture in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Foundational to the recent renovations was a commitment to preserve and reuse every original element possible in the sanctuary. More than 90% of the historic interior items were restored and reincorporated.

Preservation (commercial) – Supperland, Plaza Midwood, 1212 The Plaza

The award-winning restaurant Supperland opened in 2021 in two historic church buildings in Plaza Midwood, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods. Husband-wife owners Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown, chose to preserve the red brick exteriors of the two buildings (built in 1948 and 1956) and to design some of the restaurant’s interior elements to tell the story of the property’s original use as a church.

The work included staining the original floors to highlight the center aisle as well as creating a show kitchen to draw the eye to where the energy would have been in the church –toward the pulpit and choir.

Neighborhood Infill (residential) – Latta Park Lantern House, Dilworth, 719 Romany Road

The new infill home fits into Dilworth’s front-porch vibe while honoring the neighborhood’s architecture.

With its natural stone foundation, balanced asymmetry and trellised front patio, the new structure borrows stylistically from the original cottages built starting in the 1940s.

Comments