SVM Historical Consulting

Aaaaaaannnnnndddd, here’s another SVM project! Joint work with Linville Historical Consulting.

Two new landmark designations in two days - wow! Help us welcome the Thompson-Anderson House as Mecklenburg County's newest designated historic landmark!

This house was built in 1936 by Wilburn A. "Wib" Thompson, a prominent Davidson resident. After serving as the Thompson family home, the house was purchased by Sadie B. Anderson in 1943. Sadie and her husband ran Anderson's Food Store, a small, independent grocery store in Davidson. Although changes to the house were made by later owners, this house remains Davidson's best surviving example of a brick masonry cottage of Tudor Revival architecture.

Thank you to the supportive property owners, the Town of Davidson, NC -- Town Hall Board of Commissioners for unanimously voting to designate this house as a local historic landmark, and all of you for believing in the importance of historic preservation!

The Thompson-Anderson house is located at 858 Concord Road, Davidson. For more information on its history: https://meck.co/3a5fjFF

Don’t mind me, just fangirling .jostworth talking electric trucks and logistics !

We're excited to welcome the Parkwood Avenue Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church to our family of designated historic landmarks! Yesterday, Charlotte City Council unanimously voted to designate this property as a local historic landmark.

The church was designed by noted architect Louis Asbury, Sr., and opened in 1929 as Villa Heights Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. It remains the most architecturally significant church building in the Villa Heights neighborhood even as the building has been adaptively reused and is now apartments.

This preservation success was made possible with the support of the property owner, local governing officials and, of course, each of you. Thank you!

Parkwood Avenue Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church is located at 1017 Parkwood Avenue, Charlotte. For more on its history: https://meck.co/3a5fjFF

The Original Taco Bell Building Someone really, really wanted to save this fast-food icon from demolition.

Dr. Annie Lowrie Alexander (1864-1929) was the first licensed woman physician to practice in North Carolina and the southern United States. Born in the final years of the Civil War, Dr. Annie, as everyone called her, lived during a time when the idea of any woman becoming a doctor horrified many people. Nevertheless, she persevered and enjoyed a successful practice for over forty years, leaving behind a legacy of devotion to her patients and the professional respect of her colleagues.

Is is cheating when you're a second grader whose mom is a historian, and your assignment is to create a biography presentation on a person who influenced culture and society? Kiddo got help from me on the design rather than the information presented, and it was his idea to do a trading card inspired by Pokemon cards for his report on Ruby Bridges.

Edwardian Charlotteans, they're just like us! This is Mary Brevard Alexander on her first day of school ca. 1907. Known to family and friends as Vard, she would grow up to serve as National Vice President of the Junior League and thirty years as a trustee of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Her parents built a house on Cherokee Road in Eastover. After her father Sydenham B. Alexander, Jr. died, Vard Howell and her family moved in with her mother. Vard died in 1988 a few weeks after turning 87, and she left family photos and papers to the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room. Looking forward to sharing more about Vard and her life in Charlotte.

One of my favorite things to do is…to talk about what I do! Saturday I was part of an awesome panel , and today I spoke to second grade classes . Looking forward to Thursday and presenting to fourth graders!

Pro tip: When going through old photos, always check in the background! I’m researching a house in Eastover built in the 1920s, and the wealthy family was sure to employ Black staff. And sure enough, here’s proof in the background of this photo! I don’t know who this woman may be, but I’ll certainly try to find out. Exploring the history of houses doesn’t just focus on the owners, but on everyone that made life there possible. Black stories are everywhere.

The feeling when your 7 year old makes LEGO you! I have a crossbody bag and a latte! 🥰

I’ve been on a self-imposed break from IG, but I promise I’m still around and have lots of projects on my plate!

When historic brick buildings get rehabilitated, they sometimes get a new paint job to up their curb appeal. But painting previously unpainted brick is strongly discouraged by the National Park Service in the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Property owners often question that guideline, especially when they want a quick and easy fix for damaged masonry.

In their unpainted state, bricks “breathe” - the clay allows water and water v***r to pass through the brick from the warm exterior of a building to the cooler exterior. When bricks are covered with latex paint, their “breathing” ability is compromised, which prevents water from escaping through the brick and mortar. Water stays trapped in the brick, goes through its natural freeze/thaw cycle, and leads to chipping, crumbling, cracking, and spalling.

Suddenly, the paint introduces an even bigger maintenance issue than when the project started.

Loving your unpainted brick for what it is and regularly repointing your mortar will keep your historic building standing and in good condition. The image below shows severe spalling on a historic brick building in Helena that was painted at some point.

🎨 New mural at Grier Heights Park: We are honored to have the artwork, "Mako," by Charlotte artist, Georgie Nakima, on the park's amphitheater.

From the artist: Mako means peppers. It is a symbol of inequality and uneven development. Mako is a shortened form of the Akan proverb “Mako nyinaa mpatu mmere”—all peppers (from the same branch) do not ripen simultaneously.

📍 Grier Heights Park: 3120 Leroy Street, CLT
📷 Georgie Nakima

This mural was part of the Hornets Legacy Project powered by Lowe’s which included additional amphitheater improvements at Grier Heights Park.

👏 Thank you to the community, Nakima, and our partners: The Charlotte Hornets, Lowe's, Cross Roads, and the Grier Heights Community Improvement Organization.

🍾Happy Birthday🥂 to Frances Benjamin Johnston who was born on this day, January 15, 1864.

Frances Benjamin Johnston was an early American and whose career lasted for almost half a century. She is most known for her , images of , and various photographic series featuring African Americans and Native Americans at the turn of the twentieth century.

LEARN MORE
Fans of the noted architectural photographer can now see examples of her work on American buildings and gardens called the Carnegie Survey of the Architecture of the South (CSAS) at https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/csas/.

ABOUT THE CSAS COLLECTION
The collection, created primarily in the 1930s, provides more than 7,100 images showing an estimated 1,700 structures and sites in rural and urban areas of , , , , , and , and to a lesser extent , , and . Johnston’s interest in both and high style structures resulted in vivid portrayals of the exteriors and interiors of houses, mills, and well as , , and .

ABOUT THIS IMAGE
Perhaps her most well known photo is this “Self Portrait (as New Woman)” created in 1896. A striking photograph of Johnston as the epitome of the independent woman embracing change. Johnston posed herself smoking a cigarette, holding a stein of beer over her wide-crossed leg, and proudly flaunting her semi-open for all to see.

Learn more and download the self-portrait from The Library of Congress website at https://www.loc.gov/item/98502934/

Happy holidays and a joyous new year to you all!

It’s not a Louisiana Christmas without a trip to see the lights at Natchitoches with a stop for a chipped beef sandwich at Grayson’s Barbecue in Clarence!

Current research hole—rural Mecklenburg County schools! I’m working on a report for the Caldwell Bradford School, a one-teacher school on Davidson-Concord Road that closed in 1924. Students were bused to Caldwell Station School or Huntersville High School depending on their grade level. Even in the first couple of decades of the twentieth century, CONSOLIDATION was a buzzword in education. There are few of these structures remaining, so the Caldwell Bradford School will tell an important aspect of Mecklenburg County history.

Threatt Filling Station: “Grandpa Would Be Proud … Because We Didn’t Give Up” | National Trust for Historic Preservation Hear from David and Edward Threatt about the past, present, and future of the Threatt Filling Station on Route 66.

A grandson of Governor Cameron Morrison feeds one of 17,000 turkeys at Morrocroft in 1940. All but about 1,700, which remained as breeding stock, were destined for dinner tables the following week for Thanksgiving. What a happy thought... But what a beautiful and happy-looking bird!

Hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Amazing event!

*putting political hat on*

I hope you will consider voting YES for school bonds! While we will be directly impacted by the on-site replacement of our school, we need more schools and to replace the older facilities that are either inadequate or in poor condition. I’ve been a parent for 5 years now, and I am thrilled with the level of education that my children are receiving. They do activities and have opportunities in elementary school that weren’t available to me in high school! (I did attend a tiny K-12 school in rural Louisiana and was able to be active in pretty much everything, but my kids get to do some cool things like Science Olympiad and art and music classes.)

But regardless of your stance on this issue, please vote!

Happy Halloween!

Historic Landmarks post today about Latta Arcade sent me down a rabbit hole and spurred some thoughts! When Latta Arcade was built ca. 1914, the tallest builing in Charlotte was the 12 story Independence Building. Today, Charlotte’s skyline is four times taller, so Latta Arcade helps provide a historic sense of scale. This postcard shows the former next door; surprisingly, its midcentury replacement isn’t too dissimilar in scale.