Sept. 17, 2005
History showing in faces of buildings

Know a community's architecture -- the everyday buildings as well as the grand -- and you know its past, present and a glimpse of its future.

The built heritage of the Charlotte region yields wonderful examples, fine designs, telling details and human touches that speak of fond associations.

Here are some of them:

First Charter Bank ( Johnston Building )

212 S. Tryon St.When it was built in 1924, the 17-story building, named for mill owner Charles Worth Johnston , was the city's tallest. It's a classic, designed by New York architect W.L. Stoddard following precepts for tall building design developed by Chicago architect Louis Sullivan. A tripartite scheme divides the building into three zones: a three-story base with a cornice, a more plain rising shaft and a classically decorated top. A recessed entrance flanked by brass lamps add zest to the street.

Biddle Hall, Johnson C. Smith University

100 Beatties Ford Road

This historic 1884 building with its majestic clock tower just underwent a $7 million renovation. It once held classrooms, offices, a dining hall and chapel. The decorative brick work is impressive on this Victorian structure, with crosses worked into the brick chimneys of the old chapel. Built on a hill, it is visible from other parts of Charlotte .

Textile mills

Brevard and North Davidson streetsFrom this intersection runs a string of buildings that speak of a history Charlotte doesn't often acknowledge: cotton mills. Now a hip arts community called NoDa (short for North Davidson Street ), North Charlotte was once an industrial town. The Highland Park Mill No. 3 is followed by the Johnston Mill and Mecklenburg Mill past 36th Street. Note the tall windows; they were the main source of light and air in the early 1900s when these were built.

Covenant Presbyterian Church

1000 E. Morehead St .

Of many handsome houses of worship in Charlotte , this one stands out for two reasons: its siting and the massing of its forms. In the early '50s, Cram and Ferguson of Boston , the architects, took great advantage of a triangular site. The church's back end, with its rounded apse, turns a massive form to the point of the triangle, the busy street and uptown. The entrance is off an intimate interior plaza. In a modern Gothic style, made of pink and gray granite and limestone, the building gets slimmer as it rises, climaxing in a needle-like steeple.

United House of Prayer for All People

1019 S. Mint St.One of several such churches in Charlotte, this one on the western edge of uptown has four golden angels on the front facade. Fashioned by Gaston County sculptor Graham Weathers, they have the features of an African American man. The church, designed by Overcash-Demmitt Architects of Charlotte , has a multicolored brick facade and golden spires along the roof. As a teenager, the late Bishop Walter "Daddy" McCollough, successor of founder C.M. "Sweet Daddy" Grace, became a member of this church when it was in a former building on the site.

Queens Road West

Between Selwyn Avenue and Kings Drive , this curving street framed by ranks of 90-foot oak trees offers the best drive in Charlotte -- and lovely views. It was designed in the early 1900s by planner John Nolen, considered by many the father of urban design in America , and his assistant, Earle Sumner Draper. A spine of the Myers Park neighborhood, it set a standard Charlotte still works to achieve.

Four arched monuments,

Ballantyne Commons Parkway andJohnston Road

These 30-foot structures mark a major intersection in the heart of the fast-growing Ballantyne region. There's "no there there" but a lot of traffic. To appreciate them, park and look -- but mind the zooming cars. Fashioned by Yugoslavian-born sculptor and artist Boris Tomic, who worked with UNC Charlotte historian David Goldfield and developer Johnny Harris, the frieze at the top of each tells Charlotte 's history through four themes: Finance, Human Spirit, Technology and Transportation. Notables such as Hugh McColl Jr. appear.

Gateway Plaza , Rock Hill , S.C.

One of the most successful public art projects in the area, this circle with sculpture and columns on Dave Lyle Boulevard marks the entrance to uptown Rock Hill . Architect Michael Gallis of Charlotte and artist Audrey Flack of New York collaborated. He did the layout and wrangled the columns from the historic -- and destroyed -- Masonic Temple from uptown Charlotte . She did the four statues, collectively "Civitas," personifications of civic virtue. Exit 79 off Interstate 77 south.

Eumenean and Philanthropic Hall

Davidson College , DavidsonFrom the mid-19th century, these two buildings are among the oldest on campus. They're named for two debating societies that once dominated student life. (Eumenean is closest to Main Street .) Their massive two-story porches are supported by stuccoed columns bearing pediments. The main building material is brick, giving them a simple neo-classical look that influenced other campus buildings.

McAdenville

Twenty miles east of Charlotte in Gaston County , the town is best known as Christmas Town USA for its blazing holiday decorations. But it's also an example of a community that once defined the region -- the mill village. Founded in 1883, when the "bring the mills to the cotton" campaign was in full swing, McAdenville became dotted with small frame houses. Some still line Main Street .