Drugstores: A Success Story at the Thies House
North CarolinaThe Threat
The Frank Thies House serves as an architectural gateway to Myers Park; a residential area built on the outskirts of Charlotte in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Once part of a cluster of imposing residences built along the rural countryside, the 1898 house stands as one of the few remaining examples of the neighborhood that developed in the area. In the fall of 1998 a local developer obtained the Thies House, proposing to build an Eckerd Drugstore and office building on the site. Its loss would have severely impacted the gateway to this residential neighborhood, which is listed as an historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Preservation Effort
The Myers Park Homeowners Association and other local residents banned together to voice their opposition to the plan for demolition. The association contacted the Charlotte Historic Landmarks Commission, which responded by determining the eligibility of the house for status as a local historic landmark. Their decision to designate the Thies House afforded activists legal protection and time in their preservation effort, as North Carolina law grants a 180-day demolition moratorium to any building recommended by the Historic Landmarks Commission. Both this legal measure and the continued pressure resulted in the developer working with citizens and the Landmarks Commission for alternative designs. In the spring of 1999 the developer agreed to move the house less than 200 feet in order to save it and constructed the drugstore on a different section of the lot. Minor architectural alterations to the store’s exterior design were also proposed.
The Result
Today the Thies House is fully occupied as local non-profit organization space. The building’s preservation represents the power of local landmarks within a community and the utilization of a variety of preservation planning tools to achieve that goal. This included taking advantage of the knowledge of the historic landmarks commission and the demolition moratorium within North Carolina. The Thies House remains an important reminder of the city`s prosperity, history, and protection.
For more information contact:
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission
2100 Randolph Road
Charlotte, N.C. 28207
704-376-9115
http://www.landmarkscommission.org/S&RR/ThiesHse.html
