{"nrhp_refnum":"82003486","name":"Mecklenburg Investment Company Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"233 S. Brevard St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charlotte","county":"Mecklenburg County","state":"NC","lat":35.22299329900005,"lon":-80.84189131799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-08-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story red and buff brick commercial building at the southeast corner of South Brevard and East Third streets in Charlotte, North Carolina, completed in late 1922 in the black community of Brooklyn in Second Ward.","why_significant":"The building is tied to the 1920s \"New Negro\" movement and the rise of a black urban middle class, built with shareholder money from Charlotte's black professionals and businessmen. It is linked to community leaders such as Caesar Robert Blake, Thad L. Tate and Dr. J. T. Williams. It is also significant as the work of black builder William W. Smith, and it is one of the few survivors of the demolished Brooklyn neighborhood.","narrative":"Completed in late 1922 at South Brevard and East Third streets in Charlotte, this three-story brick building was financed by the Mecklenburg Investment Company, a firm formed in 1921 by leading black citizens who sold shares to raise money for rental offices. Black builder William W. Smith constructed it, apparently without an architect. The front elevation uses buff brick with red trim, patterned panels and a bracketed cornice, while the side facade is red brick. Inside, stores occupied the ground floor, offices the second, and a Masonic lodge meeting room with a coffered ceiling the third. For about forty years it housed black dentists, lawyers, doctors and businesses, and hosted lodge meetings and dances. It is significant as an expression of the 1920s black middle class and the \"New Negro\" movement, and as an example of Smith's work. Urban renewal later erased most of the Brooklyn neighborhood, leaving this building and Grace A.M.E. Zion Church among the few survivors.","period_of_significance":"1922","architect_builder":"William W. Smith","architectural_style":"Symmetrical, somewhat classical commercial design with ornamental and patterned brickwork","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Described as deteriorated and unoccupied at the time of nomination; the commercial spaces and old doctor's suite and Masonic lodge room survive inside.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:58.562794-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/40/7213/47721340/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/82003486.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003486/62b4385137-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003486/62b4385137-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Big Wang","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mecklenburg_Investment_Company_Building.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Big Wang</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mecklenburg_Investment_Company_Building.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721340","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecklenburg_Investment_Company_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19987073"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/mecklenburg-county/mecklenburg-investment-company-building-82003486/"}