Hickory Southwest Downtown Historic District

Five city blocks in southwest downtown Hickory, bounded on the north by the Southern Railroad line, make up this district of commercial and governmental buildings built mainly between the 1880s and the 1920s. The Abernathy Livery Stable, begun around 1885, later became the Hickory Bonded Warehouse, and it marks the western edge of the district. The Southern Railroad passenger depot of 1912 is a long brick building with a bellcast hip roof and an octagonal ticket office. The Post Office, finished in 1914 to designs by Oscar Wendworth, is a two-story Classical Revival building with a limestone portico of paired colossal Tuscan columns. The three-story Armory, built in 1911-1912, housed a National Guard cavalry stable and later served as a textile factory and basketball arena. The district reflects the railroad's role in Hickory's development, since the town grew after the line arrived and businesses here served travelers and freight. Its buildings document the town's commercial growth before and after World War I.