Union Street North-Cabarrus Avenue Commercial Historic District
Why it's listed
Seventeen commercial buildings and a parking lot cluster around the intersection of Union Street and Cabarrus Avenue in Concord, the Cabarrus County seat. Most are brick, built between about 1905 and 1952, and many follow a standard commercial design with corbelled cornices and decorative brickwork. Their significance rests on the commercial growth that followed Concord's textile-driven expansion, when the population rose from about 800 in 1870 to nearly 8,000 in 1900. The district also held the town's main entertainment venues from the 1920s. The Concord National Bank-Hotel Concord, a six-story Beaux Arts building opened in 1926 and designed by William L. Stoddard, is its architectural centerpiece. The 1925 Concord Theatre has a richly plastered ceiling, and the Concord Telephone Company Exchange Building has an Art Deco facade dating to 1932.
Significance in brief: The district is argued to be significant for its commercial history in the early twentieth century, for its role as the town's center for theatrical and movie entertainment from the 1920s, and for three individually distinctive buildings: the Concord National Bank-Hotel Concord, the Concord Theatre, and the Concord Telephone Company Exchange Building. It is presented as the north anchor to Concord's downtown and a complement to the separately listed South Union Street Courthouse and Commercial Historic District.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 03001272, listed December 10, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly Union St. N, Cabarrus Ave. E, Cabarrus Ave. W, and Church St. S, Concord |
|---|---|
| County | Cabarrus County |
| Listed | December 10, 2003 |
| Reference number | 03001272 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca. 1905-1953 |
| Architect / builder | Stoddard, William L. - architect |
| Architectural style | Commercial Style; Beaux Arts; Art Deco |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 3.5 |
| Within district | North Union Street Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.41074, -80.58127 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 03001272.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18159011
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.