Mecklenburg Co. Courthouse
By the early 1920s Charlotte had become the center of a textile region that stretched through Georgia to South Carolina to Tennessee. What made Charlotte unique was a diverse economic structures that also included banking, wholesaling, and power generation. The city was growing so fast that by 1910 it was the largest city in North Carolina. A building boom began that would last until the Great Depression had started.
One of those buildings was the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. "Asbury’s design of the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, with its imposing rows of Corinthian columns and pilasters supporting a massive classical entablature, was a fitting illustration of Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s recent progress and a powerful symbol of governmental authority." The Neoclassic aspects of the building include the traditional iconic pillars, horizontal symmetry, flanking windowns, and carved marble. Most court houses and municipal buildings in ancient Greece used this traditional style, therefore this buildings function and style is not rare for Europe structures. However, for the Charlotte community and North Carolina in general, the buildings interior and exterior layout was extremely groundbreaking. (1)
The Mecklenburg County Courthouse still stands today as a tribute to days gone by. It is an amazing example of the Neoclassical style. The design won Asbury the North Carolina Chapter of The American Institute of Architects Honor Award. (2) It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (3)
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1. "Survey and Research Report on the Mecklenburg County Courthouse," Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, Accessed December 11, 2012. http://www.cmhpf.org.
2. Louis Asbury Collection, 1877-1975, J. Murrey Atkins Library University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Special Collections, http://specialcollections.uncc.edu.
3. National Register of Historic Places, Accessed December 11,2012. http://www.nps.gov.