What Charlotte, NC looked like in the 1900s Through Fascinating Historical Photos

Charlotte experienced rapid growth at the turn of the 20th century, and the population also increased slowly. Uptown was barely growing in 1900, but that is where the city began to take shape. Charlotte became North Carolina’s largest city in 1910, surpassing Wilmington. After World War I, when the U.S. government built Camp Greene north of Wilkinson Boulevard, the city’s population increased again. After the war, many soldiers and suppliers stayed, launching urbanization which eventually overtook older cities along the Piedmont Crescent. Charlotte was only the second-largest city in North Carolina in 1920, with Winston-Salem having 48,395, two thousand more people than Charlotte. Below are some stunning historical photos that show what Charlotte looked like at the turn of the 20th century. Also, check what Charlotte looked like in the late-19th century.

Designed by Frank Milburn, the Southern Railway Station was located on West Trade Street near the Old Stonewall Hotel. It was completed in 1909.

Elizabeth College operated in Charlotte from 1896 to 1915. It was located at the intersection of Hawthorne Lane and Elizabeth Avenue. Today the buildings are part of Presbyterian Hospital.

Mercy Hospital was founded by the Sisters of Mercy of Belmont, North Carolina in February 1906. Originally it was a twenty-five-bed facility in a wooden building on East First Street behind St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church. The second facility, pictured here, is the seven-story maternity wing. Physical Description: 3×5 Publisher: B & H Photo Company

View of North Tryon Street looking northeast from Realty Building.

The Carnegie Free Library in Charlotte opened its doors in 1903. Located at 310 North Tryon Street. It was the city’s first free public library. Although this building was demolished in the 1950s, a library is still located at this address.

The Carnegie Library in Charlotte at 310 North Tryon Street opened in the summer of 1903. This building was demolished for a new library which was later remodeled and expanded in the late 1980s.

Aerial view of Charlotte. Postcard reads, Charlotte, NC The Industrial Centre of the New South View of Charlotte Looking North from Dome of Court House.

The Charlotte Carnegie Library as it appeared on a postcard. This facility was demolished in the 1950s. A second and a third library have been built on this spot at 310 North Tryon Street.

Robert M. Miller was the president of the Elizabeth Mills and Millerton Homes Company and the Secretary-Treasurer of the Buford Hotel. His home was located at 406 North Tryon Street.

North Graded School was located at 9th and Brevard Streets. Frank P. Milburn of Washington, D.C. was the architect. The school opened in 1900.

This was one of the first Y.M.C.A. buildings in Charlotte. Built between 1887 and 1888, this brownstone building cost $40,000. It was located between Third and Fourth Streets on South Tryon Street. In 1905, the building was sold to the American Trust Company.

Presbyterian College for Women was located on College Street. It changed its name to Queens College when the school moved to Selwyn Avenue. Physical Description: 3×5 Publisher: Hugh C. Leighton Company

The Confederate Monument in Elmwood Cemetery was erected on June 30, 1887 by the builders Berryhill & Johnson. The Ladies’ Memorial Association raised $995 for its construction. Members of the Association included Mary A. Osborne, C.M. Gibbons, Sue B. Watts, Bessie M. Watts, Carrie Wittkowsky, Jane Renwick Wilkes, and Laura Morrison Brown. In May, the association discovered it did not have funds. John Wilkes offered to finish the work at his factory, The Mecklenburg Iron Works, for half the cost.

This picture of the Charlotte Sanitarium was copied from a 1909 postcard. The Charlotte Sanitarium operated from 1907 to 1942. This 100-room, privately owned hospital was located on the southeast corner of Seventh and Church Streets. The building was later used for offices before being demolished in the mid-1950s.

The Tompkins Tower, named for its owner Daniel A. Tompkins, was located at 133-135 South Church Street. It was built around 1905 and housed the Charlotte Observer newspaper between 1914 and 1923. This photograph was taken on January 2, 1906 from a water tower on North Church Street.

By looking east down Trade Street, one can see the Belk Brothers’ Department Store on the left.

Vance Park was located on West Fourth and Mint Streets, behind the United States Post Office. This image was copied from Art Work in Charlotte, p. 49. The final 1905 Temperance Meetings in Charlotte took place at this gazebo.

On the left is the Trust Building and the first YMCA, which was torn down in 1909. The building on the right with the wide, front gable roof and three Italianate style windows is the Opera House.

Between 1875 and 1917, the United States Post Office in Charlotte was located at West Trade and Mint Streets. A portion of the Charlotte Branch of the United States Mint is visible on the right side of the photograph.

The Stratford Hotel was located at 227 North Tryon Street. It had thirty-seven rooms and was completed in 1899. It was originally called the Leland Hotel. In the 1915-1916 Charlotte City Directory, it was known as the Tryon Hotel. The Haverty Furniture Company used the building for around thirty-five years until 1983, when they renovated the building for office space.

This photograph captures the activities on College Street while looking north from East 4th Street. Philip Carey Manufacturing is on the left at 216 South College Street. They sold cement, roofing materials, and pipe coverings. The Klueppelberg Grocery Company was located at 201 S. College Street.

Looking north on College Street from the intersection with East Trade Street. The Bee Hive, on the left, was located at 43-47 E. Trade Street. It was a fashionable dry goods, clothing, shoes, and millinery store.

This view of North Tryon Street features the City Hall on the left with the Carnegie Library (1903) just below on the left. The steeple of First Presbyterian Church is quite visible on the right.

Thomas B. Hoover in one of his horse and buggies in front of his livery stable that was located at 223 E. Trade Street. (By 1911, the address changed to 239 East Trade Street.)

Charlotte Pipe and Foundry was established by Willis Frank Dowd, Dr. in 1900. It was located on Park Avenue.

The Third Courthouse was located at Church and Trade Streets. It was built in 1888 and located at Trade and Tryon Streets. Each of the tall, white columns were made from a single pine tree, then stuccoed after being milled. It gives the appearance of marble. When the courthouse was torn down, no one recalled this fact, and the workers were surprised to discover perfectly preserved trees beneath the stucco. It was torn down in 1898.

Graduates of Charlotte High School pose with Superintendent Alexander Graham following the ceremony.

Jordan’s Drug Store was located in the first block of North Tryon Street at the Square. Owned and operated by Robert Hall Jordan (1856–1908), a native of Chester, South Carolina, who moved to Charlotte where he opened a successful drugstore. He was also involved in banking and textiles.

Thomas B. Hoover is shown driving one of the horse and buggies from his livery stable. Behind him is the Parker House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1904, shortly before this photograph was taken, and became 901 Central Avenue once the road was named and the houses numbered. The owner of the house, Charles Parker, operated the Parker Gardner Music Store in Charlotte for a number of years.