Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / Sept. 4, 2008, edition 1 / Page 3
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REBECCA PISCOPO i rpiscopo@kingsmountainherald.com Long before the textile mills closed, buildings on Battleground Avenue and Mountain Street possessed the heart of Kings Mountains cen- tral business district. The stores, empty or full, have stood the tests of time, witnessing the glory days of company and the sad days of abandonement. “They've been witness to a community and character. When you think about all the changes that have occurred, it’s interesting,” Dover said. Then the textiles closed and the city’s downtown fell into disrepair becoming historical remnants of KM’s vibrant past. The process of building charac- ter in a new light In recent years there have been those, such as the Mountaineer Partnership, local architects, general contractors, and businessmen like John Harris, who seek to breathe new life into the ghostly buildings downtown. “Personally I feel like it’s been a wake-up call for people. We have to look inward a little bit more and strengthen what we have,” stated Roger Holland of Holland and Hamrick Architects. Holland helped create J. Oliver's coffee shop and Alliance bank on Battleground Avenue for Harris. “When John (Harris) got it, he fixed it up before Alliance took over (on the rest of the renova- tions). We tried to recapture the original character of the build- ing, not try to modernize in terms of design, but be true to the original style of the build- ing,” Holland said. The major positive in not tear- ing down an old building, Holland says, is “the final result is less expensive than starting from scratch.” Also, materials from the original building can be reused to convey the struc- ture’s original personality. “The architecture didn’t fol- low the national transit. KM went with a particular architec- ture that other towns at the time weren't doing. It shows a tenac- ity of spirit,” Dover said of the original buildings. With these unique structures already in place, Holland stated, “You end up with a lot of things you couldn't build today.” “These are old buildings. We tried to salvage what was here,” said John Harris, who owns J. Oliver’s and has an office suite on the second floor of Alliance Bank. One of the things upstairs in Harris's offices, which are cur- rently empty, that he and Holland kept in place were the shop’s original bathroom doors. Perhaps the most noticeable feature in Harris's establish- ments are the open ceilings which Harris calls the “loft con- cept.” In other words there isn’t any tiling and the ceiling rafters are exposed. tad KM WEATHER REPORT wn By Kenneth Kitzmiller August 25-31 Year Ago Total precipitation 8.2 1.06 Maximum 1 day 5.51 0.59 Month to date 9.9 1.06 Year to date 34.97 23.65 Low temperature 69 (27-29th) 69 (3rd) High temperature 88 (31st) 103 (9th, 10th) Avg. temperature 78. 85.2 On the record: % In Augu st 2003, Kings Mountain had 12.2” of rainfall. # The wettest month on record was October 1990 when 13.28” of precipitation fell on Kings Mountain. # The driest month on record was October 2005 when gly aos of precipitation fell on Kings Mountain. e wettes year on recor d was 1995 washing in with 69.84” of total precipitation. % The driest total precipitation. ear on record was 1998 with 38.25” of The Kings Mountain Herald “Rather than come back with a tile ceiling we thought this would be a way to recapture the building,” Holland said. Not everything stays the same... On the contrary not every his- toric quality of the two build- ings could be kept. “They were both in bad shape. It’s almost like the phoenix ris- ing from the ashes when you see a structure like that (after it’s renovation is complete)” Holland said. Harris said that the wooden floor had caved in and below it was nothing but dirt. “We had a situation where the floor was in very bad shape. We had to look at the most econom- ical way to have that floor. The concrete made the most sense,” Holland said. Underneath, what Harris calls, the “etching and stained tile floor” of J. Oliver's and the carpet of Alliance Bank lies a sturdy bed of concrete. In his offices upstairs, Harris trans- formed the original floor boards into stained wood flooring. Just a little make-up... In regards to many of the buildings Dover said, “most of (the renovations are) just cos- metic.” Teri Deal, who is opening an interior design store on Mountain Street, in October, didn’t face the floor problems Harris did. “I'd like to restore it as best I can. I'm not one who likes to take things down. We're going to try to restore it and make it look pretty,” Deal said. She plans to keep the wall intact, but to add lots of color. She also wants to have a chan- delier in the lobby. The back office will have styles and designs for commer- cial and residential clients to review. “I feel like I can embrace one of those different styles and designs and take it where it needs to go,” Deal said. She does intend to replace the current-standing red door. Back door garden Both Deal and Harris planned to cultivate back door gardens behind their properties. Harris worked with Fred Blackley to landscape the rear of his build- ing with greenery and white pebbles. Deal has a much bigger busi- ness backyard. Some of her plants have grown taller than her. She hopes that she can cre- ate an attractive garden to go with her sense of design. The problem with empty buildings... Most of the other buildings that are empty downtown are owned by Kings Mountain Properties, according to Caroline Dover. “It seems the trend is to let them sit there until the perspec- tive business is made,” Dover stated. While there are still empty buildings. downtown Harris said that the problem with it is that an owner has bought a building without a vision. “We are not spectators, we are land developers,” Harris said. He claims that he put in the renovation money for his two businesses knowing one would be a coffee shop and hoping that the other would attract a bank. “To often when a person pur- chases a building like that they don’t have the vision. Johnny (Harris) did have the vision to see what it could be. It's reward- ing when you take a space that would be considered almost worthless and bring it back to an attractive structure,” Holland stated. Dover admitted that the MP doesn’t have a target business for recruitment, but “if I see a good fit for KM I check if they might like to open a second business in downtown.” Are there more businesses to come? With transportation and ship- ping costs on the rise, Holland said that certain companies, which fled overseas, are now finding it more economical to come back to the United States. “I'd like to think the trend is reversing itself somewhat. We may see jobs coming back to the U.S.” Holland said. It may soon be that all struc- tures on Battleground Avenue are “phoenixes rising from the ashes.” ° ® Coming in September... Remembering youn Hometown Sports Ferses ADVERTISERS - bon Miss THE OPPORTUNITY to be a part of this very special section! Call 704.739.7496 today for more information! DO YOU HAVE OLD SPORTS PHOTOS OR A GREAT SPORTS STORY TO TELL? If so, we would like to know about it.. Conlact the news editor in your community for information on how you can be a part The Kings Mountain Herald « Editor: Emily Weaver 704.739.7496 » eweaver@kingsmountainherald.com The Cherryville Eagle * Editor: Michael Powell 704.435.6752 * michael@mycherryville.com The BannerNews © Editor: Diane Turbyfill || 704.825.0580 * diane@mybannenews.com of this very special section!
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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