This week, the Charlotte Ledger Business Newsletter is taking a summer vacation from its coverage of business to offer a series that explores Charlotte’s history via its history. Therefore, we will discuss that instead. Lawrence Toppman, who joined WFAE’s Marshall Terry, wrote it.
Terry Marshall:After decades of covering the arts for the Charlotte Observer, you now do the same for the Ledger. Why did you want to learn about the history of the city? Why walk, too?
Toppman Lawrence:Well, curiosity is the driving force behind every story I currently follow. For years, I’ve been driving past Elmwood. Although I frequently shop at Park Road Shopping Center, I was unaware of its existence. Naturally, I went uptown and strolled along Tryon Street, wondering who had placed these items in the pavement. Now, it’s just a case for me to investigate the topics that have always piqued my interest.
Terry:And the Elmwood you just described is Elmwood Pinewood Cemetery, a sizable graveyard on the outskirts of the city that is well-liked by joggers and walkers. The fact that it’s a location where you can observe Charlotte’s history of racial segregation shocked me. Could you elaborate a bit on that?
Toppman: Well, a fence used to separate it in two, with Pinewood on the black side and Elmwood on the white. Nearly all of the two cemeteries are kept in different ways, although the fence was finally taken down in the 1960s. There are curbs in Elmwood, no fallen tombstones or rubbish, and no ivy-covered, collapsing fence there. The fence is really lovely. Pinewood possesses all of those items. That’s not to say that Pinewood isn’t a pleasant and simple stroll, but once you go past that invisible barrier, you can tell that it was not maintained as well as it is now—I’d say a little less effectively than the Elmwood side.
Terry:Additionally, you wrote about Charlotte’s Liberty Walk, which you described as a walk through Revolutionary history that is largely left up to the imagination. Why is that?
Toppman: Nearly all of the landmarks have disappeared. If you travel to the location of one of the stations, Cook’s Inn, on West Trade Street, you’ll notice that it’s now a business and sits next to a closed Hooters. It’s a tall building. Therefore, I have to read about these things, see plaques commemorating them, and think, “Okay, a hotel once stood here where Washington visited.” How did it feel? We’re not sure. We don’t have many written reports, and we don’t have any images. You have to visualize the majority of the four locations along the road when Cornwallis entered and engaged the Colonial army.
Terry:You also wrote about an old mall that has outlasted its contemporaries, which brings it back to business. That will be released on Friday. But if you could, give us a sneak peek.
In this area, and most definitely in western North Carolina, Toppman:Park Road Shopping Center was the first mall of its kind. And it has endured since its inception in the 1950s. The U.S. Post Office is still there, and so is the sign. It still retains a lot of the classic charm that many Charlotte locations have lost, and I always feel at ease when I enter. These companies have been in operation for many years. They are personalized, friendly, and somewhat like the main thoroughfare of the tiny town in southern New Jersey where I was raised. They are typically not owned by chains, which gives them a warm and inviting atmosphere that I find lacking in many Charlotte establishments.
Terry:Charlotte has long been accused of constantly destroying its past in order to create something new. Indeed, a lot of older structures have been demolished. Do you believe that claim to be accurate, though, after watching this series?
Toppman: Given our propensity to store history as memories, I believe that to be true. Although it is somewhat of an exception in Charlotte, Park Road is still a very bustling and lively shopping district. Therefore, I believe I must mention that. As soon as the Observer left the building where I had worked for 37 years, it was demolished. Charlotte, in my opinion, is a place that discusses preservation but doesn’t appear to accomplish it very well.
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