LOST AND ENDANGERED

We take things for granted until they are gone.

Loray Baptist Church, organized in 1905, has stood on West Franklin Avenue / Boulevard in two buildings in front of the Loray / Firestone Mill since 1907. As historically the largest (by far) of the churches that once served Gastonians of the populous neighborhoods and mill villages west of Downtown, Loray has been a cornerstone and a reference point for all who passed on US Highway 29/74. The church figured prominently in the 1929 Loray Mill strike and is mentioned several times, directly and indirectly, in Liston Pope's Millhands and Preachers: A Study of Gastonia.

Although currently holding her own, this grand old church has struggled (as have thousands of churches across the United States and the Western world) with declining attendance, a secularization of the nation, changes in parishioner perceptions and expectations, theological chaos / apathy / confusion, and MANY funerals of the faithful.

Thousands of present and former Gastonians trace their heritage through the doors of Loray Baptist Church. It is hard to find someone with Gastonia mill ties who does not have an LBC-related tale.

Please consider helping maintain this vital institution for future generations. Tax-deductable gifts are always appreciated and will be used wisely. And, most importantly, if you are looking for a place where grace, peace, purpose, and love are free for the asking, this landmark might be a place you can call home.

VANISHED GRANDEUR

"[Pictured above] is the beautiful home built by textile magnate A. M. Smyre around the turn of the [twentieth] century on multiple lots at the northwest corner of West Airline and North Boyce Street. I had passed it innumerable times, but only through the camera lens (January 1975) did I really begin to see its grace and grandeur. Shortly after I took these photographs, the landmark was unceremoniously taken down without even a line of mention in the newspaper. To imagine it standing there today is difficult, but it was symbolic of the time when an Airline Avenue address was prestigious. (From A Glimpse as It Passed: Scenes from a Vanished Gastonia. North Carolina, 1972-1992.)

SWEPT AWAY AND FORGOTTEN

“Though greatly altered and cut into apartments, this Victorian house of the Second Empire style retained hints of its 1890’s dignity as it stood aloof on the corner of East Long [Avenue] and North Oakland Street in this July 1975 photograph. By the time of its centennial, both the Victorian and its surviving neighbors had been swept away by the railroad track lowering project [now merely known as “the ditch”].”
From A Glimpse as It Passed: Scenes From a Vanished Gastonia, North Carolina, 1972-1992.

URBAN TAPESTRY JULY 1984

This July 1984 photograph by Mike Falls of Blacksburg, S.C. (He grew up in Gaston County.) looks southward from Long Avenue at North Broad Street and clearly shows the gritty and complex urban beauty that existed before the area was obliterated by urban planners and misguided "preservationists." The cross streets are East Airline Avenue, East Main Avenue, and, in the distance, East Franklin Boulevard. On the right stands Carolina Farm and Garden at Main and Broad before its relocation to Union Road. On the left are Goodnight Brothers Wholesale Grocers and the Piedmont and Northern/Seaboard/CSX train station. The large house in the distance is McLean Funeral Home on the east side of South Broad Street. The tracks in the foreground are of the Carolina and Northwestern Railroad, and those before Main belong to the Southern Railway. The intersection of these tracks marks the geographical center of the City of Gastonia. Everything in this scene except the former home of McLean's and the small white brick building beside it is gone.

"THE GOVERNMENT APARTMENTS"

A view of the "Government Apartments," housing for returning servicemen, looking from West Second Avenue near South Trenton Street, circa 1947. These apartments were located on the later site of Todd Field, later the location of the YMCA soccer field. The vehicles in the foreground are on a long concrete pad that was used in driver's license tests. The photograph appeared in the 25th anniversary edition of Textiles Review, the news publication of Textiles Incorporated and Threads Incorporated, January 1, 1971, page 5.

Photo credits: Top, Scott Lewis, print by Jim Brown, Cam Art Studios (circa 1955). Bottom, The County of Gaston: Two Centuries of A North Carolina Region by Robert F. Cope and Manly Wade Wellman, published by The Gaston County Historical Society, 1961.

If you are connected to dear old Uptown/Downtown Gastonia with your heart or head or both, you might have participated in the discussions that took place place regarding the city's Gastonia 2020 Comprehensive Plan.

Under "The Key Guiding Principles" section of the Executive Summary of the plan, it was stated that, "...the center city will become the primary location for new amenities within the city, featuring a variety of retail destinations, cultural and civic activities, and quality housing opportunities and will evolve into an energetic destination for our growing population."

The draft copy of the 2020 Plan plainly stated that the Garrison Boulevard main library facility was inadequate and needs replacement. It went on to say that the Union Road Branch receives some of the library system's heaviest use. It does not take a genius to deduce the next step. The Union Road Branch will be enlarged to become the main library, leaving the older parts of the city even more deprived of library services than they were in 1978 when the Garrison Boulevard building opened. This is standard suburban thinking, which goes contrary to recent efforts to revive the center city.

"A Plan for the Center City" portion of the 2020 Executive Summary stated that , "Without a strong and vital Center City, the City of Gastonia would be just another sprawling amorphous suburb of Charlotte."

The 1931 Gastonia Public Library building, used as the Gastonia Police headquarters since the library relocated to Garrison Boulevard in 1978, has sat vacant since the new Police headquarters opened on Long Avenue. What better reuse for a wonderful, memory-filled piece of Gastonia history than for its original purpose. Since much of current library use has shifted to technology and group meetings, the old Main Library could become a traditional book-filled location and a wonderfully appropriate setting for the North Carolina Room, which houses materials for historical research. (The old Number 1 Fire Station next door could even become a technology facility.)

This is an idea that makes sense!

OLD CITY HOSPITAL/GASTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL COMPLEX

NORTH HIGHLAND STREET AT WEST MAUNEY AVENUE THREATENED WITH DEMOLITION

(This article was published February 2009 when it appeared that the former hospital buildings would be demolished. Fortunately wisdom prevailed, and the buildings now stand as the wonderfully-restored Highland Memorial Apartments for seniors. We would like to think that our efforts published here contributed a small part toward the preservation of this piece of Gastonia's built heritage.)

Illustration from Gastonia Centennial Commemorative Book: 1877-1977, edited by James H. Atkins, published by Gastonia Centennial Celebration, Inc., 1977. The caption read, "The old Gaston Memorial Hospital was a 223-bed institution located on N. Highland St. It began in 1946 with the purchase of the old City Hospital, darker portion of building on the left, which was opened in 1924. The new addition, lighter section, was opened in 1951, and the portion joining the two buildings was completed in 1957."

VINTAGEGASTONIA.COM

WHERE OLD GASTONIA LIVES!

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LORAY BAPTIST CHURCH

DREAMS

LONG (AGO) AVENUE

VANISHED GRANDEUR

SWEPT AWAY AND FORGOTTEN

URBAN TAPESTRY JULY 1984

"THE GOVERNMENT APARTMENTS"

A NEW LIBRARY FOR UPTOWN/DOWNTOWN GASTONIA?