VINTAGEGASTONIA.COM

NORTH CHESTER STREET RAILROAD OVERPASS

A peaceful moment in time is captured in the photograph© above taken in the summer of 1984 just before politics and heavy equipment cut a near-fatal gash through the heart of Downtown Gastonia, destroying one-third of its built environment. The US 321 landmark traffic underpass is entering its twilight years, Ralph Gaines and Son Furniture Company (right) is conducting a "Going Out of Business" sale, and the former home of Henley/Dillard Paper Company (left) mutely awaits its fate. Soon the last remnant of this interesting and familiar human-scaled intersection (see next photograph) would be replaced with a safe, modern,.......and sterile traffic conduit.
In a short while (below) both buildings were gone. Only the former home of Kendrick-Riddle Wholesale Grocers/Robinson Brothers Feed and Seed and the burned P.P. Leventis Wholesale Fruit and Produce remained to mark the original farthest extension of commercial structures into once-residential West Main Avenue.

The first Gastonia Post Office / Federal Building, dedicated January 31, 1916 (2,000 in attendance), opened for business February 1, 1916. Built at a cost of $70,250, the imposing structure stood on the northeast corner of West Main Avenue and North South Street. It was erected on the site of the old town square, later known as the City Park. (The project's supervising architect was Hugh White, who later moved to Gastonia and designed many of the structures that remain landmarks of the city's architectural heritage. Click here to read the excellent article published in North Carolina Architects and Builders: A Biographical Index, published 2011 by the North Carolina State University Libraries.) Built of brick and Indiana limestone, the Post Office was part of a monumental building program in the city from 1915 to 1917 that included a new Central School (completed in 1915 to replace the original one that burned), the Armington Hotel (on Airline Avenue across from the Southern Railway passenger station, September 1915), the Post Office, West School (later known as Abernethy, west of the Loray Mill, March 1917), its twin East School (on the North side of Ozark, across from the Ozark Mill--later Wix Filters' original plant, 1917), and the seven-story First National Bank Building (now known as the Lawyers Building, July 1917). Of these six monumental structures that were substantial enough to have lasted into the 21st. century, only two did. This Post Office building was demolished in 1937 after the opening of the present Main Post Office farther west at York and Main. A Revolutionary War commemorative bronze plaque that had been placed in the loggia of the building at its opening by the William Gaston Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was moved to a similar location at Memorial Hall on Second Avenue. (Print from a copy of the original byJim Brown / Cam Art Studios. See the original here.)

Y.L. HONEY'S "MINUTE GRILL" AT 1414 EAST FRANKLIN AVENUE.

Originally opened at 1414 East Franklin Avenue as "Green Gables" around 1935 by Winston Salem native Yates Louis Honey, the "Minute Grill" (as it was known from 1939) was a popular 24-hour eatery. It was remodeled in the 1950's, and the name was changed to "Honey's." The building was demolished in 1964, and a "D'Lites" restaurant was built on the site. It became an Arby's, and is now the "Fiesta Margarita" Mexican restaurant. Photo and information courtesy of David Bedinger, Vice President of Honey Properties, Inc., Charlotte, N.C.

The Albion Grocery Company (wholesale grocers), founded by W.J Clifford and J.O. Rankin, served the larger independent grocery stores as well as the "Mom and Pop" variety that proliferated in Gastonia during the first half of the twentieth century. The advent of the large grocery chains with their own centralized sources of supply spelled doom for Albion and its competitors by the late 1960's. This building stood in the curve on the south side of Airline Avenue (now the beginning of Long Avenue), immediately east of the Chester Street railroad overpass, where Airline adjusted its path to line up with the railroad. In this eastward view taken in the spring of 1973, the Lawyers' and Commercial buildings can be seen in the background on Main Avenue. This view along with more than 250 others of old Gastonia can be seen in A Glimpse as It Passed: Scenes from a Vanished Gastonia, North Carolina, 1972-1992 published by Trenton Creative Enterprises.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

When we first published this website more than sixteen years ago, the majority of our viewers and contributors were members of the World War II Generation and their children, the Post World War II Baby Boom Generation. With the relentless passage of time, the WWII Generation is rapidly fading into history with many survivors now in their 90s. The Baby Boomers, seemingly only yesterday middle-aged with modes, mores, manners, and markets in their generation's sway, now find themselves increasingly marginalized and bypassed by a frenzied world with new generations anxiously straining for a daunting future.

The children of the Baby Boomers never knew Old Gastonia (as defined on this site) except in its declining and fading state. Their reality has been suburban life, shopping malls, strip development, and decentralization.

Every age carries with it both good and bad. But much of what was lost with the demise of healthy, densely-populated central cities carried with it essential concepts of civilized life that might possibly serve as a blueprint for brighter days in a far distant future.

We will be gone in the wink of time's eye. Each day is an opportunity to pass along a lifetime of memories, experiences, and wisdom. Send us your personal histories, snapshots, and images of keepsakes along with the tales that make up the totality of your life's journey. Nothing is too small or insignificant. Preserve these perishable treasures in the best possible way...by sharing them. Your name will accompany your contribution to the site, and you will have the pleasure of knowing that you have made the puzzle of the rapidly passing scene more complete and understandable for those who will search for a better way tomorrow.
We want to hear from you. Email us at trentoncreativeenterprises@charter.net.

LATEST ADITIONS TO THE SITE:

Part 5 of Charlotte, NC filmmaker Joel Blackwelder's 2004 documentary on the history and demise of cotton mill town culture in the Carolinas.

Randy Whitesides' inquiry regarding Love Heights.

Kostee's Drive In advertisement.

Abernethy School Miss Mitchell's first grade class 1957 (Scroll to see image).

Pep Boys East Main Avenue store receipt 1972. (Scroll to see images.)

Jane Van Sleen MacLeod's inquiry and memories of Van Sleen Jewelers and her grandfather, H.M. Van Sleen.

Looking east from Southern Railway station (Snyder Place), 1979 and City Buses at Bradley Station (2) , 2008 (Scroll to see all)

Gastonia History IV: The Grand Cotton Festival (Pictures forthcoming)

We want stories of neighborhood "Mom and Pop" grocery stores from your childhood and youth (1980s and earlier).

Radio Station WGNC Scrapbook Section 4

Radio Station WGNC Scrapbook Section 3

Railroad Trench Dedication Program and Commemorative Flag, April 10, 1992.

Telephone Numbers Advertising Booklet Cover Gastonia 1956

"Murder at the Gastonia Cotton Manufacturing Company," by Jarrett Brown

Sharon Boughman Lineberger's contribution to the "Memories" pages

Gastonia History IV: Article 21 - The Great Depression of the 1930s

Radio Station WGNC Scrapbook Section 2

History of Loray Baptist Church (October 1997 presentation)

March 18, 2023 Library Presentation Photos

Sinclair Service Station at W. Main and York

Paul Quinn B-24 Bomber Update (Scroll to bottom of article)

Mack Wilson Spurrier Memories (Family Information}

Delta Shopping Center and Brookwood Area Service Stations - South York Street

Albion Grocery Company (Rear). (Scroll in "Spindle City Scenes" section to see image.)

Modernist Uptown service station.

Do Nut Dinette, W.Franklin Blvd. December 1977

Former occupants of "Center City Crossings" site.

Goebel's Luncheon Service building. (Scroll in "More Spindle City Scenes" section to see image.)

Recreation Bowl--Gastonia's first bowling alley.

Send us information about upcoming Gastonia events of a historical nature and reunions as well as links to Gastonia-themed websites by visiting the "Contact Us" page.

Sign up to receive
occasional news and alerts about "Old Gastonia."
Simply go to the "Contact Us " page, click on our email address, and type "Add me to the list."

Visit the "Gastonia History" page!
Noted Gastonia and Gaston County historian Robert Allison Ragan tells the story of the founding of
Gastonia, North Carolina!

Robert Ragan's latest book and crowning achievement,
The History of Gastonia and Gaston County North Carolina:
A Vision of America at Its Best,
is available now!
Click the title to learn where you can get a copy.

Visit the
York Chester National Historic District
to see how the past fits wonderfully into the present.
Click here for more information about the YCNHD.

Be sure to visit Dan Robie's excellent Piedmont and Northern Railway webpage on the "Transportation" page.

Don't miss Charlotte architect Terry Shook's article describing his awakening appreciation for Gastonia, his hometown. The article was published on the website of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute.

Visit Adam Prince's fascinating website Carolina Lost! (See us there.)

RADIO ARCHIVES!
See selected pages from the scrapbook of pioneer Gastonia radio station WGNC, provided through the efforts of former DJ Randy Jenkins and by the generosity of Mr. Jerry McSwain. Don't touch that dial!

Read excerpts from our correspondence with Hugh E. White, Jr. the grandson of Hugh E. White, architect of several iconic Gastonia structures, and find the link to his fascinating website containing heretofore unpublished drawings and photographs on the "Journal" page.

Read the story of Sun Drop® and its beginnings in Gastonia on the "Journal" page. (Posted January 29, 2011.)

Be sure to see our collection of matchbooks from Gastonia businesses in the 1940s and 1950s on the "Ephemera" page.

Visit our page entitled "The Lay of the Land" featuring vintage aerial views of Gastonia.

The late 1940's addition to the First National Bank (Lawyers' Building) has been removed. This beneficial demolition has uncovered the architectural grandeur of the structure that once welcomed travelers as they made their way through the landscaped walkway that passed between it and the old Post Office from the Southern Railway station to Main Avenue. That which is now visible is breathtaking to anyone who loves Uptown/Downtown Gastonia or just beautiful architecture in general. You must see it! (Until you can get there in person, see the photo essay here.)

Gastonia's Brookwood Historic District is compiling its history. If you have information about, or once lived in Brookwood (located on South York Street, below the former Gastonia/Ashley High School buildings), please contact historicbrookwood@gmail.com.

Visit these Frank L. Ashley High School class websites:
Class of 1957
Class of 1959
Class of 1960

Please share any information you might have on Gastonia schools prior to the 1971 county consolidation.

Randy Whitesides found a wonderful image of Armstrong Elementary School (originally named South School that stood on the west side of Union Road just south of what is now Garrison Boulevard) and shares it with us (through the courtesy of the Gaston County Schools) here.

Be sure to read the forgotten story of the "First Union" building
on the "Journal" page.
(Just as every life weaves a tale, so does every structure built by the hand of man.)

On November 18, 2008 the Gastonia City Council voted to demolish all five historic buildings on the site of the proposed Big Splash project. Many questioned if this would be the "third strike" of government intervention in Uptown/Downtown since the tragic eastward exodus of the mid-1970's.
It appears that it was.
Read "This Is Our Property!" on the "Journal" page.

Is there a Ratchford in your family tree? If so (or even if you are just curious), visit the Ratchford family website and spend some time with your kin. (We are there, too, even though we are not Ratchfords.)

Add this site to your "favorites," and patronize the businesses mentioned herein.
(Tell them they were mentioned on vintagegastonia.com.)

We are looking for photographs of businesses and residences that once stood Uptown along Airline Avenue. Send us an e-mail with a description or an attachment.

Do you have vintage maps, advertisements, brochures, matchbook covers, grand opening "giveaways,"or other publicity pieces featuring Gastonia businesses and organizations from the 1930's through the 1970's? See the "Ephemera" page. If you would like to see your items displayed there, along with proper credit, please send an e-mail attachment or contact us to make arrangements for them to be scanned and returned.

Old Gastonia is almost gone. Cherish what remains, and learn all you can about what has vanished.
The best of the past is a blueprint for the future.
Visit us often.

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