Salvaging Pieces of History Driving past this demolition site in Charlotte’s hip and historic South End (Camden and West Roads) every day, I admired the architecture, windows and the columns on these old houses that were set to be razed. Yes, its a shame, but there’s massive growth and conversion in this area and properties like these (built in 1929-1930) are now, even as I write, being turned into hipster condos and parking garages in their former location. My husband Kenny and I have a small re-purposing/furniture painting business called OliveYouMore. I thought we could save and salvage some of this historic part of Charlottes history. So, I decided to call the demolition company to see if I could scavenge and save some of the old grandeur and preserve it in a different way. Lo and behold – I was given the OK to contact the site manager, Mike. I stopped by right after work that day and met him, in his hardhat and mud-caked shoes, and me in my kitten heels and skirt. We agreed that my husband and I could dismantle whatever we wanted from what was left of 1 ½ standing houses – free of charge! Since there was no longer power to the site, we found ourselves, on a very hot and sticky summer morning, working with hammers, pry bars and brute force loosening 80+ year-old vintage doors, windows, and balusters. We loaded my husband’s pick up as full as we could. We went home happy, excited and filthy! Eventually, windows became cocktail tables, a sidelight became a sofa table, a mirrored medicine cabinet door became a unique end table, and old doors will become dining room tables. With these items, are the stories of these houses, someones former home,with some 80 years of Charlotte history. I know for a fact, that that sense of history helps to sell the product. Ive been known to attach a photo of the building that the item was salvaged from on the price tag. Our customers, people, like us, also like to connect with a collective past – even if it was someone else’s home. Text and photos by Guest Contributor Brenda Mathews (Posted by Cye) Brenda Matthews (Gardner) is the Midday Personality on K104.7 (CBS Radio) in Charlotte. Shes a history buff, and she and her husband Ken, whos a carpenter and home builder, have a small repurposing/painting business called OliveYouMore here on Facebook. They re-purpose salvaged architectural pieces and create new memories with pieces of history!
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 10:30:00 +0000
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