TAKE YOUR PICK!

              ….THE JOHN PRICE CARR HOUSE

                            ….THE WILLIAM ROBERT LEE, SR. HOUSE

                                               OR

                                            ….THE CARR/LEE HOUSE

 

200 N. McDowell Street 

Charlotte, NC 28204 

 

THE

….HOUSE

              ….HISTORY

                             ….HAPPENINGS

                                                                                                                        by         

                                                                                                                Vernon M. Herron

 

 

 

The House

 

This house story is about three principals, John Price Carr the builder, William Robert Lee, Sr., the purchaser and his son William Robert Lee, Jr. the beneficiary, who was our 1947 classmate and a trumpet player.

 

The History

 

In 1904, John Price Carr erected a fashionable Queen Anne Style house at 200 N. McDowell Street as his home. It is located across the street from Charlotte’s main post office, near the Government Plaza with high visibility. It is certainly the most significant Victorian structure in the entire First Ward. According to Dan L. Morrill, Director Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, it was the most fashionable style of domestic architecture in Charlotte during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. It was widely used in the growing residential neighborhoods of First Ward, Fourth Ward and along affluent blocks of Tryon and Trade Streets. “…The Carr House is a fine example of this heritage.” Today, it is in the National Register of Historic places because of its local historic significance.

 

Dan further revealed that Mr. Carr personally supervised the construction of this house, using aesthetic qualities of wood, designed into a uniquely American architecture, characterized by irregular outlines, frame construction, steep pitched roofs, open interior spaces, verandas and porches. The house rested on a solid red brick foundation wall interrupted at regular intervals by glazed wood frame foundation vents.

 

 

Some Historic Dates

 

1878   John Price Carr married Anna Eliza Little.

1904   John Price Carr built his Queen Ann Style home at 200 N. McDowell Street.

1927   John Price Carr died.

1951   Mrs. Carr sold the house to an African American Family, Mr. and Mrs. William

           Robert Lee, Sr. (Annie Moore Lee)

1951-1975 -the Carr’s House became the Lee’s House. (A factor little noticed by the

                  local press). In later years, they rented the house to male boarders.

1975   The city of Charlotte purchased the house under the auspices of The

            Community Development Department and Urban Renewal, then restored

            to its original grandeur.

1981    The house was converted into an office use and remains the same unto this day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Happenings

 

During the 50’s the Lee’s Home was a well-known and a part of the middle-class black community. I attended two noted social activities there which I shall never forget. One was when William Robert Lee, Jr. took Irene Sylver to be his bride in a lovely garden wedding at the estate in 1952.  Bob Lee. Jr., Irene  and I were school mates at Shaw University at Raleigh. To me, this “garden wedding” was uniquely dubbed “the wedding of the century.”

 

The second activity was the best social party I ever attended in my life, which was in the Lee’s home. It was during the Christmas school recess, when friends including Lloyd Sigler, Ada Ruth Brown, Vermelle Diamond, Queen Ester Thompson and others, gathered at the mansion for a “blowout” of chatter, fun and refreshments. The chatter consisted of contrasting the Carrs with Lees:

 

Mr. Carr was a Caucasian business man of substance and character.

Mr. Lee was an African American man with skill and character.

 

Mr. Carr was a successful business man.

Mr. Lee was a chef at S&W Cafeteria

 

Mr. Carr was a deacon at Second Presbyterian/Covenant Church where he was a leader in the Sunday school.

Mr. Lee was a deacon in the Ebenezer Baptist Church where he was the Assistant Superintendent of the Sunday school. Mrs. Lee and son, Jr. played in the church’s orchestra.

 

Mr. Carr gave Presbyterian Hospital $40,000.00 which prevented a foreclosure.

Mrs. Annie Moore Lee served as a pastry cook at Presbyterian Hospital to nourish its continued life. She was a saxophone player.

 

Mr. Carr died in 1927.

Mr. Lee died in 1981

 

 

The fun part was based on the fact that we had “all things in common.”

 

The refreshments made this the best party I have ever attended in my life! Can you guess what the menu was? Pop-Corn and coke! That’s all. It was the company and the setting which made the day. We enjoyed the Lee’s home.

 

The real issue is- how can the story be told of the Carr-Lee House and ignore the 24 years of the Lee’s ownership?