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[ Ratcliffe Flower Building ]
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[ Ratcliffe Flower Building ]
This magnificent commercial arcade, designed by architect William H.
Peeps, opened in January, 1915 as the home of the Charlotte Consolidated
Construction Company, locally known as the Four C's. The owner was
Edward Dilworth Latta.
Latta, a South Carolinian, had come to Charlotte in 1876 to open a men's
clothing store with his brother. Later he went into the men's trouser
manufacturing business. His greatest fame came in 1890, when he and
several other local entrepreneurs established the Four C's.
The
Charlotte Consolidated Construction Company bought the local horse-drawn
streetcar system and electrified it. Trolley service began on May 20,
1891, and initially linked Charlotte with Dilworth, the streetcar suburb
that the Four C's was constructing
Latta Arcade
just to the south of
the city.
In 1910, Latta sold the streetcar system to James B. Duke's Southern Power Company and decided to concentrate his energies exclusively upon real estate development. Latta built the Latta Arcade on South Tryon Street in hopes that it would stimulate development in the area. Close your eyes and imagine the cigar-smoking Latta descending the stairs from his second floor office. He was a hard-nosed businessman. Listen to him speak.
"I realize we have attained that juncture when we must decide whether we
will adopt the sluggish inactivity of the provincial town or aspire with
zealous hope to become one of the independent cities of the New South."
Those words speak volumes about what Charlotte has been about for over a century. Watch Charlotte Grow! The Latta Arcade ranks among the most significant early twentieth-century office buildings erected in Charlotte. Although the main facade has been substantially remodeled, the remarkable interior arcade survives largely intact, with parallel rows of shop fronts and office suites beneath the skylit roof.
The design continues to reflect its original purpose, which was to accommodate a variety of small businesses as well as provide natural light for the grading of cotton, all within an architecturally sophisticated space.
Return to the Tryon Street entrance to the Latta Arcade, turn right on Tryon Street and walk to the intersection of Tryon Street and Second Street. Cross Tryon Street and turn right again and proceed to the former Ratcliffe Flower Building, which is in the middle of the block, at 431 South Tryon Street.
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