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Oscar J. Thies hired architect Louis Asbury, Sr. to design this
building, which was completed in 1922 and which housed several
automotive dealerships during the flamboyant twenties. The big front
windows were show windows for the newest models of automobiles. Shut
your eyes and maybe you can imagine a 1923 Chevrolet or a 1925
Oldsmobile glistening in the window.
Oscar J. Thies was a shrewd
businessman. Although he followed in his father's footsteps of being
educated as a mining engineer, Oscar made his mark as a real estate
developer. The Thies-Smith Realty Company, which he organized in 1912,
constructed many homes in Charlotte's outlying suburbs, including
Dilworth, Elizabeth, and Myers Park, as well as along Morehead Street,
Selwyn Avenue, and Sharon Road. He also invested in commercial real
estate projects like the Oscar J. Thies Automobile Building.
It's not difficult to imagine how Oscar felt about owning an automobile sales and service center. The automobile was becoming a status symbol for the middle class by the mid-1920's. No longer totally dependent upon public transportation, average folks could now aspire to follow the affluent to the suburbs, where green grass, cool air, and song birds beckoned and where Oscar J. Thies had plenty of fine homes for sale.
The "walking scale" city that Fourth Ward residents Earnest Berryhill and John Sheppard had known was torn apart by the automobile. In the 1800's, poor folks lived on the edge of town, and the wealthy resided closer in. Now the situation was reversed. The rich and the comfortable headed for the suburbs, and the less privileged were left behind. That process is still going on. If you don't believe this, watch what happens to Uptown Charlotte in the late afternoon. It's a mass exodus of suburbanites. And if you want to see just how fundamental the automobile remains, go to the top of one of Charlotte's skyscrapers and see how much space is devoted to automobile parking lots. They're just about everywhere.
Walk south along Tryon Street by crossing Eighth Street. When you come to Seventh Street, turn left and proceed one block to the intersection of North College Street and East Seventh Street. Look at the brick church on the northeast quadrant of the intersection.
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