Blandville House, 301 Dunbar Street

The modest ca. 1917, one-story frame house located at 301 Dunbar Street in Charlotte's Third Ward is among the few surviving examples of the approximately one hundred African American homes that once clustered around Dunbar Street between South Church Street and Cedar Street.  Much of the former neighborhood has been displaced by the John Belk Freeway.

The house at 301 Dunbar is typical of the four room, square-plan.  This massed plan is not exclusive to the African American community, but along with the now rare shotgun plan, the square-plan houses constituted the majority of the homes in Charlotte's historic African American  This plan could accommodate different  roof types and porch configurations. 

Unlike some examples of the square-plan in the Cherry and Biddleville neighborhoods, which incorporate elements of the Craftsman Style,  the house at 310 Dunbar is simple and unadorned.  The house faces north and sits close to the street on a small lot that slopes up toward the rear.  Typical for the square-plan, the front gabled house is three bays wide and two rooms deep.  The house was constructed on brick piers which have been infilled and covered with stucco.  The off-center entrance may contain the original six-light panel door.  The door is set between a single six-over-six double-hung window to the east, and paired double-hungs to the west.  The house appears to have retained its original siding.  A four-section wooden vent is centered in the front gable.  A single internal brick flue pierces the roof near the ridge.  A low-pitch hipped porch is supported by replacement metal post resting on a replacement masonry porch.  Side fenestration is limited to six-over-six windows.  A shed-roof addition is attached to the rear elvation.