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Sears Roebuck
Company. UTM: 17
514258E 3898018N Sears
Roebuck and Company opened a new retail center in Uptown Charlotte on
May 5, 1949. Unlike other Uptown retailers, such as Belks, Iveys, and
Efirds, Sears brought an essentially suburban model of retailing to the
urban core. The company's advertisement stated that there would be
"Free Parking for 600 cars." Stylistically, the building is
Modernistic in feel and tone with brick, concrete, and glass being the
dominant building materials. A major factor in persuading Sears
Roebuck and Company to relocate from a street level store on S. Tryon
St. was the increasing mass dependence upon the automobile that
occurred during the years immediately following World War Two.
Consequently, the Sears Roebuck Building marks a major turning point in
the evolution of the built environment of Center City Charlotte. |
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