 |
| 1874 Houston-Redfern House 506 South Church Street |
 |
| 1912 J.H. Lee House 501 South Church Street |
 |
| 1903 Dr. J.M. Belk 401 South Hayne Street |
 |
| 1901 Dr. George B. Nance House 303 East Houston St. |
 |
| 1900 Thomas J. Shannon House 406 West Franklin St. |
 |
| 1898 Gaston Meares House 110 S. College |
 |
| 1870 R.V. Houston House 201 Lancaster Ave. |
 |
| 1926 M.G. Sheppard 323 E. Houston Street |
1987 Nomination to the National Register of Historic Places
The Monroe Residential Historic District consists of an irregularly configured area of approximately 181 acres extending to the east, south and west of the city's central business district. Within the district are a variety of street patterns, influenced by the original incorporation limits, later territorial additions to the city, and the location of major roads leading out of the city. Most of the residential area of Monroe developed between 1870 and 1940 is contained within its boundaries.
These residences, varying in size from small cottages to large and imposing dwellings, include representative examples of the Italianate, Second Empire, Victorian Eclectic, Queen Anne, Tudor, Spanish Mission, Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles, and particularly, various manifestations of the Classical Revival. While wood is the dominant building material in the district, with few solid masonry buildings, there is a heavy sprinkling of brick veneer houses—mainly bungalows and Colonial Revival or Craftsman-influenced houses—dating from the 1920s and 1930s. In addition to residential uses, there are two churches in the district, one contributing and one non-contributing, a senior citizens center, a number of houses converted to commercial uses, and the three earliest sections of the Monroe Cemetery. There are
381 contributing and 90 non-contributing resources in the district.
While many of the buildings have received some alteration, individually, and as a group, they retain an integrity of design, setting, materials, workmanship and feeling. The district encompasses a portion of the grid-patterned original 75-acre town tract and sections of the city, also laid off in a grid pattern, as additions to the original area. This rectilinear grid is broken by areas whose layout was dictated by the angled route of roads to Lancaster, South Carolina (Lancaster Avenue) in the southwestern quadrant and Wadesboro, North Carolina (East Franklin Street and US 74) in the northeastern quadrant.
Like the rest of the city, the residential historic district is set on gently-rolling hills typical of Piedmont geography, with the grid system superimposed without apparent concern for topography. Although the earliest system of land division created uniform blocks and lots, almost from the beginning these were subdivided in a random manner and lot sizes vary considerably. Setbacks and distances between the houses vary widely, as does the size of individual houses. Larger houses on larger lots are generally set back farther from the street, regardless of age, but most houses in the district are set on the front half of their lot, creating a substantially uniform appearance. Most areas of the district, particularly the major streets, are lined with mature trees, providing a further unifying element. There are no planned open spaces within the district, other than the Monroe cemetery, landscaped grounds around major houses, and parking lots.
Bands of twentieth century construction, parking lots, major thoroughfares and areas of the downtown affected by urban renewal separate the central business district (a portion of which is being nominated to the National Register as the Monroe Downtown Historic District) from the residential district. The latter is overwhelmingly residential in character, with the majority of the buildings having been erected as single family dwelling units. A number of houses have been divided into two or more units, and there are some small apartment buildings, mostly constructed within the last twenty years, scattered throughout the district.
The majority of the houses remain in single family use, although some have been subdivided into rooming houses or apartments. Most of the district's buildings are in fair to good condition. Although a number have been altered, many of the alterations were carried out early in this century, while other alterations have left intact the basic form and character of the building and are reversible. Many of the residences have been maintained continuously, and there is a substantial amount of rehabilitation occurring in the area.
Most outbuildings within the district are garages, generally small, and of frame or brick construction contemporary with the main house. A few early residences, such as the Houston-Redfearn House retain complexes of outbuildings, including barns and well houses. Several large garages have been converted to apartments or offices, including those of the Belk House and the M.G. Sheppard House on E. Houston St.
Although the town was founded in 1844, there are no houses in the historic district which survive in recognizable form from this period. MORE...
Images courtesy The Heritage Room, Monroe, NC.
