In July 1905 a group of Charlotte area businessmen including W. H. Belk, C. N. Evans, O. P. Heath, Julian ~. Little and C. M. Patterson together started the companies Charlotte'trust Company and the Charlotte Realty Company. In November 1907 the site was purchased for $92,000. The owners of the site held a major design competition to design the new building, which drew attention from architects across the country. In May 1907 Frank Pierce Milburn was selected. Also, in May 1908 the architect, Frank Pierce Milburn stated the "new 12-story and basement steel-frame skyscraper" was underway in Charlotte, which would be first building of this type and the most expensive office building in the State." To the people of the city, it symbolized the vibrance of the commercial and industrial sectors for Charlotte. The building had fallen into a state of disrepair. However, it was structurally sound since it was built so well. Unfortunately, it would have probably cost too much to make the space rentable. The land the building sat on was fair more valuable than the building itself. In a February 1981 Charlotte Observer article it was revealed the reason the city was considering demolishing the building was it would have been unlikely that anyone would spend the money to make it rentable again and future developers would probably not want to develop a building on the open land nearby if the building still existed. In March 1981 Charlotte city council vote to demolish the building. Then in September 1981 the building was imploded after developer Henry Faison purchased it. The building
One Independence Center was built on its site and it in opened in 1983. ==See also==