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It was 1985. Ruth Ava Lyons and Paul Sires were looking, searching for a work space. They had each completed a prestigious residency in Omaha that year and were producing work at prolific rates. Sires worked at Spirit Square, so the duo narrowed their Charlotte real estate options to two or three locations. They needed lots of space on a miniscule budget. All the buildings on their short list were rather derelict, but Sires describes their final choice—the Lowder Building—as a “flagship of disaster.” The leaky roof dictated their use of the space. As soon as they’d get a section dry, they’d move Paul’s studio to expand display space and create studio space for other artists. This is how the now renowned Center of the Earth Gallery began, not as an art gallery at all, but as a vision of community that two people had.
Lyons and Sires received Masters Degrees at Cranbrook Academy of Art and had spent time at various European arts academies. Based on these experiences, they dreamed of creating an arts community in Charlotte.
In the virtually abandoned main street of North Charlotte, North Davidson Street (in the area now known as NoDa), Lyons and Sires saw the makings of a quaint streetscape and arts haven. At the time, of the existing buildings along North Davidson only about one third were occupied; the rest were boarded and decaying. Sires remembers a machine shop across the street and a bar called Pat’s Time for One More. Mr. McCullough had a car repair business, which he still runs today, and there were several storefront, revival-type churches. On the corner was a notoriously rowdy bar, the Men’s Universal Social Club, and a print shop was run by David Maloney. Basically, there was very little bona fide business activity. Residents ranged from retired mill workers who grew up in the area, to eclectic homeowners who enjoyed the obscurity and pricing, to a mix of renters. Sires remembers lots of artists, circus folk, and night industry workers. Lyons and Sires set up shop and hired local kids to help them with rehab tasks, section by section, and began actively recruiting other artists to take interest in the area.
“We were trying to create a bubble of our own reality,” is how Lyons explains it. Gradually a few other working studios and theaters opened in the neighborhood. Lyons and Sires remember their early days in NoDa fondly, telling stories of wacky shows, far out art pieces and a general atmosphere of creativity and spontaneity. They also recall putting boards back over the windows as they renovated a section of the building, to retain a façade that nothing was going on inside.
“Let’s just say you wouldn’t park your truck and leave the tools inside it,” summarizes Sires. But he’s proud of the area’s history and doesn’t want it all dismissed in the race to develop. “A lot of people you’ve heard of in the history books made their money in this neighborhood, in the textile business.” He recites legends about the North Davidson area being the birthplace of child labor laws, and stories of mill security armed with Tommy Guns.
By 1991, several arts organizations were operating in NoDa, including the Innovative Theatre, and Lyons and Sires found themselves just as involved in community activism as in their art. The two artists never intended to run an exhibition space. The gallery, the actual business, spawned from the desire to revitalize NoDa.
“We knew it would help bring people out, since we were known as artists. We were actively recruiting businesses to take an interest in the area and trying to work as a neighborhood to encourage the buying of real estate. At first, lots of people wouldn’t come here for a show, some still won’t, and we couldn’t get a Realtor to even drive through.”
But artists, architecture students, restaurant workers, musicians, and so on, became very attracted to the area. People who couldn’t afford other neighborhoods could purchase a home in the North Davidson area, and they liked the mix it had to offer. Paul McBroom of Neighborhood Realty saw the opportunity and became a champion of NoDa real estate. Lyons describes how McBroom went systematically through the neighborhood and bought the most disgusting houses, which had often been sitting empty.
“He would complete the least expensive rehab to get the property into living shape. So he’d buy a house for $20,000 and be able to sell it for $40,000. He was very helpful in raising property values. When houses started going for 80-100K people really started to take notice. It was a big deal for around here.”
Thanks to these efforts, a good core group of residents was beginning to solidify, and Fat City opened, which Lyons and Sires agree was a big step forward for the neighborhood. By that point, the gallery had officially become a business thanks to their first customer, whom Lyons remembers clearly. He wanted to purchase a carved wall piece by Herb Jackson titled “Harpie on the Rooftop.”
Sires laughs at this first transaction. “The guy said I want to buy this. How much? I had no idea. He offered $600, which was a considerable amount then for that kind of thing. Then he wanted to know who to make the check out to. We had to start facing questions of how the business piece was going to work.”
If you go to NoDa today, you won’t see the landscape Lyons and Sires have described. Now there are new condominium developments, and most of the houses in the neighborhood have been renovated, if not completely rebuilt. There are several live music venues, a handful of bars and restaurants, and a scattering of art galleries and shops. Home prices are no longer at a point that is attractive to your typical grunger, artist, or entrepreneur. I ask Lyons and Sires for their take on progress. They definitely have mixed feelings. On one hand, change is inevitable and good.
“It’s easy if you live in a nice suburb to criticize a working class urban neighborhood of gentrification,” Paul says. “You don’t have to live with the frustration of how much trouble, filth, and nagging problems can come from just one house.” As positives, they see the success of their gallery (Center of the Earth), Hart Witzen, Big Frog Studio, and also the fact that so many NoDa businesses are arts-friendly. Eateries and shops often mix their use of space with arts events. They also enjoy the popularity NoDa has gained as an arts district, and that it is seen as a viable neighborhood for investment and growth.
However, they are concerned about development being a double-edged sword. It infuriates Sires when developers buy and hold buildings, letting them sit as health hazards as they wait to maximize profit. They would also encourage developers to create structures that are interesting and different in design rather than pre-fabricated and uniform. And, of course, they regret that the very artists whose work helped forge-and continues to enrich-the arts district, increasingly can’t afford to live there.
“In Charlotte’s culture, where we tend to forge ahead into the future, if we aren’t going to emphasize maintaining the past, then what becomes essential is the people. Artists need to see that there is a place for them. At the same time, that is the history of the artist—to struggle and toil, live somewhat marginalized, and still get their work out there.” Sires points out the growing community of eclectic residents along 16th Street as evidence of this ever-evolving cycle.
In 2007, Center of the Earth Gallery will celebrate its eighteenth year as a dynamic venue. The gallery itself and both Lyons and Sires, its founding artists, have been the recipients of numerous honors, including a Governor’s Award for Businesses in the Arts, for its impact on the City of Charlotte. Ruth Ava Lyons and Paul Sires are pioneers of the NoDa we know today. Could there be two better people to ask about the state of the arts in Charlotte?
In the opinion of Lyons and Sires, this whole thing about the arts endowment and money for the arts in Charlotte is a question of how the money is spent. Uptown is a victim of its own success, in that it has a long track record of building beautiful arts facilities, but is inconsistent in maintaining what is actually going on in that facility. Uptown planning has emphasized location instead of concept. High amounts of money go to maintaining facilities that produce a proportionally small arts offering to the public, and an even smaller generation of income. For example, Lyons and Sires were proponents of the city purchasing a huge warehouse space outside of Uptown which could house artists, offer studio space and provide an arts and performance venue for the public--as opposed to something like the McColl Center, which has a more streamlined purpose and very high real estate costs. A lot of Charlotte’s major arts organizations are organized similar to the corporate structures of companies which heavily support them. This results in high administrative costs, and leaves little to filter down to actual grassroots arts organizations or the artists themselves. Sires stresses that he believes strongly in fiscal responsibility--he has been critical of the lack thereof in some arts organizations--but believes Charlotte’s large pot of arts-dedicated funds could be better distributed. Lyons fears that the poor distribution of funds ends with successful artists feeling that they have to move to another city to support themselves.
And now the pros. Sires believes Charlotte has an incredibly vibrant arts scene for a city of its size. Both are grateful that Charlotte’s city planners do seem to understand that art is vital to building a world-class city. Lyons is encouraged by the number of people coming to NoDa to experience art and by art spilling out into the neighborhood, especially when drummers and painters practice their craft on the street and are enjoyed by visitors.
What remains to be done? Lyons and Sires would like to see the city take seriously the notion of preserving places for artists to live. They feel artists are always going to move to the fringes, to affordable areas somewhat off the grid. But if they get pushed too far, they might seek a different city all together. They cite a project that Hollis Nixon (President of the NoDa Neighborhood Association) is working on which would establish art space with controlled rent for working artists. They also would love to see more cooperation between the various arts organizations in Charlotte, instead of a climate of competition for the same dollars. Finally, Lyons urges the Charlotte community to actually participate in art. Come to shows, try something new and support local arts organizations directly with your time and money.
~ Celina Mincey
Center of the Earth Gallery, 3204 North Davidson St. | www.centeroftheearth.com | 704-375-5756.
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