101-103 E. FRANKLIN ST. / BROCKWELL BUILDING

101-103 E. FRANKLIN ST. / BROCKWELL BUILDING

101-103
,
Chapel Hill
NC
Cross street: 
Built in
1902
Construction type: 
Local Historic District: 
Type: 

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Last updated

  • Sat, 02/27/2021 - 6:06pm by SteveR

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101-103
,
Chapel Hill
NC
Cross street: 
Built in
1902
Construction type: 
Local Historic District: 
Type: 

 

The Brockwell Building was built by/for Samuel J. Brockwell in 1902.
 
Samuel Weldon Andrews was the first tenant and occupied both storefronts on the ground floor, where he sold groceries and dry goods; he closed his shops when elected sheriff in 1904. Brockwell then turned the first floor into a skating rink.
 
View northeast, circa 1904
 
1911 Sanborn map excerpt
 
Circa 1912, Brockwell moved his Pickwick Theatre into the right section of the downstairs of this structure. He moved the theater again in 1916, to a newer building across Franklin Street; the space was replaced with a store.
 
1915 Sanborn map excerpt
 
1925 Sanborn map excerpt
 
 
The structure started out as a two-story building but a third floor was added at some point (prior to 1911), to be later removed at some point (in the 1930s most likely) when the building was found to be unstable.
 
View northeast, circa 1932
 
Circa 1947 (photo by Bayard Wootten, via UNC)
 
Pender Groceries operated in this space until 1948.
 
From 1948 to 1977 the downstairs left side of the building was the home of the popular Sloan Drugs, owned and operated by William Sloan. It was replaced by Spanky's restaurant. Spanky's closed March 31, 2018.
 
It is currently (2020) Lula's Restaurant.
 
View northeast, 1963 (via Chapel Hill Historical Society)
 
From 1923 to 1959, Charles Shields operated his Home Owned Grocery Store in the downstairs right side of the building (#103). Afterwards it became The Hub, a clothing store operated by Robert Rosenbacher; it closed in 1996, to be replaced by a Starbucks coffee shop.
 
Circa 1958
 
Interior of The Hub, 1962
 
1972
 
Circa 1980 (via Chapel Hill Historical Society)
 
Circa 1978 (via Chapel Hill Historical Society)
 
Circa 1978 (via Chapel Hill Historical Society)
 
View Google streeview, August 2019

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