106 E. MAIN ST.

09.24.19 (G. Kueber)

1948

(Below from Carrboro Commercial District NR Nomination, 1984)

This trio of one-story brick buildings is typical of modest 1920s commercial buildings. The tallest, center, building is Carrboro's first brick commercial building and the only one of these three structures constructed prior to the 1924 fire. The example it set by surviving the fire may have prompted the town's businessmen to use the less combustible brick when they rebuilt. Its first and long-time occupant was R.H. Marks' dry goods store. The westernmost building is fondly remembered by long-time Carrboro residents as the site for many years of J.C. "Bulleye" Merritt's soda shop and hot dog stand. Merritt had this building constructed immediately after his small, one-story frame building in which he had established his business in the 1910s burned. In later years Lloyd Senter operated a drug store here. After occupying this building for several years, North Carolina National Bank in 1980 expanded its local branch office into the middle building and united both units in a creative renovation that preserves the architectural integrity of both facades. These two buildings, which share the address 106-B East Main Street, feature recessed corbelled brick panels. The taller, center building ·is further decorated with corbelling at the eave and brick quoins. In contrast to the other two buildings, 106-A East Main Street is unusual for its diminutive scale. Presently housing a jewelry store, this smallest, easternmost, unit was constructed as Carrboro's post office in 1924. A replacement metal trimmed plate glass window flanks the replacement main entrance. All three of these buildings are unified by the brick being painted a cream color.