Plaza-Midwood Neighborhood Association records

Collection

Identifier: MS0092

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Records of a homeowners association established in 1975 to revitalize Plaza-Midwood, one of Charlotte's early streetcar suburbs. Includes subject files, minutes, financial materials, clippings, and photographs relating to the association's activities and information on the history of the neighborhood from 1914 to 1949.

Dates

1914 - 1991
1975 - 1991

Creator

Plaza-Midwood Neighborhood Association (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Biographical / Historical

The Plaza-Midwood Neighborhood Association (PMNA) was organized in August, 1975, by residents of the Plaza-Midwood neighborhood in Charlotte. Bylaws were adopted in February, 1976. Plaza-Midwood is an inner city neighborhood with major thoroughfares forming three of its boundaries: Hawthorne Lane on the west, Central Avenue on the south, and the commercial portion of The Plaza and Parkwood Avenue on the north. Briar Creek and the Charlotte Country Club form the eastern boundary. The focus of the neighborhood is The Plaza from Central Avenue to its intersection with Parkwood Avenue. Plaza-Midwood is characterized primarily by modest-sized homes on small lots, allowing a high-density single-family concentration. Developed in the early 1920s as a streetcar suburb, "Chatham Estates," Plaza-Midwood's development coincided with that of Myers Park. Two prominant neighborhood families provided the impetus for the initial development of the neighborhood: the Van Landinghams (2010 The Plaza) and the Victors (1800 The Plaza). Plaza-Midwood's trolley line ran along Central Avenue to The Plaza and down Mecklenburg Avenue to the Mecklenburg Country Club (now the Charlotte Country Club). The Oakland Land Company laid out much of the street design. During the Depression, Plaza-Midwood underwent many phases, resulting in a diverse architectural heritage. The urban flight of the 1950s and 1960s left parts of the neighborhood on the brink of decline. By the mid-1970s Plaza-Midwood residents began to group together to preserve their neighborhood.