1530-A Main Street
2026 Palladium Tour | Life on Main Street
1530-A Main Street
After receiving its charter in 1892 with local businessman Edwin Wales Robertson as president, the Canal Dime Savings Bank commissioned architect Gadsden E. Shand to design a building unlike others seen on Main Street. Shand, then at the beginning of his career, purportedly modeled the facade after a bank in Cincinnati, Ohio. Construction began and was completed in 1893. According to The State, “the building is a great addition to the appearance of Main Street, and its imposing front is a standing testimonial to the merits of Columbia granite as a building stone.” Despite looking rustic, the building featured “all modern conveniences,” including electric call bells, annunciators, “fancy lamps, combination gas and electric light fixtures.”
Of equal public interest were the second and third floors, leased by the recently formed Cherokee Club. The club spent thousands of dollars to outfit its new rooms, which consisted of several rooms on the second floor divided by portières (curtains), “so arranged that all may be thrown into one, making the prettiest and coziest dance hall in the city.” Among these rooms were a front parlor and library. The third floor was reached, as it is today, via a grand staircase made of native pine. The front room was used for pool and billiards—but never cards or drinking, as both were prohibited by the organization. The Cherokee Club’s leadership included Captain John M. Bateman (president), J. L. Withers (vice president), and G.[ilbert] M.[ilo] Berry (secretary and treasurer). Berry, known as “Gilly,” was the son of undertaker and cabinetmaker Milo Berry. He served as cashier for the Canal Dime Savings Bank—perhaps the reason the club was able to secure the upper floors. Later, the bank’s president, Edwin Wales Robertson, served as president.
The Cherokee Club was absorbed in 1899 by the newly formed Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Club, again designed to bring businessmen together. In 1908, the Salvation Army rented at least the second floor; however, it is unclear whether the third floor was in use by them, or later owner Eckerd’s Drug Store, at all. When developer Ray Carter transformed the second and third floor into apartment rentals in 1995, the layout seen around this apartment's kitchen was implemented. Following the construction of 1520 Main, which included an addition to this apartment that bridged the two buildings, the apartments became condominiums, which remains the case today.
The current owners, Jerry and Heather Mitchell, purchased the condominium approximately four years ago after learning of the listing through a condo listserv and promptly submitting an offer the same day. Because the unit spans two historic buildings, it operates with two separate electrical accounts and two independent furnaces. Although currently configured as a two-bedroom, three-bathroom residence to maximize living space, the owners note that the north room could easily be converted into a third bedroom with an ensuite bath. Scarring visible on the floors of this room suggests that the space was once enclosed, possibly with swinging doors.
