These Walls: Palmer Fire School nearly had a date with the wrecking ball

These Walls takes a close look at the history behind Charlotte-area buildings.

Palmer Fire School was almost extinguished.

Mecklenburg County had condemned the historic building and was ready to demolish it.

That’s when Dan Morrill, director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, stepped in with a proposal.

“I said, ‘Let’s see if we can come up with a preservation solution,’” he said. “We definitely didn’t want to see it torn down.”

The structure, off East Seventh Street on the edge of the Elizabeth neighborhood, was built because of William Hendrix Palmer, Charlotte Fire Department’s chief from 1927 to 1948. During his career with the city, Palmer was into cutting-edge firefighting techniques, and, according to the landmarks commission, he even helped design the first enclosed fire truck in the U.S.

As the Charlotte Fire Department continued to grow and modernize, Palmer wanted a bigger and better training facility. In 1930, he submitted a request to the city for a new school and practice tower.

After eight years of red tape and funding setbacks, the city’s public works department finally approved the project. The city’s engineering department designed the 10,000-square-foot facility. The Works Progress Administration — the federal government’s Depression-era public works program — funded the $54,000 construction project.

During construction, which started in 1938, the city’s firefighters trucked over stone and other building materials from a nearby incinerator and an old abandoned tannery. They also landscaped the 5-acre site.

When Palmer Fire School and its accompanying six-story brick practice tower opened in 1940, the facility was considered one of the best of its kind in the country.

In addition to firefighting training, the school was also used as a clubhouse and entertainment venue and was a popular place for square dances, barbecues and civic events.

But in 1976, the fire department’s training division relocated to a newly constructed facility and the Palmer Fire School was abandoned. After that, it served various purposes, such as an outdoor adventure and team-building facility.

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts said she scaled the six-story tower as part of a team-building exercise shortly after she was hired by First Union Corp. in 1993.

“We spent the whole day out there doing various outdoor challenges,” she said. “It was a blast.”

But the building fell into disrepair, and the county recommended it for demolition.

Morrill convinced the county to convey the Palmer Fire School building and the tower to the landmarks commission. The commission then requested proposals from developers to buy the property and rehab the buildings.

Bryan Barwick, founder of Charlotte-based Barwick & Associates, a commercial real estate and investment firm, had the winning proposal. He said he bought the property in 2003 and, using historic tax credits, spent about $1 million repairing and renovating the space.

“We stripped it down to a cold, dark shell,” he said.

He then added a new roof, hardwood floors, HVAC system and plumbing.

“It was a fantastic project,” he said. “The building is such a unique space and has such a great history.”

The building is still reminiscent of how it looked in the 1940s, with a rough-stone exterior, dramatic, double-door main entrance and a crenellated parapet at the roofline, all of which make the building look a little like a medieval castle.

After the renovation was complete in 2004, Barwick sold the building to the Charlotte Firefighter’s Association, which continues to use it for administrative headquarters.

Barwick later built two medical office condo buildings next to the Palmer Fire School building, between which the fire tower still stands. The entire three-building complex is known as Assembly Tower Center.

Boykin can be reached at [email protected].