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The Charlotte Trolley Car Barn and the other buildings
in what is now called Atherton Mill are actually
in the original industrial plant of the Parks-Cramer
Company.
The Parks-Cramer Co. was formed in 1918 when the
G. M. Parks Company of Fitchburg, Massachusetts
purchased Stuart Cramer's business interests.
Like D.A. Tompkins, Stuart Cramer was an important
local leader in the textile industry, and the
company manufactured air conditioning and humidifying
equipment for textile industry. In fact, Cramer
invented the term "air conditioning."
The three-building complex exemplifies the major
innovations in factory design which occurred nationally
between the turn of the century and World War
I. In contract to the dark, sooty, multi-story
factories of the 19th century, the generally low-scale
Parks-Cramer structures incorporated innovations
in engineering design and factory construction
that improved lighting and air circulation, facilitated
shipping and assembly-line production, and, ultimately,
maximized worker efficiency.
Today the complex includes the Car Barn, an athletic
club, two restaurants, and a number of interior
design and home furnishing stores.
Many thanks to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Historic Landmarks Commission for the historical
information included above.
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