 Home > Context > Property Types > Industrial and Commercial Architecture > Description > Industrial Buildings Description (2.4.1)Industrial Buildings (2.4.1.1)The only industrial structure remaining in Elizabeth City from prior to the arrival of the railroad in 1881 is the George W. Bell Gun Shop (104 South Road Street, ca. 1859). The appearance of the small two-story, brick structure is more in line with adjacent commercial structures than industrial buildings of its period. It has a subtle Greek Revival raked cornice and a robust Italianate wooden cornice, the latter probably added to complement the recently remodeled Cluff-Pool Store adjacent to the east at 100 South Road Street. Unfortunately, little of the city's once substantial industrial waterfront remains, demolished as dependency on water traffic decreased. Most surviving buildings are north of Poindexter Creek, an important artery for industrial traffic that formed the northern boundary of the antebellum city. The waning importance of waterfront locations, along with the increasing reliance on automobile and truck traffic, was underscored in the early 1920s when Poindexter Creek was covered over and made into Elizabeth Street. The machine shop of the Elizabeth City Shipyard (722 Riverside Avenue, ca. 1920) is the only surviving building associated with the shipbuilding and repairing industries that were located along the Pasquotank River. The immense utilitarian metal building is sheltered beneath a broad gable roof with central monitor. Broad bands of metal-frame windows punctuate the corrugated metal sides to provide additional light to the interior. The city's other industrial buildings are located along the railroad, mostly on the main track. The most impressive of these is the Elizabeth City Cotton Mill (300 block North Hughes Boulevard, 1895). The large one-story brick structure's reserved Italianate character is provided by a two-story office tower and repetitive (and now infilled) segmentally arched windows. The two-story brick building of the Pasquotank Hosiery Company (108 East Ward Street, 1914) is distinguished by stepped parapets at the gable ends and brick pilasters that define the bays.
Among the remaining industrial structures along the riverfront in the 500 and 600 blocks of North Water Street are several large brick warehouses. The oldest structure was built in the mid 1890s by the Crystal Ice Company and expanded before 1902. Adjacent buildings erected before 1914 include those of the W. J. Woodley Wholesale Grocery Company and the Globe Fish Company. Each of these buildings has as its chief architectural interest several rows of modest corbeled brickwork at the roofline. Nearby is the North Carolina/Elizabeth City Iron Works (407 North Water Street, ca. 1896), a metal foundry whose main building is covered by a large gable roof topped by a monitor for light and ventilation. The Elizabeth City Millng Company Building (404 South Water Street, 1923-1931) was originally built as a cotton gin and grist mill. It is a simply finished two-story brick structure. The most ornamented of the riverfront industrial structures is the Little Building (231 North Water Street, ca. 1917), which was first occupied by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company. The two-story four-bay structure features a double storefront and recessed panels incorporating the second-story windows; a stepped parapet has been removed. Only one building survives to illustrate the importance of the railroad in Elizabeth City's growth and elopment. The Norfolk Southern Passenger Station (109 South Hughes Boulevard, ca. 1910), an impressively large one-story brick structure, is sheltered by a broad hip roof covered by metal pseudo-clay tiles. The station is circled by broad overhanging eaves supported by large triangular brackets. Further interest is provided by the contrast between the red brick walls and the tan brick quoins and lintels. Inside, the original waiting rooms, ticket offices, and baggage areas remain unaltered.
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