John McDonald
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February 2, 1990
John and Eunice McDonald, at the new McDonald Cafeteria location off Beatties Ford Road, as they announce plans for a major expansion of the restaurant to include a hotel complex.
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African American Album 2 - Heritage - Beatties Ford Road
Project Catalyst
- On the initiative of JCSU President Robert Albright, Project Catalyst was founded in late 1985 in order to form a strategy to revitalize Beatties Ford Road and the Northwest Corridor. The West Charlotte Business Incubator and the Northwest Corridor Community Development Corporation (NWCCDC) were two outgrowths of Project Catalyst in the early 1990s.
Tena's House of Charm
- On March 1, 1961, Tena Doby opened her beauty salon on Beatties Ford Rd. She stands here (on the right) with her mother, Bessie B. Franks, and sister, Jessie Lee Irby.
- Tena's House of Charm was part of the Johnson C. Smith parade in the 1960s. Here Tena rides on the back of a convertible with Mildred Applin, Jessie Irby, Sarah Stevenson, Julia Asbury, and Imogene Jordan.
Tena's House of Charm
- On March 1, 1961, Tena Doby opened her beauty salon on Beatties Ford Rd. She stands here (on the right) with her mother, Bessie B. Franks, and sister, Jessie Lee Irby.
- Tena's House of Charm was part of the Johnson C. Smith parade in the 1960s. Here Tena rides on the back of a convertible with Mildred Applin, Jessie Irby, Sarah Stevenson, Julia Asbury, and Imogene Jordan.
McDonald's Cafeteria
February 3, 1982
Customers wait to be served at the original location of McDonald's Cafeteria on the corner of Beatties Ford and LaSalle St.
November 1, 1989
John McDonald, Joe Poage, and Arthur Miller calculate they had cooked more than 72,000 meals.
March 13, 1997
West Charlotte High School
This collection of photographs shows student life in West Charlotte High School from its days as a segregated institution to the 1990s.
United House of Prayer for All People
October 1977
Built behind the sanctuary on Beatties Ford Road, the pool was used for group baptisms.
October 2, 1983
House of Prayer church members collect water after it was blessed by Bishop McCollough.
October 27, 1990
Billy Hoover is the drum major of the McCollough Brass Band.
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Excelsior Club
The Excelsior Club, a long-time center of black social and political activity, was started in 1944 by Jimmie McKee in a seven-room house on Beatties Ford Rd. Three renovations and 50 years later, the Excelsior Club still continues to operate on Beatties Ford Rd.
Johnson C. Smith University
- Martin Luther King, Jr.'s voice filled the gymnasium on the Smith campus. His address was the highlight of the university's 1967 centennial celebration.
- In 1967, Johnson C. Smith University celebrated its 100-year anniversary. At the Grand Reunion, Dr. Melva Costen greets Matthew Whitehead. Both are Smith graduates.
Neighborhoods
Many of Charlotte's African-American families have lived in the Beatties Ford Road area for decades. Some of the neighborhoods off Beatties Ford Road include: Biddleville, Five Points, Dalebrook, Lincoln Heights, McCrorey Heights, Oaklawn Park, Oaklawn Terrace, Seversville, Smallwood, Taylor Avenue, University Park, Washington Heights, Wesley Heights.
These photographs from a Biddleville family give the flavor of neighborhood life: