Ratcliffe-Otterbourg House
(ca. 1926)
The office of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission was once the home of Charlotte’s most prominent florist.
2100 Randolph Rd, Charlotte, NC 28207
The Ratcliffe-Otterbourg House was the home of Louis G. Ratcliffe (1893-1961), Charlotte’s most prominent florist for more than fifty years. It is the only surviving bungalow style house on Randolph Road. A native of Henrico County, Virginia, Ratcliffe started his floral business in 1917, but entered the military the following year. After his World War I service in France (during which he was awarded the Purple Heart), he returned to Charlotte to resume his business. He also became an active participant in the city's business and civic life, including tenures as chairman of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party and the local Welfare Board, President of the Charlotte Chapter of the American Red Cross, a director of Home Federal Building and Loan, and a National Committeeman of the American Legion.
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Ratcliffe hired prominent Charlotte architect William Henry Peeps (1868-1950) to design his bungalow style home at the corner of Crescent Avenue (now Randolph Road) and Chase Street in the streetcar suburb of Crescent Heights. The house was constructed at an estimated cost of $6,000. Ratcliffe was so pleased with Peeps’ work that he also hired the London, England, native to design his new florist shop (c. 1929) on South Tryon Street, considered one of Charlotte’s best examples of the Mediterranean Revival Style of architecture.
Like his father, Peeps started as a furniture designer, and later worked extensively as an interior designer. He apprenticed in architecture before moved to Charlotte between 1905 and 1910. In Charlotte, he became a leading player in the city’s development into a regional hub of business and architectural activity, including service as president of the North Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architects. In 1915, Peeps became one of the first men certified by the State of North Carolina to practice architecture professionally. His other notable works in Charlotte include Latta Arcade, the Hovis Funeral Home building, two skyscrapers (the Johnston Building and the First National Bank Building), and several fashionable residences in and around Charlotte including the Lethco House on the Queens University campus, the G. G. Galloway House on East Morehead Street, and his own home on East Worthington Street.
Ratcliffe sold his bungalow home to Marion Archer Otterbourg (1886-1952) in 1932. A native of Hamilton County, Tennessee, Otterbourg was the Chief Signal and Electrical Inspector and later Superintendent for Southern Railways, an important industry in the distribution city of Charlotte. He and wife Katie raised four children in the Ratcliffe-Otterbourg House. The Otterbourg family owned the house until Katie’s death in the early 1980s. The house was later repurposed as office space, providing an operational base for a marriage counselor firm, Charlotte Radiology, Swisher International, and ultimately in 1996 for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Preservation Foundation and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.