Charlotte City Hall

Insurance executive Charles E. Lambeth (1893-1948) was instrumental in bringing the Builders Building to fruition by loaning the money to finance the project. The native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, who later went on to serve as mayor of Charlotte (1931-1933), relocated to the Queen City after graduating from the University of North Carolina. Like so many Charlotte businessmen of his era, Lambeth was a champion of entrepreneurial enterprise. He wanted Charlotte to become a truly substantial place and believed that locating construction businesses in a single edifice would advance that goal.  

Prominent local architect Marion Rossiter “Steve” Marsh (1893-1977) was selected to design the Builders Building. Although a licensed architect and engineer, Marsh never earned a college degree. The Jacksonville, Florida, native instead learned his trade as a draftsman apprentice at his brother’s Jacksonville architectural firm and through correspondence courses from Columbia University. But that did not hinder his success. Marsh came to Charlotte in 1916 as chief draftsman for the architectural firm headed by James M. McMichael (1870-1944). Six years later, 1922 Marsh opened his own architectural and engineering firm in Charlotte that he continued to head until his retirement in 1964. During his nearly fifty-year career, Marsh designed a range of buildings – from residences and theaters to Masonic lodges and chemical plants (including in Central and South America) – in a variety of styles and locales. Several of his buildings are recognized locally and nationally for their architectural significance, including the Carolina Cadillac Company building, the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, Fire Station #2, and Eastover Elementary School. The Marsh-designed Fritz Seifart House in Charlotte and Kannapolis’ Gem Theater are included on the National Register of Historic Places. Marsh also designed the World War II Morris Field Army Air Base (later the site for Charlotte Douglas Airport) and was the first Charlotte architect to design a local apartment building with an electric elevator. 

The Builders Building was a particularly notable project for Marsh. Of all the significant architects in Charlotte at that time – including Louis Asbury, James McMichael, Martin Boyer, C. C. Hook, and William Peeps – it was Marsh who won the plum assignment of designing the city’s premier office building for construction professionals. J. P. Little and Sons was the general contractor; and the great majority of the subcontractors were also local firms. The building cost approximately $300,000 to erect and appoint, and originally featured a two-story arcade extending behind the seven-story high-rise. In later years, the arcade was demolished and a new elevator tower with bathrooms was added to the rear.