Inside Billy Graham’s old South End church, plans form for new Levine Museum home
Six months after the Levine Museum of the New South announced its purchase of two South End buildings, The Charlotte Observer got a first look inside the museum’s future home. Leaders are still in the design phase for its new location in Charlotte.
Read more CMPD officer arrested for misusing Flock camera system, agency says
The new space is expected to open in the early 2030s, museum CEO Richard Cooper recently told the Observer.
The museum site at 1800 South Blvd. includes the former Grace Covenant Church and an administration building. World-famous evangelist Billy Graham, a Charlotte native, attended the church with his family when it was known as the Chalmers Memorial Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.
The church was built in 1910 and became Grace Covenant in 1990.
Based on the current designs, the brick church’s structure will be preserved, and the buildings will be attached with a lobby. “We’re trying to really connect what is a history museum and a community center, and where those two intersect,” Cooper said.
The buildings are near the East/West Blvd light rail station and the Rail Trail.
The Levine Museum bought the buildings from Grace Covenant for $7.5 million. The museum, which is over 35 years old, sold its uptown location in 2022 for $10.7 million.
In the three years after selling, the Levine operated out of a location with free admission on the edge of uptown’s arts district. The space at 401 S. Tryon St. was provided by Wells Fargo at no cost.
Employees have worked from spots including schools, breweries and a library, and are now based in the church administration building until construction begins.
Grace Covenant stopped operations after Easter weekend of this year.
Cooper said current plans include preserving the church’s organ to become an artifact in the museum. “Our goal is to protect the legacy of the church,” he said. “But it’s going to take a community lift to help us preserve this building.”
This new era signifies the Levine’s transition from a non-collecting to a collecting institution, bringing in artifacts including photographs and personal letters.
Read more $500 for ‘cleanup’? Charlotte towing company’s fees count as fraud, state says
Pickard Chilton, a Connecticut architecture studio, is designing the space. Cooper said the renderings are conceptual.
Cooper, who is from Cincinnati, said the New South has multiple definitions and is a way to tell a more inclusive story about who makes up the South.
“When we think about the future, you know, 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now, how is everyone’s story included in the story of the South?” he said.
The museum plans to open a temporary exhibition that will be announced in the fall, Cooper said. The project is intended to collect stories of people across the New South.
The Levine has also adapted to include digital offerings like the Our New South podcast and a recent Southern Tables food project. Levine programming continues to include the Catalyst Fellowship Program for college students and summer camps.
In August, the museum is hosting community conversations at its new space including “Pride is a Protest: Then & Now” and “The Next 250.”
“We’re looking forward to using the space until we shut down to build the new building,” Cooper said.
Want to see more stories like this? Sign up here for our free, award-winning “Inside Charlotte Arts” newsletter: charlotteobserver.com/newsletters. And you can join our Facebook group, “Inside Charlotte Arts,” by going here: facebook.com/groups/insidecharlottearts.
Read more I tried a Charlotte restaurant Guy Fieri called ‘fantastic’. What I got for $25
