50 Stories for 50 Years

Shotgun Houses: Preserving and Pioneering History

Once huddled together behind the former AME Zion Church on 7th Street, these houses are relics of Charlotte’s past. Originally located on Bland Street in a bustling Black community known then as Blandville, they survived Charlotte’s urban renewal efforts of the 1970s and were designated “historic properties.” The West Side Community Land Trust teamed with the Gantt Center to move the shotgun houses to the Lakeview community and transform them into affordable housing units.