CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An important piece of Charlotte's history is at risk of being lost forever.
For years, Channel 9 has reported on the efforts to save the historic Excelsior Club in west Charlotte. The club opened in 1944 in the heart of the Washington Heights community on Beatties Ford Road.
It became popular with Charlotte's African-American community, hosting musicians and politicians.
"It was a county club for black people in pre-civil rights movement when black people didn't have a place in this city," Jessica Davis said. "It's where people could go to unwind, socialize."
Now, it needs major repairs and is in danger of being demolished. It is on the market for $1.5 million and a group is trying to find the money to buy it.
The group looking to save the Excelsior Club is asking for public input on what to do with it once it is purchased.
They sent out an online survey with three options:
- Turn the building into a black history museum with shops and a restaurant
- The second idea is similar, but would add a boutique hotel
- The third option allows people to suggest their own ideas
Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:
- Intense manhunt underway for robbers considered 'armed and dangerous'
- 3 Charlotte men busted in Georgia with 70 pounds of pot worth over $200K
- Deputies: Man flown to hospital after stabbed by 14-year-old neighbor
- FORECAST: Extended stretch of dry weather expected after days of rain
- Police identify man shot to death during party at uptown apartment
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
