Stop 37 — First A.R.P. Church / McColl Center for Art + Innovation

Address: 721 North Tryon Street Year built: 1926 Style: Gothic Revival Architect: James Mackson McMichael (1870–1944) Designation: CMHLC historic landmark Current use: McColl Center for Art + Innovation (artist residency and gallery)

The First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church at 721 North Tryon was designed by James Mackson McMichael (1870–1944) and completed in 1926 in the Gothic Revival style. McMichael was the architect of several Charlotte buildings of this era and also designed the 1905 NC Medical College (now Settlers Place, stop 47) in the same historic district — that building is also on this tour.

The 1985 fire

Per Friends of Fourth Ward, the First A.R.P. Church was destroyed by fire in 1985 by homeless "residents" trying to escape the winter's cold. That detail is an uncomfortable piece of Uptown Charlotte's mid-1980s reality — the building was decommissioned enough to host unhoused people, and a fire set for warmth destroyed one of the city's signature Gothic Revival structures.

The 1999 rehabilitation

The building was renovated in 1999 and is now the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, housing visiting artists and providing gallery space. The architectural details readily associated with Gothic Revivalism remain readable on the restored structure.

Why this stop matters

The McColl Center is one of Uptown Charlotte's most visible cultural institutions; this walking-tour stop connects that present-day identity back to the 1926 church that became it and to the 1985 fire that nearly lost the building altogether. The saved-and-repurposed arc is typical of Fourth Ward's recent history.

← Stop 36 · Back to walking tour hub · Next: stop 38, Frederick Apartments →

Source: Friends of Fourth Ward, Self-Walking Tour (2016). Retrieved April 24, 2026.