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Arts Center History |
The Sumrell and McCoy building is significant in the
history of Kinston, North Carolina, as a relatively
intact, representative example of the type of large
commercial industrial buildings constructed in the early
20th century. It also represents the wholesale
grocery business which became such an important part of
Kinston's booming commercial economy in the first three
decades of the 20th century, drawing from the farms of
the surrounding largely agricultural area and supplying
retail establishments in Kinston and smaller communities
nearby.  The building,
erected in 1910, was the third location of one of the
first such businesses established in Kinston and one of
the largest, Sumrell and McCoy, which was founded about
1900 by George W. Sumrell and Henry H. McCoy. Under
the names Sumrell and McCoy, Inc., and H. H. McCoy
Company, the concern operated for more than fifty years,
making it the leader in longevity among wholesale grocery
businesses in Kinston. From the late 1950s through
the mid 1980s, the building was occupied by building
supply and hardware businesses.In 1990, the Community Council for the Arts purchased the building and turned it into the Arts Center as we know it today. Members of the Board of Directors, community leaders, local and state elected officials raised pledges of $1.3 million to renovate the building. Currently the 30,000 sq. foot Arts Center maintains four separate interior gallery spaces, artist studios, a model train display and a pottery studio in the basement, classrooms and a gift shop. The Center is also utilized by individuals and organizations to hold parties, receptions, and dinners. The Center is able to accommodate groups as large as 300. Hours of operation are Tuesday - Friday from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm and Saturday 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. In Kinston's Historic and Architectural Resources, the Sumrell and McCoy Building conforms to the associated historic context Kinston's Era of Accelerating Prosperity, 1890-1941; it is a member of the property type Late 19th/Early 20th Century commercial and Industrial Buildings. |