Mission Accomplished

As the semester ends and I reflect on the process of creating an online exhibit, I realize exactly how much my team and I have accomplished and learned.  As the digital age moves forward, people have access to information they never would have without the internet and technological advances.  Our group set out to show how architecture has changed over time and how it has played an important role in shaping Charlotte.  My architect, Charles Christian Hook was one of the preeminent and most accomplished architects of the early twentieth century in Charlotte and North Carolina.  Although Hook designed some of the most famous structures in Charlotte such as the Belk House, Duke Mansion, and most of the older fire stations, little is known about Hook and his work.  I wanted show Hook’s work and display how it was and remains an important part of the Charlotte landscape and culture.  Much of what people see of a city depends on the architecture and Hook enriched Charlotte with his classic styles which have stood the test of time. 

At the beginning of the semester, I was unsure about working with Omeka, the online exhibit builder.  The program was completely new to me and I was unsure if I could master the language in a short period.  I became pleasantly surprised when I learned how user friendly the software was and how quickly one could manipulate the site order to create a unique exhibit.  Software such as Omeka plays an important role for those who wish to display important pieces of history with people who may never have access to the items featured.  At the beginning of the semester I blogged about how technology was taking over history and I have to say I was reluctant to embrace digitization.  Throughout the semester while working on the site, I have come to appreciate the importance of digital history.  We can share items and materials with large amounts of people without them having to travel in order to do so.  I believe this opens history up to a larger audience and allows them to treasure what we in Charlotte see on an everyday basis.

My group and I jumped into this project head first, tackling obstacles along the way such as a clear point of view for our project, how to organize it, split up the responsibilities, and to make it interesting for people visiting our exhibit.  I am very pleased with how we all worked together and helped each other along the way.  I can honestly say that this has been the best group I have ever worked with.  We were all excited and passionate about our topic and everyday pulled their weight.  I have never worried if someone in our group was not doing their work.  Every time I would work on the site, I would see new additions and improvements.  Each person is equally represented in the site and we meshed tried to mesh all the work in order to show a complete, collaborative effort.  In this way, our site does not look as though four different people with four different points of view did it; rather the site represents a group effort between us.  In addition, all of us collaborated on every aspect of the site from the design to what to include.  We decided not to designate any one person to any one part of creating the site such as having one person enter metadata or upload the items.  This helped us to work together and produce a site that looks as though one person created it.

The title of our exhibit, “Building My Charlotte: How Architecture Shaped the Queen City,” encompasses what our group set out to do from the beginning.  We wanted to show how architecture is important to a city, how early architecture remains important today, how visitors view the city,  and most importantly,  how three architects beautified Charlotte with their designs.  Jacquelyn worked with Martin Boyer, Melissa with Louis Asbury, and I with Charles Christian Hook, all of whom were important architects of their time.  Jill chose to use Mary Boyer’s postcard collection to show the social aspect of Charlotte architecture and pull together the entire exhibit. We decided to organize our site not by person but by theme.  In this way, we were able to show the bigger meaning of the site: the importance of Charlotte architecture.  The exhibits are divided into four themes: Architecture and community shows the role of the building in their communities, Charlotte: then and now shows how Charlotte looked in the early twentieth century and how the buildings looked when they were built as compared to today, Introducing new designs shows how each architect used new designs, and Meet the architects show information on each architect.  I believe this was the best way to organize our site because it adds flow, is comprehensive, and is easy to navigate Each of the architects added their own touch to the Charlotte landscape, most of which still stands today.  Each of our architects still has buildings that shape the Charlotte landscape; Louis Asbury’s work includes the Mecklenburg County Courthouse and the Myers Park Methodist Church.  Martin Boyer’s work includes the Mint Museum and the Major Stuart Cramer House, and C. C. Hook’s work includes the Hayes Residence Hall at Queens University and the Duke Mansion.  All of the buildings are still in use today, either for the first intended purposed or transformed for another purpose.   

Overall, I believe our site, http://buildingmycharlottearchitecture.omeka.net/, showcases a unique look into Charlotte’s architectural past and present in a way that is neither usual nor boring.  I am very pleased about my team’s collaboration on the project.  This class has taught me to embrace digital history and use it to my advantage.  Through working on this project, I now think that online exhibits are a great way to showcase history so many people may enjoy it.