planning staff report to design review board

Planning Staff Report to Design Review Board - Neighborhood

August 27, 2021 for the September 2, 2021 Public Hearing

Docket Number: LLDE 21-636

Applicant: Melanie Anderson/Johnston Design Group

Property Owner: PHI Realty LLC

Property Location: 1007 Hampton Avenue

Tax Map Number: 002600-03-00900

Zoning: RM-1, SF and MF Residential district, & S-1, Service District

Proposal: LOCAL LANDMARK DESIGNATION

Staff Recommendation: Approve with condition

Applicable Sections of the City of Greenville Code of Ordinances: Sec. 40-152(3) & (4): Historic Qualifications Staff Analysis: The subject property, 1007 Hampton Avenue, is split zoned between RM-1, Single-Family and Multi-Family Residential District, and S-1, Service District. A portion of the property also currently lies within Greenville County, however, an annexation petition for this portion is currently in process. The existing structure is commonly referred to as the “Thompson Automotive Building” by locals. However, as shown in the research provided by the applicant, the history of the structure and associated people is much older and is a little-known showcase of the economic and social history of the City of Greenville. In c.1910, Robert Scales, an English immigrant, founded the Scales-Wilson Company in Greenville. The Scales-Wilson Company was a maker of carbonated beverage flavors, which included ‘Robin Hood Ginger Ale’ and ‘Hot Tom’. Made with an extract of chili peppers, ‘Hot Tom’ was noted for its ability to make “Moonshine palatable” during prohibition era (1920-1933). It also contributed to the death of several people. This company originally operated from a building next to the current Restaurant Bergamo on E. Coffee Street before relocation to Hampton Avenue. The E. Coffee Street location may be seen in a photo, provided by the applicant, which includes Robert Scales himself.

LLDE 21-636 205 E. Earle Street

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The location is confirmed by the 1913 Sanborn Map, for E. Coffee Street, that specifically notes “Chemists” and “Shipping Dep’t” as evidenced by the window signs in the picture above.

The subject property for this Local Landmark Designation request was purchased by the company around 1920. The five-bay window, brick commercial building was constructed to meet demand for Scales’ beverage flavors. Staff notes this coincided with the start of Prohibition. The Prohibition Era is noted as a catalyst for carbonated beverage company production throughout the country.


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After the company ended production c.1937 and Robert Scales’ death in 1941, the building at 1007 Hampton Avenue was rented out. Notably, the 1961 Sanborn Map shows a Neon Signs manufacture in the location. The American Textile Engraving Company was also a tenant for a period. The building was leased in 1989 and later sold in 1999 to Evonn Thompson for automobile services.

1961 Sanborn Map

Based on the findings provided by the applicant, staff recommends approval of the Local Landmark Designation, with a condition, as the structure was used by people, companies, and industries instrumental to the historical economic and social development of the City of Greenville per Section 40-152(4)(b).

Condition: All future exterior improvements to the structure at 1007 Hampton Avenue shall require a certificate of appropriateness prior to the onset of the work.

Applicable Land Management Ordinance sections

Section 40-152. – Certification; criteria for historic designation.

(3) Property shall qualify as historic for the special assessment when:

a. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

b. It is at least 50 years old and is designated as a historic property by the Design Preservation Commission, in accordance with this article; or


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c. It is at least 50 years old and is located in a historic district which has been

designated as a preservation overlay district by the city zoning ordinance.

d. It meets such other and additional requirements as may be established by the general assembly in the future.

(4) In order for a building which is 50 years old to qualify as historic when it is not within a preservation overlay district and when it is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building must be shown to meet one of the following criteria:

a. The structure's architectural design and materials of construction are good examples of those types of design and construction recognized among architects and preservationists as having had historical significance in the city's development;

b. The structure is associated in a meaningful way with a person or group who made a significant contribution to the city's political, economic, religious, social, artistic or literary development; or

c. The structure is associated with a person or group recognized on the state or

national level as having made significant contributions to science, religion, politics, business, literature, the arts or other professions.

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LLDE 21-636 • 1007 HAMPTON AVE.AERIAL VIEW CURRENT ZONING

FUTURE LAND USE

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NATURAL / ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES SPECIAL EMPHASIS NEIGHBORHOODS

PRESERVATION OVERLAYS

LLDE 21-636 • 1007 HAMPTON AVE.

LOCAL LANDMARK DESIGNATION1007 HAMPTON AVENUE GREENVILLE

EXISTING CONDITIONS FOR THOMPSON AUTOMOTIVE BUILDING8/2/2021

HISTORIC DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY THE GREENVILLE HISTORIC SOCIETY

Robert Scales was born in Nottingham, England 1876. In England, he worked as an apprentice for Pharr and Ford. He immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1900 and naturalized in 1913. The first mention of his new business venture in Greenville is in 1910, Scales-Wilson Company. He brought from England his best ginger ale formulas. According to his grandson, also Robert Scales, “his flagship brand was Robin Hood Ginger Ale. His other notable flavor was Hot Tom, which according to family history became famous during prohibition as a way of making Moonshine palatable.” One gallon of extract could flavor up to 100,000 bottles of soda.

Hot Tom was a very popular drink made of combined extract of ginger, orange, and capsicum, an extract from chili peppers, with lemon, sugar, and colored with caramel. It was a popular item in the early soda fountain days. Occasionally it was mixed with alcohol to make a hot Tom & Jerry. Scales-Wilson decided to trademark the drink in 1909. In 1915 it was alleged to have resulted in the deaths of at least 3 people.

The company started on E Coffee Street, would have been in the building next to Restaurant Bergamo on Coffee Street. In 1920 he bought two lots on Hampton Avenue from T.C. Gower. This business first appears in the 1921-1922 business directory. The last advertisement for the company appeared in the Greenville News in 1937. Robert Scales died in 1941, and is buried in Salem Presbyterian Church yard, Fairfield County, South Carolina. The “Thompson Automotive Building” remained in the Scales family until 1999. The family rented the building out to other companies like The American Textile Engraving Company. In 1989 Evonn Thompson started rented the building for his automotive business. He later purchased the property in 1999.

8/1/2021 Pepsi-Cola Bottling Works / Company

www.tazewell-orange.com/pepsiappa.html 1/14

THE PEPSI-COLA BOTTLINGWORKS

PEPSI-COLA BOTTLINGCOMPANY

OF APPALACHIA, VA

The Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company was started by J. M.Huneycutt around 1912 according to James C. Ayer'sbook,(1) the Heritage of Wise County book claims that

prior to 1910 Huneycutt was living in Norton, VA.(2) Thesame article also claims that F. B. Kline was the personwho convinced J. M. Huneycutt to start up a Pepsi-Cola

company in Wise County about 1908.(2) The onlyproblem with this is that in the same book, obviously adifferent author, it's stated that F. B. Kline himself hadjust started the Norton Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company

which was incorporated on March 30, 1908.(2) It makesno sense for him to want a competing operation a few

miles away in Appalachia.

I think this conversation came later than that, because,according to Burke Greear, F. B. Kline wrote a letter tothe Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Chattanooga, Tenn.,



which was the main offices of the bottling part of thecompany at the time, in 1910, and received permissionto bottle Coca-Cola in December of the same year. Sohis plans for taking over the Coca-Cola bottling camelater than this author thought. F. B. Kline's Pepsi-Cola

Bottling Company is gone by February 1913, accordingto the Sanborn maps, is it possible that Kline has gotten

Huneycutt to take over the Norton Pepsi-Cola BottlingCompany and relocating it to Appalachia where it

wouldn't be a direct competitor to his soon to be Coca-Cola market? According to this article the first name for

this company was The Pepsi-Cola Bottling Works (2),Ayers book confirms this.(1)

There is only one bottling plant in evidence inAppalachia, VA on the Sanborn maps of February 1913,

which is located just across the tracks from the VirginiaWholesale Company's Bake House. I feel that this is thelocation for the first Pepsi-Cola Bottling Works, because

just down the same lot from this building is theAppalachia branch of the Norton Ice Company which F.B. Kline is an officer of in 1907. According to the articleCharlie Broadwater provided the money and the buildingfor the new venture at the implied encouragement of F.

B. Kline.(2) This location happens to be a very shortdistance away from his Chero-Cola location on the 1922

sanborn map, which according to this article was the"Huneycutt building".(2)



That leads us to the "Huneycutt Building" itself,apparently by 1918 Huneycutt has vacated the first

location. Having purchased lots on Callahan Avenue inNovember 1913, he would build a new building on theselots between that time and 1917, and move his Pepsi-Cola Bottling Works there.(2) Due to low sugar quotas

and aging equipment, Huneycutt needed to find apartner who had a larger sugar quota and newer

machinery.(2) The perfect candidate was D. D. Parkswho had just opened the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of

Bristol, VA in March of 1916.(2) D. D. Parks agreed topartner up with J. M. Huneycutt to combine their

resources into one bottling company in Appalachia, VA,and moved his entire operation there, thus creating thePepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Appalachia on March 6,

1918.(2) This would last only about Nine months, onDecember 2, 1918 D. D. Parks would buy J. M.

Huneycutt's share of the business that included astipulation that Huneycutt wouldn't start another

company for at least one year.(2)

Apparently part of the agreement was that D. D. Parkswas to be allowed to stay in the Huneycutt building untilSeptember 1923(2); however, according to the sanborn

map of March 1922, D. D. Parks has already built his newplant up the street from this building. I have to wonder ifhe didn't immediately build a new building, because J.M. Huneycutt would incorporate the Huneycutt (J. M.)

Corporation on August 10, 1920.(3) I seriously doubt thatParks was allowed to continue to operate in the



Huneycutt building as the March 1922 Sanborn showsthe Chero-Cola Bottling Company occupying that

location. Most likely Huneycutt waited until Parks hadbuilt his new building which I assume was between

December 1918 and August 1920. Around late 1920, D.D. Parks would pick up Orange and Lemon Crush.(2 )

For as long as I've known about this company I've heardabout a drink called Hot Tom, in fact most seem

completely infatuated with the mystery of this drink, andthe connection to the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company. HotTom in reality was a drink similar to Ginger Ale whichcombined extract of ginger, orange, and capsicum, an

extract made from chili peppers, with lemon, sugar, andcolored with caramel. It was one of a number of

concoctions used in the early soda fountain days, andwas sometimes combined with alcohol to make a "Hot

Tom and Jerry". The Scales-Wilson Company ofScaGreenville, South Carolina decided to trademark the Hot

Tom name around 1909 marketing it as particularlyadapted for cool weather.

The company actively encouraged bottlers to producethe drink without carbonation, in large bottles or kegs,

or carbonated in small bottles. This looseness as towhat container the brand could be produced in may bewhy we have reports of old whiskey bottles being usedto bottle Hot Tom. The brand was still going strong by

the mid-twenties, this is why it appears that the brand ishanded off from J. M. Huneycutt to D. D. Parks as some



have suggested. The idea that either one of these menowned the formula, or that Hot Tom was created in

Appalachia, is a false one. The same article about thebrand goes on to find the author questioning a relativeof Huneycutt about Hot Tom, and being told that they

thought it was being produced by a "Scales in Winston-ScaSalem, NC". This was a valuable clue that resulted in

finally solving this mystery, as the relative justremembered it wrong which happens with anecdotal

evidence.

Apparently D. D. Parks would shut down the company in1924 and sold his bottling equipment to Jackson andBarker of Pennington Gap, around March 18, 1925.(2)The building went into creating D. D. Parks newestbusiness venture, a car dealership.(2) Indeed the

Sanborn maps from 1929 confirm this.



This empty lot is what is left of the "HuneycuttBuilding". The only thing left is the concrete floor of the

building.

This building sits on the last location of the Pepsi-ColaBottling Company of Appalachia, VA. I don't know forsure if the original building was incorporated into this

present structure; however, it is possible.



A June 24, 1914 ad from the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Worksof Appalachia, VA.



From the collection of Mac Ellison, photo by Joseph Lee

early 6oz straight side bottle from Appalachia, VA



A 1912 ad from the Scales-Wilson Company ofScaGreenville, SC. I wonder if they also bottled SW Grape?



From the collection of Frank Anderson, photo by Joseph Lee

6oz script straight side bottle from Appalachia, VA



A crockware dispenser and bottle cap for Hot Tom.



6oz straight side bottle from Appalachia, VA



A September 8, 1920 Orange Crush/Lemon Crush adfrom the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Appalachia, VA.

This page is only part of a much larger site. To see therest then just click TAZEWELL-ORANGE.COM

Tazewell-Orange.com and the contents on this site arecopyrighted by Joseph T. Lee III except where otherwise

noted see Terms of Use.

Biblography:

(1) "Pepsi : Cola Bottles & More Collectors Guide Vol. 2" ByJames C. Ayers Copyright 2001

(2) "The Heritage of Wise County and The City of Norton 1856-2001 Vol. 2" by The Wise County Historical Society

(3) Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to theGovernor and General 1921

http://www.tazewell-orange.com/index.html

http://www.tazewell-orange.com/terms.html

The Anderson Intelligencer, Tuesday Feb. 9, 1915

Scales-Wilson Letterhead The Evening Index, Thursday Feb 11, 1915

Advertisement in The Atlanta Constitution, Sunday June 23, 1907

Advertisement with Hot Tom, The Bristol Herald Courier, Sunday January 30, 1910

Advertisement in The Dispatch News, Wednesday August 30, 1916

Advertisement in The Pickens Sentinel, Thursday March 7, 1912

Advertisement in The Times and Democrat, Saturday May 7, 1910


EXISTING ELEVATIONS FOR THOMPSON AUTOMOTIVE BUILDING8/2/2021

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EXISTING ELEVATIONS FOR THOMPSON AUTOMOTIVE BUILDING8/2/2021

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LOWER LEVEL-3'-4"

planning staff report to design review board

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