Downtown Revival

By David Hunt

Jennifer Harper's designs for the city of Gastonia pay tribute to the town's historic past.

The decline of downtown Gastonia, N.C., began long before Jennifer Harper was born, exacerbated by the collapse of the state's textiles manufacturing industry and the exodus of retailers to suburban shopping malls. But the young Gastonia native is lending her design skills to help restore the town center to its prime – and its roots.

Harper, who graduates in August with a master's degree in industrial design from North Carolina State University, walked into city hall a few months ago when she heard that city officials were planning a new convention center for the downtown area.

"I wasn't sure anybody was going to talk to me," Harper says. "But I wanted to help."

After meeting with city manager Jim Palenick and communications and marketing director Rachel Bagley, Harper walked away with an assignment: to design a new park at South Street and Main Avenue, a focal point of the city's revitalization effort. The park will help provide a pedestrian-friendly anchor to the new downtown, which will include an arts and entertainment district, a hotel and conference center, and ultimately a performing arts center.

Above all, city officials told Harper, the downtown must retain its small-town feel.

Harper developed her design for a new park in Gastonia based on the town's history as a center of the textiles industry.

Surprised and honored, Harper immediately went to work, reading everything she could get her hands on about the town's history and culture. At the library she came upon photographs of spinning "mules" – the factory machines that helped Gastonia earn the title, "The Hundred Spindle City" during the heyday of the industrial revolution.

She was intrigued by the artistry she found in the machinery's form and function; the clockwork precision of the gears and the graceful curving lines of the iron framework.

"The machines had a lot of detail work in them that you just don't find today," she says.

Harper sketched out a design for the park based on her research, incorporating some of the design elements from the old spinning machines. Then, with a nod to modern day technology, she scanned the drawings into a computer imaging program and added color and details. At a presentation before the city council on May 20, she shared her vision for the project with the community.

This time it was city officials who were surprised – at the quality of the design work coming from a college student.

Harper designed a series of medallions with historical references that will be embedded in the sidewalks in and around the park.

"They were really interested in the historical aspects of the design," Harper says. "And they were very pleased with the concept."

City officials have promised to include Harper's name on a plaque in the park. And she'll receive credit from her professors at NC State's College of Design, who have agreed to accept the Gastonia park design as Harper's master's project.

Harper plans to pursue a career in furniture design. But if the Gastonia project leads to other job offers, she's ready.

"Industrial design is about designing products and spaces for people's use," she says. "The good thing about becoming an industrial designer is that you can design practically anything."

Links:

• College of Design
• City of Gastonia