GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

S	1 

SENATE BILL 651

Short Title:  Funds/Johnson C. Smith University.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senators Richardson, Hunt of Durham, Johnson of Cabarrus, and Odom.
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Referred to:  Appropriations.
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March 27, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO ASSIST IN THE RESTORATION OF BIDDLE MEMORIAL HALL, JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITY.
Whereas, Biddle Memorial Hall was built in 1883 to serve as the main building for a college for black persons established in Charlotte in 1867; and
Whereas, Biddle Memorial Hall is a Romanesque Revival style building of monumental scale, and the finest surviving Victorian structure in Charlotte; and
Whereas, Biddle Memorial Hall continues to serve as the administration building for Johnson C. Smith University, and is the most prominent building on the campus; and
Whereas, Biddle Memorial Hall is designated as a Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Historic property and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975; and
Whereas, Johnson C. Smith University has raised over one million dollars ($1,000,000) and Biddle Memorial Hall has undergone exterior stabilization and partial restoration during 1987 and 1988; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History, the sum of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) for the 1989-90 fiscal year, to be used for completing the second phase of the restoration of Biddle Memorial Hall at Johnson C. Smith University, and for retrofitting its structure to meet current building codes, including the installation of new electrical and plumbing systems, heating and air conditioning systems, and making it accessible to handicapped persons through the installation of an elevator.
Sec. 2. The activities funded by this appropriation shall be performed in accordance with the standards and guidelines for such activities established by the Division of Archives and History, and shall be conducted under the professional supervision of that agency.
Sec. 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 1989.