Charlotte Courthouse - Mosaic Survey

Site Woven is a series of site-specific mosaics by the artist Ellen Driscoll. The works were comprised of comprised of tesserae and mortar and were installed in May 2022 on the West 4th Street facing façade of the Charles R. Jones Federal Building and Courthouse located at 401 West Trade Street in Charlotte, North Carolina. When read from left to right, the narrative mosaics depict the history of the building, as well as the site upon which it was built. The first panel depicts its use as the first branch of the U.S. Mint (1836-1913). The second mosaic represents the first post office, which was built on the site in 1891 next to the U.S. Mint. The third mosaic shows the building’s use as a U.S. Military Entrance Processing Station between 1984 and 2003. The fourth and fifth mosaics refer to the site’s use as a federal courthouse, which was first constructed on the site in 1915 and expanded in 1933. The fifth mosaic emphasizes the judicial importance of the building, and depicts the landmark desegregation decision made in the Swann v Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education. The sixth and seventh mosaics portray new U.S. citizens swearing an oath of citizenship during the naturalization ceremonies that take place at the courthouse throughout the year. The mosaics are coupled by two plaques, which commemorate and describe the mosaics.

EverGreene was retained by the Center for Fine Arts, part of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), to conduct a condition assessment and provide long term maintenance recommendations for Site Woven and the associated bronze plaques. The purpose of the assessment was to document the current state of the seven narrative mosaics, one door surround mosaic, and two bronze plaques and provide long term maintenance recommendations, especially pertaining to remedial graffiti removal should it occur. EverGreene conservators captured and documented existing conditions during a hands-on site survey.