

Joseph Efird took charge of the Charlotte store after Hugh died in 1909 and oversaw the creation of a chain of stores that eventually included over 50 retail establishments across the Carolinas and Virginia, all directed from Charlotte.
In 1922, plans were announced for constructing a brand new half million dollar Efird’s Department Store on the 100 block of North Tryon Street. The new flagship Efird’s store was designed by locally renowned architect Louis Asbury and was a state of the art store: five stories high with over 100,000 square feet of floor space including a bargain basement a top floor dining room and, uniquely of its time, escalators.
Efird’s sold out to Belk in the mid 1950s, and its North Tryon Street store became part of the adjacent Belk complex. The store building was razed in the early 1990s, and the Bank of America Corporate Center sits on its site.




Efird's, Charlotte, North Carolina. Print advertisement, 1937. (courtesy Pat Richardson)
Efird's, Charlotte, North Carolina. Print advertisement, 1938. (courtesy Pat Richardson)
Efird's, Charlotte, North Carolina. Print advertisement, 1953. (courtesy Pat Richardson)
Efird's, Charlotte, North Carolina. Print advertisement, 1956. (courtesy Pat Richardson)
Efird's, Charlotte, North Carolina. Print advertisement, 1956. (courtesy Pat Richardson)
Efird's, Charlotte, North Carolina. Print advertisement, 1942. (courtesy Pat Richardson)
References:
Historic Retail Buildings In Center City Charlotte
Christina A. Wright, “Survey and Research Report on the Withers Efird House,” June 30, 2000.