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The Edward C. Smith Civic Center is back with a new look and a new space.
On Friday, members of the community and local leaders joined to unveil the Turlington annex to the civic center as well as a new entrance, new bathrooms, and a new kitchen.
The new additions were made possible by the donation of a building by Mike Turlington and his family. The two-story, 8,260-square-foot property is located next door to the civic center and shares two common walls. The City of Lexington owns the civic center.
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The Dispatch
Twenty years ago, Davidson County was going through one of its worst economic periods as it watched its major industry pick up and move overseas, leaving massive job loss and economic chaos in its wake.
Since before the turn of the 20th century, North Carolina has been known as an area where furniture and textile plants plentifully peppered the region; created generations of families working for the same company, and was a major revenue source for local government.
In 1990, over 8,800 people were employed in Davidson County in furniture manufacturing and over 4,700 people were employed in textile manufacturing. By 2009, less than 1,600 local furniture jobs remained and less than 450 remained in textiles.