Richardson & Smith

Richardson & Smith was listed in the Green Book as “Richardson & Smith—108 E. Lenoir St.” under “Garages” in Raleigh from 1947-1954.¹

Richardson & Smith Garage was located at 108 E. Lenoir Street in Raleigh, NC. It was an automobile repair shop owned by Charles R. Richardson (1899-1957)  and Homer L. Smith (1900-1953). The business provided auto repair.²

Charles Richardson took over an existing garage at 108 E. Lenoir Street in 1936. The business was vacant in 1937, and reopened as Clarence Newton Auto Repair in 1938. Richardson & Smith reopened at 108 Lenoir Street in 1940. Charles Richardson worked as a mechanic in other shops in the late 1940s and 1950s and the garage became known as “Homer L. Smith  Auto Repair.” Despite the name change, Richardson still worked as a mechanic there at times.³

A bonded warehouse opened at 101-115 E. Lenoir Street in 1955, inclusive of the property at 108 E. Lenoir Street. Today, 108 E. Lenoir Street is a church parking lot.⁴

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2024

Notes

1. Victor Green, 1947 Green Book, 65; Green, 1948 Green Book, 63; Green, 1949 Green Book, 57; Green, 1950 Green Book, 63; Green, 1951 Green Book, 54; Green, 1952 Green Book, 54; Green, 1953 Green Book, 54; Green, 1954 Green Book 54. 
2. “Richard & Smith Advertisement,” The Carolinian, August 17, 1946, Page 8, North Carolina Newspapers/DigitalNC, http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1946-08-17/ed-1/seq-8/; (“Charlie Richardson,” May 27, 1957, Raleigh, Wake, North Carolina, US Death Certificates, 1909-1976, accessed from www.ancestry.com; “Homer Lee Weston Smith,” November 11, 1952, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, US Death Certificates, 1909-1976, accessed from www.ancestry.com.
3. “Richard & Smith Advertisement,” The Carolinian, August 17, 1946, Page 8, North Carolina Newspapers/DigitalNC, http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1946-08-17/ed-1/seq-8/; Hill’s 1935 Raleigh City Directory, street listing; Hill’s 1936 Raleigh City Directory, street listing; Hill’s 1937 Raleigh City Directory, Street Listing; Hill’s 1938 Raleigh City Directory, street listing, alphabetical listing; Hill’s 1939 Raleigh City Directory, street listing; Hill’s 1940 Raleigh City Directory, Street Listing; Hill’s 1945-1946 Raleigh City Directory, alphabetical listing, street listing; Hill’s 1948 Raleigh City Directory, street listing, alphabetical listing; Hill’s 1949 Raleigh City Directory, street listing, alphabetical listing; Hill’s 1950 Raleigh City Directory, street listing, alphabetical listing; Hill’s 1953 Raleigh City Directory, street listing, alphabetical listing.
4.  Hill’s 1955 Raleigh City Directory, street listing, classified listing, alphabetical listing; Bowers, Katherine, Derek Huss, and Rachel Jacobson, “The Green Book Assignment, North Carolina, Durham, Wake, Halifax, Vance: Historical Structure Report for the North Carolina Historic Preservation Office,” HI 587: Cultural Resource Management, North Carolina State University, Spring 2016, 40.