Ralfe Mesrobian architectural records

Ralfe Mesrobian, AIA, was born September 14, 1920 to Armenian parents, Zabelle Martmanian and Mihran Mesrobian, in Scutari (Uskudar), a suburb of Istanbul on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. The family, including older brother Nourhan, left Turkey in 1921 for Washington, DC, where another brother, Ara, was born, and Mihran became the chief architect for Harry Wardman, the city's premier developer. Ralfe was a member of the first graduating class of Woodrow Wilson High School. He excelled in football and baseball, and was the city Golden Gloves heavyweight boxing champion. He enlisted in 1942, earned his wings at Pensacola Flight School, and served in the Marine Air Corps. A member of the Black Sheep Squadron, he flew Corsairs off carriers in the Pacific. He resigned as a captain in 1946. He met Charlotte native Carol Lambeth Wohlford in 1944 while on transport duty at Pawley's Island. They were married in 1947.

After a year at Duke University on a football scholarship, he transferred to the Catholic University's School of Architecture. Graduating magna cum laude in 1950, he received the School Medal of the AIA 'General Excellence in Architecture' award. He first practiced in Walter Hook's architectural office in Charlotte, where he designed the original Charlotte Airport Terminal, before joining Charles Connelly's office. He began his own practice in 1956 and, for over fifty years, designed notable buildings including the Spaugh Building at Little Church on the Lane, Mecklenburg Furniture Store, and the Strawn Apartments in Dilworth. For the Strawn Apartments he received a meritorious design award from the Charlotte Housing Authority.

Ralfe's residential designs reflected his appreciation for historical design, creative skill in adapting architectural styles to modern living, and a keen eye for scale and proportion. He enjoyed working with clients, always insisting they include a ground floor bedroom so they could live in their home as long as possible. Four of his designs stand on Moravian Lane, including two for the family. His commercial work included shopping centers and K-Marts on the Eastern Seaboard for LEVCO of Wayne, NJ. Working prior to computer-generated design, he was a consummate draftsman, doing much of the drawings and tracings by hand. In his retirement, he spent countless hours drawing Medieval and Gothic Revival churches, capturing the light of their stained glass windows with an exacting hand. He was a long-time member of Myers Park United Methodist Church, Dowd YMCA, the AIA, Mecklenburg Historical Society and Wing Haven. The Mesrobians had two daughters - Caroline Mesrobian Hickman of Washington, and Catherine Mesrobian Smith of Charlotte. Ralfe Mesrobian died in 2010 at the age of 89. His wife, Carol, died in 2018.