Charles (Charley)
Lyman Bates Sr.
(1929–2020)
Bates was born in Elkin NC and went to high school in Spartanburg SC. He served in the Navy for two years then graduated from Clemson in Architecture in 1953. He served as Chief Designer for Wyatt C. Hedrick Company in Texas. Bates moved back to Charlotte in 1956 to work for Odell Associates on projects such as Ovens Auditorium, Goodyear Building, Garringer HS, Charlotte Coliseum, and most notably, the award-winning 1959 Holy Comforter Lutheran Church in Belmont NC, an astonishing small church, shown below.
Bates left Odell around 1966 and started his own office. In addition to architecture, he started doing hand renderings for other architects, a career direction he continued for 40 years in Hilton Head SC. He worked for a time at Sirrine. He was instrumental in the development of Hilton Head Island SC, including the Hyatt Hotel, Fire Station, Tom Fazio Golf Villas, and airport.
Sources include: Harry Wolf; Charles Bates; daughter Jamie Adair; Stacy Simmons.