In 1974, Mary T. Harper, Ph.D. (1935-2020),[4] an assistant professor of English at the UNC-Charlotte, proposed an Afro-American cultural center for the city of Charlotte.

[6] The brick Neoclassical Revival building that was Little Rock's third location was designed by James Mackson McMichael and was completed in June 1911 at a cost of $20,000.

The theater's technical equipment consisted of a computerized Strand Century Mantrix 2 Lighting Control Console Board with 2 scene preset of 48 channels.

The Sound Equipment was 12 channel Yamaha Mixer Graphic equalizer with Peavey Amplifier in stereo for the FOH Speakers with mix of Shure microphones and stands.

[16] Freelon, later named as lead architect for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, designed the new building.

[22] Located at South Tryon and East Brooklyn Village Avenue, the four-story 46,490-square foot building is a "modernist structure wrapped in glass and metal",[17] is 360' by 40' and located above tunnels connecting College Street and East Brooklyn Village Avenue to a parking garage for Duke Energy Center.

[17][23] To allow access by car and truck ramps on the narrow site (400' x 60'), the lobby is on the second floor[24] and is reached by stairs and escalators which frame a central glass atrium and are based on Jacob's Ladder in the Book of Genesis.

The design was inspired by Myers Street School that was in the Brooklyn neighborhood, an African-American section of the city which was demolished as part of an urban renewal program in the 1960s.

Freelon Group won the 2009 Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture from the American Institute of Architects for projects that included the Gantt Center.

[18][26] On the east wing wall is Divergent Threads, Lucent Memories, a work by David Wilson of Apex inspired by quilts which recalls the history of Brooklyn.

[29] John and Vivian Hewitt, though not rich, put together one of the most significant collections of African-American art during their 50 years of marriage, starting in 1949.

[29] The Hewitt Collection was purchased by NationsBank (later Bank of America) in 1998, with the plan being to locate the works in an expanded Afro-American Cultural Center.

The 20th century African-American artists include Henry Ossawa Tanner, Ann Tanksley, John Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett and Romare Bearden.