+I Went to Charlotte+

[Michi]

...on my way back from the Florida Keys. Had dinner at a nice place downtown. The stop was brief, but I got to walk around downtown and see it in both daylight and night. Left around 7 for the near-10 hour drive back to Detroit. This was January 2, 2006.

Leaving Savannah and entering SC, bound for C'lotte, NC

Not 2 seconds upon stepping outside of the parking garage, I got snapped at for pointing my camera up. I questioned the man, but was insisted that I only point straight. So, I had to be sneaky, I guess...

The statue of Lady Charlotte at a terribly wierd angle.

Everyone's baby.

I'm sure these have all been posted a bajillion times before.

The chimney-like building is one of my favorites in Charlotte.

Holiday bust.

I love the building on the right!

Had a great sky to work with!

[dimebag1980]

GREAT shots, Michi!!! But... ummm... excuse me? Who the hell was the person who tried to tell you what to do? What business was it of his how you took your photos?

[Michi]

Thanks! I don't know who he was...some security/parking garage attendant man.

Here's the rest.

Was very impressed with all the highrise proposals, plans, and construction! I think my favorite is the new city center one...and the new Wachovia!

Historic Charlotte.

I liked this recladding.

So cool!

From a 5th floor terrace.

Sadly, that is all. A plan must be made for me to return and get the whole experience. Charlotte is so new, I felt like I just took a shower upon leaving. I dig Charlotte to be sure!

[Michi]

D'oh! Posting issues...

[wolverine]

oooh some nice shining examples of new architecture in here. Great job Michi!

[Inkdaub]

Haha...I was all set to post about how the guy who told you to shoot straight should take a look at the statue of the woman shooting up. Then I looked closer and saw the woman is holding a baby and not a camera. Still...that guy should take a look at that statue anyway!

[monsoon]

Nice photos and thanks for posting. You were probably bothered by a Rent a Cop belonging to either BofA or Wachovia. Our own Neo was accosted by one late last year. The reality is they can't stop you from taking photos of anything you like as long as you are on the public sidewalks but I can imagine that you didn't want to deal with them.

[Mobuchu]

Yes, unfortunetly Metro is right. The banks seem a little paranoid since 9/11 and dont like you taking pictures of their structures. Of couse you can do as you please from public property, but you will get the boot from many of the parking garages. The top floor of the parking garage attached to the white building you liked so much is owned by the FBI... They will kick you off in a hearbeat, not a pleasent experience.

But thanks for the pic's, I'm glad you enjoyed your visit.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

Nice pics.

[dgreco]

great pictures, thank you for posting.

[Michi]

Yah, I was told it was a 9/11 thing. I was nice to the guy and tried to explain to him that I came a long way to visit the city, but he said exactly what you guys mention, being the banks got the whole downtown...sorry "Uptown" all in a frenzy about taking pictures of the highrises.

Everyone else, especially at the Welcome and Visitors Center, were very friendly!

*Edit: wuups, I meant Jan. 2, 07 in my original post. Not 06.

[GRDadof3]

As always, great pictures Michi! It's great to see some street-level shots of Charlotte (you know I'm more of a streetscape kind of guy).

That Mint Museum (?) has a bit of New York flair to it.

[Randy@Tacoma]

Its a nice city, but God, all it believes in sprawl it seems. It figures I guess, it is Southern after all...

[nowensone]

^ While true in a sense, that is not very fair, not the way you state it, most Southern cities are sprawling because they are newer cities and lack the geographical boundaries that hem in most older ones not to mention that most of their growth occurred after the coming of the automobile. So really a timing issue more than a "southern one", if the development of our country had been different the situation could easily be the opposite. By the way, Michi's pictures avoid the sprawl shots, I guess you picked up on this elsewhere...

[Michi]

...and on the other hand, Charlotte (a new city) is building from the inside out. Places like my city, Detroit don't do that any more because the inside is already built out (and in some cases hollowed out). What would be economic development subsidy incentives to build bank towers in downtown Detroit is economic development from the new center of greenfields in the south. However, that's not to say there aren't subsidies in places like Charlotte...especially when it comes to competition.

My point is that even though Charlotte is a new and southern city and is thought of typically as a sprawling city, it's growth is coming from the inside and is able to capture ambitious plans in order to densify through agglomeration of a variety of sectors of the economy. That's what puts the quality of life high in the center of the city as well as high in surrounding neighborhoods. Sure, like every city (metro), Charlotte suffers from unchecked sprawl. But on the positive side, its newness allows for it to grow from the core like a mature and sophisticated city.

Old cities like Detroit, where the power of the economy is everywhere but in the city, new development occurs in greenfields far away from people, infrastructure, and resources, contributing to sprawl as well. But it's a double negative in the sense that we have a dying core and a dying middle..."the donut effect"...and if you think of it, a future dying fringe.

What Charlotte has the opportunity to do is realize what the downtown can become by looking into the future. It needs to sustain its growth and never get to the point where the only circulation of residents is from the center-out. Again, using Detroit as the comparison, we have to incentivise, subsidize and spend a lot of money and resources to put something equivalent in our downtown that Charlotte can put in its downtown based on the natural market. This is true for most cities, so I'm not trying to make a unique scenario. I'm just shedding a little discussion on the issue or image that the south only sprawls. It may be true, but isn't the whole story. The same for the north or Rustbelt. It may be a has been, but not many people realize the established assets that still remain to keep the cities competitive. Like I said about Charlotte, we just have to gain an understanding on how to dictate the success of our future.

[cinco]

great shots, michi. it's always nice to see & hear others impressions of where i live. next time let us know yer in town....

[SimCity]

Those are some beautiful pictures there! I have been wondering for quite some time now whether or not the major banks in Charlotte considered themselves as being potential terrorist targets.. Your experiences show that they do indeed have security concerns. Understandably they are nervous about people taking pictures of their buildings, especially since suspected Muslim terrorists have been caught doing the same thing.

[dubone]

Judging from the angle, you were on the parking deck attached to the Holiday Inn. I've been stopped from taking pictures there many times, and once I told them I'm a journalist, and asked for her name to write a story on them.

Thanks for taking and sharing these photos. I'm glad you love 400 S Tryon and Charlotte Plaza buildings, as they are underloved (including by me ).

[RiverwoodCLT]

Don't feel like the Long Ranger I was told not to take a picture in the parking lot where the Ritz Carlton is going.

[NcSc74]

^ While true in a sense, that is not very fair, not the way you state it, most Southern cities are sprawling because they are newer cities and lack the geographical boundaries that hem in most older ones not to mention that most of their growth occurred after the coming of the automobile. So really a timing issue more than a "southern one", if the development of our country had been different the situation could easily be the opposite. By the way, Michi's pictures avoid the sprawl shots, I guess you picked up on this elsewhere...

[DigitalSky]

Really awesome pictures!

[Lone Ranger]

Don't feel like the Long Ranger I was told not to take a picture in the parking lot where the Ritz Carlton is going.