Duke Energy Plaza Headquarters | 40 Story formerly Charlotte Metro Tower

[Guest]

Sometimes it just hurts doesn't it...

Wish I could respond to this with an apple emoji.

 

Just keeping people excited for stuff that will be public soon. Sorry I can’t for confidentiality reasons share stuff man.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[videtur quam contuor]

10 hours ago, JacksonH said:

Because I remember reading in the Charlotte Observer some 30 years ago that city leaders wanted to designate it Uptown because they thought that sounded more upscale (and I'll say pretentious) than downtown.   According to this FAE broadcast, it sounds like we're both right:  The man who was behind officially naming it "Uptown" in the '70s was motivated by a desire to sound upscale but supported his cause with some historical reasoning.  https://www.wfae.org/post/faq-city-why-downtown-charlotte-called-uptown#stream/0

I lived through this period and recall it thusly from my post a month ago. My comment is a severely shortened recall of a several years long effort.

"From the 1960's into the 80's the downtown of Charlotte was visibly falling into desuetude. Hugh McColl at BoA (to come), Ed Crutchfield at First Union and many others wanted the home of the growing banks to be in an area of activity and not decay. The Chamber plus several mayors  polished plans for improvements in sidewalks, retail opportunity, transportation, lighting, enforcement and general betterment. Harvey Gantt as councilman and Mayor played a strong role in this with his background in city planning and architecture. A new attitude required a new destination and the high point in the center of original Charlotte was christened Uptown from the historic term downtown. With repeated use and persistent press focus it eventually changed in the minds and speech of the population.  Up is positive, down is low. Up is better, down is decline. Thus our thinking can be changed, thence our vocabulary."

There may have been more than one cycle of uptown, downtown, other term in the history of our city.

Jack Wood sold men's clothes in the business district and was in the know for many projects of the time. I can remember no "Call to history" in the renaming. This had some of the public relations efforts that Wilmore and Dilworth business and light industrial had in becoming South End. Change name, change perceptions. Newer is better. Up is good, etc.

•  

[Dale]

My wife worked for BofA for 21 years. One time she shared an elevator with Hugh McColl. On learning that she was an employee, McColl asked my wife what she did and what she was doing to make money for him.

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

1 hour ago, Dale said:

My wife worked for BofA for 21 years. One time she shared an elevator with Hugh McColl. On learning that she was an employee, McColl asked my wife what she did and what she was doing to make money for him.

He is a quirky but old school guy. I ran into him at the East Blvd. Harris Teeter and was wearing all black denim with black cowboy boots, was polite to everyone but certainly seemed like a Walker Texas Ranger villain.

[JacksonH]

5 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

I lived through this period and recall it thusly from my post a month ago. My comment is a severely shortened recall of a several years long effort.

"From the 1960's into the 80's the downtown of Charlotte was visibly falling into desuetude. Hugh McColl at BoA (to come), Ed Crutchfield at First Union and many others wanted the home of the growing banks to be in an area of activity and not decay. The Chamber plus several mayors  polished plans for improvements in sidewalks, retail opportunity, transportation, lighting, enforcement and general betterment. Harvey Gantt as councilman and Mayor played a strong role in this with his background in city planning and architecture. A new attitude required a new destination and the high point in the center of original Charlotte was christened Uptown from the historic term downtown. With repeated use and persistent press focus it eventually changed in the minds and speech of the population.  Up is positive, down is low. Up is better, down is decline. Thus our thinking can be changed, thence our vocabulary."

There may have been more than one cycle of uptown, downtown, other term in the history of our city.

Jack Wood sold men's clothes in the business district and was in the know for many projects of the time. I can remember no "Call to history" in the renaming. This had some of the public relations efforts that Wilmore and Dilworth business and light industrial had in becoming South End. Change name, change perceptions. Newer is better. Up is good, etc.

•  

Great assessment.  Thank you.  And I vividly remember Uptown/Downtown/Center City Charlotte back in the early '80s.  I had just arrived in town as a freshman at UNCC.  My friends and I (all new to Charlotte) decided to drive there to check it out one night.  The only nightlife we saw was on Tryon Street, a couple blocks north of Trade, where a couple unattractive hookers were screaming at us to stop.  It was hard to imagine then anyone actually wanting to live around there.  And the South End area was just as bad.

Edited January 18, 2019 by JacksonH

[jednc]

9 hours ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

Wish I could respond to this with an apple emoji.

 

Just keeping people excited for stuff that will be public soon. Sorry I can’t for confidentiality reasons share stuff man.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Honestly, that was just my snarky way commenting on the frustration when your written comments are misunderstood.

[Guest]

23 minutes ago, jednc said:

Honestly, that was just my snarky way commenting on the frustration when your written comments are misunderstood.

in that case, yes, it does hurt haha.

[SydneyCarton]

On 1/17/2019 at 9:08 AM, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

Demand for condos in Charlotte is already there. Land/Construction prices are just way too high, and you have to self finance, no loans. NYC has a GDP larger than Russia and South Korea, almost as much as all of Canada, so theres a LOT of money to throw around

Hopefully, the condos will rise here then.

That will transform an already great skyline.

 

 

Edited January 19, 2019 by SydneyCarton

[Miesian Corners]

On 1/18/2019 at 11:37 AM, tarhoosier said:

I lived through this period and recall it thusly from my post a month ago. My comment is a severely shortened recall of a several years long effort.

"From the 1960's into the 80's the downtown of Charlotte was visibly falling into desuetude. Hugh McColl at BoA (to come), Ed Crutchfield at First Union and many others wanted the home of the growing banks to be in an area of activity and not decay. The Chamber plus several mayors  polished plans for improvements in sidewalks, retail opportunity, transportation, lighting, enforcement and general betterment. Harvey Gantt as councilman and Mayor played a strong role in this with his background in city planning and architecture. A new attitude required a new destination and the high point in the center of original Charlotte was christened Uptown from the historic term downtown. With repeated use and persistent press focus it eventually changed in the minds and speech of the population.  Up is positive, down is low. Up is better, down is decline. Thus our thinking can be changed, thence our vocabulary."

There may have been more than one cycle of uptown, downtown, other term in the history of our city.

Jack Wood sold men's clothes in the business district and was in the know for many projects of the time. I can remember no "Call to history" in the renaming. This had some of the public relations efforts that Wilmore and Dilworth business and light industrial had in becoming South End. Change name, change perceptions. Newer is better. Up is good, etc.

•  

My grandmother and great aunt used to talke about riding the streetcar uptown in the 1920s. The moniker is not a mere 1970s rebranding, it has a real history. 

They never referred to the CBD as anything but “uptown”. 

[videtur quam contuor]

"There may have been more than one cycle of uptown, downtown, other term in the history of our city."

from my post above, and your family experience confirms that.

[JorgiPorgi]

5 minutes ago, tarhoosier said:

"There may have been more than one cycle of uptown, downtown, other term in the history of our city."

from my post above, and your family experience confirms that.

My grandad was born in Charlotte in 1927, and was raised off Wendover in East Charlotte. He said they always referred to it as uptown as well. I believe it’s due to the fact that Uptown sits at a higher elevation than the adjacent neighborhoods. 

I have heard it called Center City and the Brookshire Blvd sign on 85 says “downtown”.  But I’ve never actually heard a native call it anything but uptown. 

Edited January 19, 2019 by JorgiPorgi

[Seaboard Fellow]

That NCDOT sign that says “downtown” has more to do with NCDOT using their standard interstate signage for downtowns statewide. NCDOT hardly references Charlotte’s CBD on any signage not immediately adjacent to Uptown. At minimum “Uptown Charlotte” should be on the interstate BGS located at NC16/I-85, I-485/I-85, I-485/I-77, and I-77/I-85 interchanges. 

Edited January 19, 2019 by Seaboard Fellow

[Crucial_Infra]

Those "Downtown" signs on the interstates are not there to satisfy local nomenclature; there primarily purpose is to help people find places. Everyone knows what "Downtown" means even if that's not what it's technically called here. Using "Uptown" signs exclusively would only create confusion with people out of town (precisely the people who most need those signs). I'm on the side of the NCDOT on this one. 

Edited January 20, 2019 by Crucial_Infra

[NCMike1990]

8 minutes ago, Crucial_Infra said:

Those "Downtown" signs on the interstates are not there to satisfy local nomenclature; there primarily purpose is to help people find places. Everyone knows what "Downtown" means even if that's not what it's technically called here. Using "Uptown" signs exclusively would only create confusion with people out of town (precisely the people who most need those signs). I'm on the side of the NCDOT on this one. 

We’re getting off topic but how do you feel about these signs? Remember these signs are well within the city limits so I don’t see a need for them. Do they not know that there’s more to Charlotte than the CBD? It really annoys me.  I think those signs should read “Downtown”  instead. That would make more sense. I know they’re NCDOT signs but I wish they would change them. 

[AuLukey]

We’re getting off topic but how do you feel about these signs?

 

When was this thread ever on topic?

[JacksonH]

55 minutes ago, NCMike1990 said:

We’re getting off topic but how do you feel about these signs? Remember these signs are well within the city limits so I don’t see a need for them. Do they not know that there’s more to Charlotte than the CBD? It really annoys me.  I think those signs should read “Downtown”  instead. That would make more sense. I know they’re NCDOT signs but I wish they would change them. 

I think signs like these are pretty typical, anywhere.  And the mileage markers you see on a highway are generally telling you how far you are from the central business district of the respective city.  A pretty stark example here in San Diego is a highway sign on I-15 south, which says "San Diego 30 Miles," but then just a couple miles down the road you enter the San Diego city limits, yet you're still 26 or so miles from downtown.  This makes sense, though,  because, otherwise, if those signs were directing you to the city limits rather than downtown, then every time the city limits changed all those hundreds of signs directing you to the city would also have to either be moved or have their numbers changed, which would be incredibly expensive and wasteful.  Because central business districts are unlikely to ever change, all those highway signs can remain forever unaltered.

Edited January 20, 2019 by JacksonH

[NCMike1990]

5 minutes ago, JacksonH said:

I think signs like these are pretty typical, anywhere.  And the mileage markers you see on a highway are generally telling you how far you are from the central business district of the respective city.  A pretty stark example here in San Diego is a highway sign on I-15 south, which says "San Diego 30 Miles," but then just a couple miles down the road you enter the San Diego city limits, yet you're still 26 or so miles from downtown.  This makes sense, though,  because, otherwise, if those signs were directing you to the city limits rather than downtown, then every time the city limits changed all those hundreds of signs directing you to the city would also have to either be moved or have their numbers changed, which would be incredibly expensive and wasteful.  Because central business districts are unlikely to ever change, all those highway signs can remain forever unaltered.

Yes I understand that point about the city limits.  I think those signs that I posted should say downtown instead of just Charlotte.

[Crucial_Infra]

1 hour ago, NCMike1990 said:

We’re getting off topic but how do you feel about these signs? Remember these signs are well within the city limits so I don’t see a need for them. Do they not know that there’s more to Charlotte than the CBD? It really annoys me.  I think those signs should read “Downtown”  instead. That would make more sense. I know they’re NCDOT signs but I wish they would change them. 

Yeah I'm not really bothered by those signs. In fact, I always find it kind of cool to see mileage signs when you're really already "there".  I have a distinct memory when I was young driving into Atlanta and the road is widening and there's traffic everywhere and seeing a sign that read "Atlanta 10" and being thoroughly impressed...  

As far as those directional signs inside the city limits, my guess is if they changed them from "Charlotte" to "Downtown" folks would just complain they didn't say "Uptown".

Edited January 20, 2019 by Crucial_Infra

[JacksonH]

49 minutes ago, NCMike1990 said:

Yes I understand that point about the city limits.  I think those signs that I posted should say downtown instead of just Charlotte.

It looks like you were on Hwy 49 for one of those shots.  No doubt there were many signs further outside of town that said "Charlotte X miles," marking how far it was to the CBD.  This seems to me to be consistent with those by still simply saying Charlotte and still referring to the CBD.  And those signs likely were put there at a time when they were well outside of the city limits.

[NCMike1990]

8 minutes ago, JacksonH said:

It looks like you were on Hwy 49 for one of those shots.  No doubt there were many signs further outside of town that said "Charlotte X miles," marking how far it was to the CBD.  This seems to me to be consistent with those by still simply saying Charlotte and still referring to the CBD.  And those signs likely were put there at a time when they were well outside of the city limits.

Yes, that sign is on 49 (Tryon St) at the ramp to I-77 northbound.

[Guest]

 Looks like Renderings should be available March 1st.

[CLTProductions]

10 minutes ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

 Looks like Renderings should be available March 1st.

Generously...March 1st

[Guest]

Just now, Jayvee said:

Generously...March 1st

haha, yea, sometime between march 1st and april 1st

[DMann]

Is that normal time frame or RDF time frame?

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, DMann said:

Is that normal time frame or RDF time frame?

thats a developer confirmed timeframe. Will work to get something unofficial sooner.