How Charlotte Became Charlotte...

[kermit]

I am intrigued. What would you all say?

Personally: 

• Whitewater, while good, did not come close to living up to potential (so I would bump it out of top 10)
• Would replace 91 NBA draft w 94 Final Four, although either of these could arguably be considered the first big national event in CLT
• DNC needs to be included (IMO this event did more to bring Charlotte to the national stage than any other)
• I don’t think the city deserves much/any credit for the banks. That was all McColl, Storrs, Crutchfield, etc. along with some helpful legislative decisions in Raleigh long ago.
• I agree the airport deserves the #1 slot, not sure I would attribute all of that success to Jerry and his penny-pinching. Honestly the folks at Piedmont airlines deserve equal billing.

Edit: Pre-decline NASCAR, pro wrestling and PTL probably deserve some credit as well, although these all seem to be purely entrepreneurial businesses so they probably don’t qualify as a big bet.

Now that I think of it, Charlotte’s biggest bet was almost certainly James B. Duke’s decision (at William States Lee’s recommendation) to use part of tobacco fortune to generate electricity from the Catawba river basin. It was among the earliest electrical grids in the South and perhaps the nation.

Perhaps second on the list was the decision of the 'local planters' to pay the Charlotte and South Carolina railroad to terminate in Charlotte (rather than Gastonia, Belmont or Monroe) back in the early 1850s. This was a truly existential decision https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_and_South_Carolina_Railroad  The story is best told in Sorting Out the New South City by Hanchett.

 

Edited December 15, 2020 by kermit

[Rufus]

Dr. Graves in the Geography Dept. at UNC Charlotte has a fascinating grasp of Charlotte's history and geographic site and situation that eventually played into the city growing. IIRC, while at its inception having poor navigable waterways hindered the state and the city, it ended up playing in our favor through train and truck routes between the major ports, and across the Appalachian. It also helped that these waterways went on to help spur the manufacturing industry that made the Charlotte to Greensboro corridor so massive...especially in textiles. That played favorably as the city began to densify and modernize. 

And then you have Glass-Steagall and the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking Act that really pushed Nationsbank and Wachovia to be what they were. And if you really look into it, geography played a part in those developments too. 

So it was almost like the city took a bet on its entire existence and geography, and rather than look at its present state in the 1700s, it saw moments in history that it took advantage of to be the city it is today. 

[Urban Cowboy]

TOP TEN BIGGEST CHARLOTTE BETS (subjective ranking)

10. Panthers winning a Super Bowl
9. Legacy Union Parking Deck Capacity
8. Charlotte Coliseum
7. Independence Blvd
6. Levineland
5. Charlotte Bobcats
4. Truist Signage
3. Charging to ride the Gold Line
2. 277
1. Eastland Mall (RIP)

[AP3]

1 hour ago, Rufus said:

Dr. Graves in the Geography Dept. at UNC Charlotte has a fascinating grasp of Charlotte's history and geographic site and situation that eventually played into the city growing. IIRC, while at its inception having poor navigable waterways hindered the state and the city, it ended up playing in our favor through train and truck routes between the major ports, and across the Appalachian. It also helped that these waterways went on to help spur the manufacturing industry that made the Charlotte to Greensboro corridor so massive...especially in textiles. That played favorably as the city began to densify and modernize. 

And then you have Glass-Steagall and the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking Act that really pushed Nationsbank and Wachovia to be what they were. And if you really look into it, geography played a part in those developments too. 

So it was almost like the city took a bet on its entire existence and geography, and rather than look at its present state in the 1700s, it saw moments in history that it took advantage of to be the city it is today. 

Bill is great!  He was one of my advisors for the Urban-Regional Analysis / Location Analysis program (Masters in Geography) at UNCC.  He and Heather Smith (also a professor in the department) authored "Charlotte, NC: The Global Evolution of the New South City."  Highly recommend.

https://www.amazon.com/Charlotte-NC-Global-Evolution-South/dp/0820343080

 

[Rufus]

1 hour ago, AP3 said:

Bill is great!  He was one of my advisors for the Urban-Regional Analysis / Location Analysis program (Masters in Geography) at UNCC.  He and Heather Smith (also a professor in the department) authored "Charlotte, NC: The Global Evolution of the New South City."  Highly recommend.

https://www.amazon.com/Charlotte-NC-Global-Evolution-South/dp/0820343080

 

Ha! Along with Tink Moore (RIP), all three were integral in my Geography degree and Urban Studies minor. They played massive roles in my life and development as an urban planner. 

[videtur quam contuor]

4 hours ago, Rufus said:

Dr. Graves in the Geography Dept. at UNC Charlotte has a fascinating grasp of Charlotte's history and geographic site and situation that eventually played into the city growing.

You don't say.

Edited December 15, 2020 by tarhoosier

[JacksonH]

On 12/15/2020 at 8:27 AM, kermit said:

Perhaps second on the list was the decision of the 'local planters' to pay the Charlotte and South Carolina railroad to terminate in Charlotte (rather than Gastonia, Belmont or Monroe) back in the early 1850s. This was a truly existential decision https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_and_South_Carolina_Railroad  The story is best told in Sorting Out the New South City by Hanchett.

 

Hmm.  So if the terminus had been in Belmont, all those skyscrapers would be near the banks of the Catawba River and this would be a riverfront city?  Well darnit!