Ally Charlotte Center (f/k/a Tryon Place) - 26 floors - 427'

[tozmervo]

my final comment on the o/t - College still exists in Southend behind Camden/Mosaic apartments, basically as an alleyway.

[Windsurfer]

1 hour ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

Man it'd be great to still have that building. I'm pretty sure I've seen pictures of my grandmother in front of this building from when she graduated from there a billion years ago. Maybe not... since it moved in 1912...

Speaking of grandmothers...my grandmother and grandfather are in this shot from around 1920. This was the same block as The Hearst Tower on N.College. I'm president of the same company now.

[archiham04]

deleted because my commments were redundant

 

Edited January 23, 2017 by archiham04

[Bikeguy]

1 hour ago, tarhoosier said:

Interesting photo and perspective. This is an aerial photo? This may be from earlier than '71. I moved here in '71 and that rail line that curves to the right of the photo with a pass over College was a connector to the mainline that is on West Trade but I cannot recall the overpass being there in '71. Strawn Tower on S. Blvd was built in 70 so must be about that time.

Photo was taken from the top of what was the very new 32 story Jefferson Pilot Building, now Well Fargo. 

[edmundblackadder1999]

5 hours ago, Niner National said:

Presbyterian College for Women used to be located at College and 9th.

 

Charlotte would be so much nicer if it had old buildings like that.  In such a small city with lots of empty land, there was no reason to raze great, old buildings.

[Niner National]

Just now, edmundblackadder1999 said:

Charlotte would be so much nicer if it had old buildings like that.  In such a small city with lots of empty land, there was no reason to raze great, old buildings.

Well, the city used to just be roughly what is now Uptown and it was quite dense. 

There were reasons at the time, though in hindsight we know tearing down these old buildings was a mistake. You have to keep in mind the time period in which they were torn down though--primarily the 60's and 70s. At that time, most of the buildings in Uptown were only 30-50 years old and not really considered historic.

[Dale]

Wasn't the substantial majority of historic stock low-rise in nature ? I know that Charlotte was basically a small town until around 1940.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[edmundblackadder1999]

1 hour ago, Niner National said:

Well, the city used to just be roughly what is now Uptown and it was quite dense. 

There were reasons at the time, though in hindsight we know tearing down these old buildings was a mistake. You have to keep in mind the time period in which they were torn down though--primarily the 60's and 70s. At that time, most of the buildings in Uptown were only 30-50 years old and not really considered historic.

Yes, but to this today (let alone 20 years ago), there are (and were) scores of empty lots surrounding Uptown.  When I first visited in 1993, there were parking lots everywhere.  I assume that was the case when that old building was razed in the 60s.

Edited January 23, 2017 by edmundblackadder1999

[Guest]

Yes, but to this today (let alone 20 years ago), there are (and were) scores of empty lots surrounding Uptown.  When I first visited in 1993, there were parking lots everywhere.  I assume that was the case when that old building was razed in the 60s.

Take a look at historic aerials. Not so many empty lots.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SgtCampsalot]

Relative to other towns in the region, Charlotte was always more active than others, meaning it was a pretty dense, bustling town. The textile industry was HUGE here. So, lots of stuff everywhere (in the original "Uptown" grid system), including its fair share of tall brick/stone buildings. The immense growth of Nations Bank -> BoA, etc, in 60s 70s is why it turned into a legit city. 

I mean, it was so full of real estate that it spawned at least half a dozen other neighborhood "downtowns" that were each effectively small little towns in and of themselves. Chew on that wacky tobacky for a tick.

Edited January 24, 2017 by SgtCampsalot

[archiham04]

14 hours ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

Take a look at historic aerials. Not so many empty lots.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not so many, but I looked at some pre renewal (1950's ish) aerials and was surprised to see so many surface lots behind the buildings on Tryon and Trade.  

[Guest]

On 1/22/2017 at 10:35 AM, hinsp0 said:

I understand that there is a purchaser for the Diehl property.  The purchaser is not Crescent.

This is confirmed now. To throw a wrench in the works, the buyer IS NOT a hotel developer. Crescents option to buy the building expired, and it was snapped up. Sounds like the building will be restored and redeveloped for retail and office. Not sure what this means for Crescent and hotel plans.

 

[Niner National]

15 hours ago, edmundblackadder1999 said:

Yes, but to this today (let alone 20 years ago), there are (and were) scores of empty lots surrounding Uptown.  When I first visited in 1993, there were parking lots everywhere.  I assume that was the case when that old building was razed in the 60s.

Just to give you a quick history of the density of Uptown:

 

1920s

 

1949

 

1966

 

1975

 

It wasn't until the 70's that uptown was basically devoid of buildings. In 1975, you could successfully graze cattle in Uptown, yet only 9 years before, Uptown was quite dense. The city leaders during that 9 year stretch should have their corpses exhumed and posthumously shot...but like I said, at the time those decisions were made, the buildings weren't historic and in their minds, they were simply destroying derelict old buildings that were degrading Charlotte's image rather than enhancing it. 

[edmundblackadder1999]

Great photos.

[SgtCampsalot]

I don't want to keep getting too off topic, but in the discussion of Charlotte razing real estate, the Brooklyn neighborhood in 2nd ward must always be rehashed. ^^Most of that last photo up there (the cow pastures) is 2nd ward, where Brooklyn was:

http://brooklynvillage-clt.com/history/

 

 

Edited January 24, 2017 by SgtCampsalot

[edmundblackadder1999]

Razing those log cabins was a good thing.  Charlotte looked like Tobaccy Road.

[CLT704]

1 hour ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

This is confirmed now. To throw a wrench in the works, the buyer IS NOT a hotel developer. Crescents option to buy the building expired, and it was snapped up. Sounds like the building will be restored and redeveloped for retail and office. Not sure what this means for Crescent and hotel plans.

 

Great! This makes it better and better!!

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, CLT704 said:

Great! This makes it better and better!!

Also means that Crescent site will have to be more dense than before, though it won't make the building any taller. 

[jednc]

3 hours ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

This is confirmed now. To throw a wrench in the works, the buyer IS NOT a hotel developer. Crescents option to buy the building expired, and it was snapped up. Sounds like the building will be restored and redeveloped for retail and office. Not sure what this means for Crescent and hotel plans.

 

 

This isn't meant specifically for you RDF, just commenting on this post's info. This sounds to me like Crescent dropped the ball. If the building was "for sale" Crescent should have bought it. If the price was higher than they wanted it to be, so be it. I would just about guarantee that whoever did buy it did not get a price reduction from what was being asked when Crescent had the option. Of course, there could be some sort of extenuating circumstance...but I'd sure be interested in hearing it.

[deleted]

3 hours ago, Niner National said:

The city leaders during that 9 year stretch should have their corpses exhumed and posthumously shot...

I literally laughed out loud...great comment!

3 hours ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

This is confirmed now. To throw a wrench in the works, the buyer IS NOT a hotel developer. Crescents option to buy the building expired, and it was snapped up. Sounds like the building will be restored and redeveloped for retail and office. Not sure what this means for Crescent and hotel plans.

 

This is really shocking.  I like the idea of a high quality restoration though...

[SgtCampsalot]

More exposed red brick would be very welcome in Uptown, especially that shiny south side of it.

[jednc]

59 minutes ago, JBS said:

This is really shocking.  I like the idea of a high quality restoration though...

2

Honestly, my earlier comment needs some clarification. While I think Crescent dropped the ball if they had a vision for the entire block that depended on this site...I'm not so sure that this won't be better. I realize this isn't the best example of something old in Uptown...but, it's about all that's left so saving it really isn't such a bad thing I don't think.

Edited January 24, 2017 by jednc

[KJHburg]

My grandfather drove in from the suburbs to shops at the seed and hardware store in that building. I would think it would be neat to be incorporated into a larger project but it is somewhat strange that the option lapsed. 

[urbanlover568]

The cold hard truth is you can't keep every building. If those buildings would have stayed, charlotte's skyline would look much different than what it is today. Maybe they saw a opportunity to start on a blank slate. 

Edit: Here is why those buildings were torn down..

 

Edited January 24, 2017 by mpretori

[nakers2]

1 minute ago, mpretori said:

The cold hard truth is you can't keep every building. If those buildings would have stayed, charlotte's skyline would look much different than what it is today. Maybe they saw a opportunity to start on a blank slate. 

I like our new buildings, I just wish we had a better mix with the old. I was in Winston Salem the other day and their downtown isn't as bustling as ours for sure (smaller city, not really a criticism) but the pretty solid mix of old and new was pleasing, its much harder to emulate an artificial town center, keeping and maintaining original buildings is the only real way to create that welcoming atmosphere. I know not all of Charlotte's buildings were particularly special enough to be saved, but the sheer number of them razed for parking lots makes me sad and angry. I don't think keeping these buildings would've stifled any growth Uptown, if anything our city center would be larger and denser than it is today.