Charlotte Photo of the Day

[Matthew.Brendan]

[KJHburg]

^^^ did not know of that Terrace of Cedar Hill space.  Really nice space.  Perhaps the site of the UP annual party if we have one if they would donate it to us LOL

[KJHburg]

Couple miscellaneous skyline photos today. 

[15895]

In case anyone saw lots of people walking around on cell phones today. It was a Pokémon Go event. 

Edited February 24, 2018 by AirNostrumMAD

[Hunted]

People still playing Pokémon Go?! Lmao I thought that died a quick death in 2015.

[Nick2]

31 minutes ago, Hunted said:

People still playing Pokémon Go?! Lmao I thought that died a quick death in 2015.

Nah it's still in the top 10 apps in usage.

[go_vertical]

That Embassy Suites has not grown on me in the slightest bit. It just looks so plastic and temporary.

[eastsider]

[Hunted]

Drone vid flying over 3rd Ward. Some solid angles of the skyline and construction site for Legacy Union and BOA stadium.

 

[JacksonH]

On 2/17/2018 at 5:05 PM, Hunted said:

This building looks great, but just because a building is old/"historical" doesn't automatically make it great. The Polk building and ESPECIALLY the Diehl building are worthless piles of crap. I can't comprehend why people on this site want to preserve them. I'm glad they're getting demolished to make way for superior structures. The Diehl building is painted grey cinder blocks. That's the exact same design for jail cells. Level it.

No!  That kind of thinking is what has led Charlotte to have this reputation as sterile and soulless.  The Diehl building could EASILY be turned into a jewel.  Put some shutters on the windows, add some awnings, some gaslamp-style lights, and paint it two or three interesting colors, including a different color for the windowsills, maybe some box planters under the windows, and it could be charming and a stunner with little investment required.  All it takes is a little bit of vision and some TLC.

[Hunted]

2 minutes ago, JacksonH said:

No!  That kind of thinking is what has led Charlotte to have this reputation as sterile and soulless.  The Diehl building could EASILY be turned into a jewel.  Put some shutters on the windows, add some awnings, some gaslamp-style lights, and paint it two or three interesting colors, including a different color for the windowsills, maybe some box planters under the windows, and it could be charming and a stunner with little investment required.  All it takes is a little bit of vision and some TLC.

I feel like that works for houses, not buildings. To each his own...

It’s bland and worthy of demolition for a superior structure to replace it, in my opinion. We’re all entitled to our own opinion.

[SgtCampsalot]

Yeah, the Diehl building was sterilized with grey paint by the law firm after being a gorgeous, red brick structure when it was the swe'd store. It could have been so many different things as a third life.

I argue the only reason folks are happy to see it go is because of that, and the fact that it's inside the 277 loop.

[JacksonH]

27 minutes ago, Hunted said:

I feel like that works for houses, not buildings. To each his own...

It’s bland and worthy of demolition for a superior structure to replace it, in my opinion. We’re all entitled to our own opinion.

No, not at all.  Buildings that are treated and fixed up like home are inviting.  People want to be there.  I've lived outside of Charlotte for many years, in cities where they do this sort of thing in commercial areas.  It works.  Those kinds of neighborhoods are full of vibrancy.  Charlotte is aching for this sort of resurrection of its neglected old buildings, and tragically there are so few left.  It kills me when I visit there and see its history being erased.

 

Edited February 27, 2018 by JacksonH

[QCxpat]

15 hours ago, JacksonH said:

No, not at all.  Buildings that are treated and fixed up like home are inviting.  People want to be there.  I've lived outside of Charlotte for many years, in cities where they do this sort of thing in commercial areas.  It works.  Those kinds of neighborhoods are full of vibrancy.  Charlotte is aching for this sort of resurrection of its neglected old buildings, and tragically there are so few left.  It kills me when I visit there and see its history being erased.

 

 

 

 @JacksonH   Welcome to Charlotte UP!  Great post, nice photos.  These buildings are really handsome, and I wish they were all in Charlotte, but I doubt if they are.  Perhaps they're in Raleigh's historic Warehouse District or, maybe, Wilmington's Riverfront -- Dunno?  These buildings have great curb appeal, and are suffused with Old World charm and character.   Would help if you could Identify the locations of the photos so we'll know what city / town is depicted.  Thanks a lot, and welcome to UP.

 

Edited February 27, 2018 by QCxpat
Unsure of location(s) of these handsome buildings

[Cadi40]

The last one is Wilmington, Dont know about the others.

[jtmonk]

1 hour ago, Cadi40 said:

The last one is Wilmington, Dont know about the others.

Nope, that's actually Alexandria VA, Old Town to be exact.   The restaurant on the far left is Bugsy's Pizza,   Also, if you google the Fish Market Alexandria VA, one of the first pics on google is the one JacksonH posted.  It does resemble parts of Wilmington though. 

Edited February 27, 2018 by jtmonk

[HighRiseHillbilly]

Old brick painted white with nice black accents is always classic and stunning. Works for houses and commercial establishments.

I have seen one shopping center and one restaurant do that recently. Very nice. The would probably look even better if the buildings were over 30 years old.

[nakers2]

I couldn't agree more with the sentiment that the passive attitude towards historical buildings in Charlotte as "not all being special" has resulted in much neglect and destruction. I look at some of the mid-century architecture that's being destroyed today and wonder if one day we will look back and regret that too. Though I am happy to see a tower like Legacy Union, I often wonder what a face lifted Charlotte Observer building could've looked like, or if it could've been incorporated into the new tower, like the Western Metal and Supply building at Petco Park in San Diego, and if our children and grandchildren will look back at it's destruction as inconceivable. It was this "make way for the new" attitude that resulted in Penn Station being razed (the building, not the underground station itself) in favor of Madison Square Garden. However, unlike NYC, Charlotte has had, and still has PLENTY of room to build new, and maintain the old. Now I am a realist and understand that not EVERY building can be saved, and perhaps the CO building isn't the best example, there were inherent issues with it, and the fact it was purpose built for a newspaper which is now slowly dying, or at least moving to a digital format, made it unattractive to new tenants, but for other examples, such as the old buildings that once stood where Spectrum now is, or the old shops on Independence Square, torn down for a pocket park. 

[QCxpat]

10 hours ago, nakers2 said:

 However, unlike NYC, Charlotte has had, and still has PLENTY of room to build new, and maintain the old. 

While I love the new residential high-rise and mid-rise buildings going up in Charlotte, contemporary drone videos clearly show that nearly 1/4 of Center City Charlotte basically consists of surface parking lots and decks.

In 1941, W.J. Cash who worked as a journalist for The Observer and lived at the Frederick Apartments at 515 North Church Street, said of skyscrapers that Charlotte had "little more use for them than a hog has for a morning coat."  See  W.J. Cash, The Mind of the South (New York: Vintage Books, 1969), p. 224.  The book was originally published in 1941.   Plus ça change.

Edited March 1, 2018 by QCxpat

[tozmervo]

23 minutes ago, QCxpat said:

While I love the new residential high-rise and mid-rise buildings going up in Charlotte, contemporary drone videos clearly show that nearly 1/4 of Center City Charlotte basically consists of surface parking lots and decks.

In 1941, W.J. Cash who worked as a journalist for The Observer and lived at the Frederick Apartments at 515 North Church Street, said of skyscrapers that Charlotte had "little more use for them than a hog has for a morning coat."  See  W.J. Cash, The Mind of the South (New York: Vintage Books, 1969), p. 224.  The book was originally published in 1941.   Plus ça change.

[nakers2]

5 hours ago, QCxpat said:

While I love the new residential high-rise and mid-rise buildings going up in Charlotte, contemporary drone videos clearly show that nearly 1/4 of Center City Charlotte basically consists of surface parking lots and decks.

In 1941, W.J. Cash who worked as a journalist for The Observer and lived at the Frederick Apartments at 515 North Church Street, said of skyscrapers that Charlotte had "little more use for them than a hog has for a morning coat."  See  W.J. Cash, The Mind of the South (New York: Vintage Books, 1969), p. 224.  The book was originally published in 1941.   Plus ça change.

Exactly, can you imagine how massive our Uptown district would be if we had all this new construction in addition to the old? Frankly the main core of density Uptown for the longest time was Tryon Street, even just maintaining the legacy frontage along the main boulevard, and expanding new construction outward would result in one of the most interesting main drags in the country. 

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, nakers2 said:

Exactly, can you imagine how massive our Uptown district would be if we had all this new construction in addition to the old? Frankly the main core of density Uptown for the longest time was Tryon Street, even just maintaining the legacy frontage along the main boulevard, and expanding new construction outward would result in one of the most interesting main drags in the country. 

and if we had kept and grown the original streetcar system too!!!! gosh, that'd be beautiful

[KJHburg]

Not the best photo but all I could capture with my phone. After the rains stop, the sun briefly popped out and left a glow on uptown.  Rainbow was off to the right but I dont think you can see it in this photo from South Blvd.   Hopefully someone else got a photo of the glow tonight on the uptown skyline.  It was brief. 

[Hugo704]

This evening around 6pm

[tozmervo]