Charlotte Photo of the Day

[deleted]

West Charlotte, the next great (and very diverse) Charlotte neighborhood.  VERY small sampling, and just wait for the Gold Line and Savona (https://www.savonamill.com/):

[KJHburg]

^^^ Her e is the link to Toucan Louie's since I had not seen that.  I have been through those streets for I recognize the homes. 

http://toucanlouies.com/

Edited March 2, 2018 by KJHburg

[videtur quam contuor]

Across the street from Toucan Louie is the former Belvedere Theatre.

http://cltblog.com/4118 

The vacant land across from Louie is the site of the former Belvedere Homes, an apartment project of the Charlotte Housing authority for low income white families. It dated from the early 1950's. *

You may take from those two sentences preceding what you would like about Charlotte then and now.

In the 1970's black families had displaced 99% of the white families in Belvedere and it has been gone now for many years.

*http://www.torightthesewrongs.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Richards-Elise-Residential-Segregation-in-Charlotte-NC.pdf

[JacksonH]

On 2/27/2018 at 3:25 AM, QCxpat said:

 @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.

 

None of these buildings are in Charlotte.  I was just using them as examples to show that adding touches like shutters, window boxes, lamps, and the right color paint can turn an otherwise drab old building into something of great beauty, and relatively little cost.  My grandparents and aunts and uncles were living in Charlotte in the 1920s.  It pains me to see so many buildings from their time destroyed, with so little effort to save them.  If the center city becomes nothing but glass and steel skyscrapers, it becomes quite boring.  I've been living in cities where these sorts of buildings are cherished and have been woven into the fabric of downtown as vibrant, exciting entertainment centers.  They attract people in a way that modern skyscrapers don't.  History is important, and that old architecture is very engaging to many, many people.  And for me, it's also personal because I want to be able to have some connection to the Charlotte my relatives knew 90 years ago.   Thanks for the welcome, by the way.   

[JacksonH]

On 3/1/2018 at 12:16 PM, 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. 

You hit the nail on the head.  I see old pictures of Tryon St. and all those beautiful long-gone buildings and it makes my heart ache.  In San Diego, they sectioned off the entire original downtown as historic and untouchable.  All the new high-rises have had to be built around that area, but cannot be built within it.  That sectioned off historic area downtown is now known as the Gaslamp Quarter and it is rocking and rolling every day and night of the week, full of restaurants, bars, musical venues, stores.  It's a jewel of the city.  Austin still has its 6th St. with a similar vibe (and obviously lots of music).  DC has Georgetown and Alexandria, VA across the river.  Richmond has Shockoe Bottom and Shockoe Slip next to downtown, and those are very lively areas.  Tampa has Ybor City.  The most famous example is New Orlean's French Quarter.  Many cities in this country have their cherished historic areas that today are the most happening areas of town.   I beg Winston-Salem, if it goes into growth mode, to hold onto it's old Winston historic district in downtown, and of course Old Salem, and never allow those areas to be tampered with.  Charlotte made some huge mistakes destroying Tryon St., and also leveling 1st Ward and 2nd Ward.  There is not much left of old Charlotte, but what is left they should protect like a delicate, cherished piece of fine china.

[UPNoDa]

From The Met parking deck this afternoon.

[EllAyyDub]

Air Force one departing Charlotte earlier today.  

[SydneyCarton]

Did you take that?  If so, that’s an amazing, postcard-quality shot!

[KJHburg]

Drive by uptown today.  From Wilkinson and John Belk Freeway coming into uptown area. Love the angle of this view and I was not driving so got some better shots. 

[KJHburg]

My professional photographer friend took this and if ever need his services message me.  This is one fantastic shot and even shows traffic on 77 is light!  Today our Queen City entire skyline! 

[QCxpat]

On 2/17/2018 at 8:11 PM, KJHburg said:

^^^ The Diehl building is not made of cinder blocks. It is painted brick and there are earthquake bolts on the side which is common in buildings from the early 20th century after the big quake in Charleston in 1886.   ....  I love new  and shiny buildings but smaller older buildings can be incorporated into newer buildings and they are in many other cities including Raleigh with facade being saved on the Dillon Supply Building.   It gives great pedestrian scale and makes for more interesting interiors as well with exposed beams.  

While we're celebrating Charlotte's amazing metamorphosis as a rising Global City, let's do whatever we can to try and not lose another important piece of Charlotte's historic fabric,  i.e., The Diehl Law Firm Bldg. formerly The Query-Spivey-McGee Hardware and Feed Store Building.

600 South College Street

Now the headquarters for law firm James, McElroy, and Diehl, a livery stable stood on this spot sometime around 1902. In 1905, it was expanded and stories were added, but by 1908 portions of the building had been destroyed by a fire.

As the twentieth century passed, the building changed ownership and purpose many times: it was by turns a car dealership, a seed and feed, and even a Piggly Wiggly grocery store. One business, however, left an indelible mark on the city: Query, Spivey, and McGee. A hardware and seed-and-feed store, it opened in 1944 and continued there for forty years.

Pender McElroy, a partner in the law firm that occupies this historic uptown building, used to shop at the hardware store that was located here from 1944 to 1984. The checkerboard sign still remains.

In 1985, the building became the first historic building in uptown to be repurposed. Under the direction of the late real estate developer David Rogers, the structure underwent a massive face-lift and renovation, transforming from raw industrial to posh office space. Pender McElroy, of James, McElroy, and Diehl, beams when he talks about one of the building’s remaining elements.

“It’s the old checkerboard Purina Chow sign,” he says. “Everybody remembers that.” McElroy thinks the sign would make a great piece of art. “I just haven’t quite figured out what to do with it yet.”

 "...to step into the Query, Spivey and McGee building is to travel back at least fifty years to an old-fashioned store, and without much effort; it almost seems there is a smell of hay, horses and leather in the air."

Links:

http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/February-2012/Old-Masters-A-Look-at-Charlottes-Historic-Buildings/index.php?cparticle=1&siarticle=0#artanc  -- "Old Masters: A Look at Charlotte's Historic Buildings," Charlotte Magazine, February, 2012.

 http://cmhpf.org/S&Rs Alphabetical Order/surveys&rquery.htm  --  "William H. Huffman, "Query-Spivey-McGee Building: Survey and Research Report" (Charlotte: Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Properties Commission, 1983). 

Here's a list of some of the historic landmarks Charlotte has already lost in Second Ward:

• The 1926 Wilder Building at 237 South Tryon, demolished in 1983, was a 10 story Neoclassical skyscraper.  It was long the home of WBT, one of the most important early radio stations and later television stations in the Southeast.
• C.C. Hook's 1913 Masonic Temple (demolished 1987) with its enormous stone globes balanced on pylons flanking the entrance, an outstanding example of Egyptian Revival style architecture.

•  The 1942 Federal Reserve Bank (demolished 1997) at 401 S. Tryon, a crisply detailed blend of Art Deco and Neoclassical influences, was an important factor in Charlotte's growth after the Second World War into a major banking center.

• Myers Street School, Charlotte's first Black public school which opened in 1882  (2nd Ward).
• Charlotte's Black YMCA and Carnegie Library, the first public library for Blacks in North Carolina (2nd Ward).
• Homes of wealthy whites once lined Trade, Tryon, and part of College in 2nd Ward.  Not a single mansion remains.
•  Between 1960 and 1967, urban renewal leveled "Brooklyn" (2nd Ward), displaced over 1,000 families, and did not include a single unit of replacement housing.

Links: 

(1) http://www.cmhpf.org/educationneighhistcentercity.htm  --  "The Center City: The Business District and the Original Four Wards," by Dr. Thomas W. Hanchett

(2) http://www.torightthesewrongs.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Richards-Elise-Residential-Segregation-in-Charlotte-NC.pdf  --  "Residential Segregation in Charlotte, N.C., by Elise C. Richards, Duke University, December 14, 2002.

N.B.:  Special thanks to @tarhoosier who first posted the Duke Univ. academic study with link above.    

 

 

Edited March 5, 2018 by QCxpat
Typo

[Nick2]

Source: David G. Kopti

[QCxpat]

On 2/17/2018 at 10:06 AM, JoshuaDrown said:

We still have a few beautiful old buildings around Uptown... I just hope they find use that doesn’t involve getting demolished.

 

On 2/17/2018 at 8:11 PM, KJHburg said:

The Polk building aka Coddington Bldg is a 1920s building designed by a leading Detroit architect.   I love new  and shiny buildings but smaller older buildings can be incorporated into newer buildings and they are in many other cities including Raleigh with facade being saved on the Dillon Supply Building.   It gives great pedestrian scale and makes for more interesting interiors as well with exposed beams.  

"In 1925 C.C. Coddington built what was then known as the Coddington Building to house his flagship Buick Dealership.  Designed by the renowned industrial architect Albert Kahn, aka "The Man who Built Detroit," it was often described as one of the most stately and impressive buildings in the city, and was a showcase of 1920s neoclassicism."  ...  "Today the building sits, seemingly waiting for its appointment with the wrecking ball, an endangered species.  It's a completely undeserved fate for a building that could offer the city so much."

 

 

"Do something inspiring with Polk and wrap it in high-rise residential and an 800-1,200 space parking deck that will serve retail, office, residential spaces and Gateway Station.  This block deserves more than just another mid-rise apartment building...."  ...  "With a building like Polk, there is an opportunity to create what is unavailable in 95 percent of the space uptown -- Historic office space, in a prime location, perfect for creative agencies, catering companies, coworking space, artist lofts, and more."   Here's how Clayton Sealey has reimagined the Coddington Building (a/k/a James K. Polk Building) at 500 West Trade and Graham Streets.

Rendering of what the building could be, by Clayton Sealey

"Wake up, Charlotte: There is a consequence to demolishing your history!  You can't just rebuild a 1925 Albert Kahn designed icon of the American Automotive industry."

Links:

(1) https://www.charlottefive.com/shame-james-k-polk-building-wasting-away-uptown-heres-become/  -- "It's a shame the James K. Polk building is wasting away in uptown.  Here's what it should become," by Clayton Sealey at Charlotte Five, August 29, 2016. 

(2) http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article198473859.html  --  "Save the Polk Building's Historic Facade; few remain," by David Erdman at Charlotte Observer, Special to the Observer Editorial Board, February 5, 2018.

 

Edited March 5, 2018 by QCxpat

[Hugo704]

Driving into Uptown today

[Hunted]

Short, but very well-edited and has great angles.

 

[KJHburg]

Couple of photos from walk up MLK from McDowell.  This morning. 

[Hunted]

Surely I’m not the only one who thinks that Embassy Suites is hideous. 2nd Ward has some atrocious buildings. Sheraton (basically everything near it), Hyatt (the one with the Fahrenheit bar), etc. All have awful facades.

[KJHburg]

^^^^ The Embassy Suites is not pretty on the outside but it is nice on the inside.  Go in the lobby it's really nice.  Hotels,unless the top end most expensive ,are built "economically" to say the least.  I have seen many hotels like this from coast to coast.  The Sheraton Adams Mark Le Meridien the Blake on McDowell Street has always looked well pretty much like that. For many many years this was the largest hotel in Charlotte until the Westin was built.  

The Intercontinental and the Bohemian and I think the Kimpton are all of very good design.  But on KJ's budget I would probably end up at the Embassy Suites love them and their price LOL and most people are not looking at exterior design for a hotel choice. 

[15895]

I honestly never notice it in person.

[Nick2]

Source

[Synopsis101]

Parking lots galore.

[Nick2]

9 minutes ago, Synopsis101 said:

Parking lots galore.

Unfortunately

[15895]

8 minutes ago, Nick2 said:

Unfortunately

Can’t wait to see skylines expand to SouthEnd and South Park gets towers! 

 

Not really. Uptown needs to expand Westwards next from Tryon and along Trade Street.  

3rd Ward, the absolute WORST ward by far 8 years ago, is an example of how uptown should fill out. 

3rd wars was literally nothing but concrete parking lot. The entire quadrant (using Graham as a a boundary) was literally black top. Seriously,  2nd Ward and Levineland were better than 3rd Ward. 

 

and of course we all know 3rd wars is literally almost entirely filled 

[Nick2]

Can you imagine how awesome uptown would be if they had the original neighborhoods integrated with the modern towers instead of razing 75% of the inner loop?

[QCxpat]

On 3/8/2018 at 4:31 PM, Nick2 said:

Can you imagine how awesome uptown would be if they had the original neighborhoods integrated with the modern towers instead of razing 75% of the inner loop?

This is a little long and I apologize for that, but here's the written assessment of our regional historians concerning Charlotte's willingness to abandon its history:

"While urban renewal (5 stages in Charlotte from 1960 - 1967) and other housing programs seemed promising for improving the living conditions of the poor in Charlotte, they were ultimately flawed in structure."  ...  "Urban renewal projects, rather than truly improving housing and living conditions for the poor, essentially accomplished a white agenda.  Black slums were razed and replaced with government buildings and other public facilities, pushing the black population into less central areas of the city.  The declaration of 'blight' was also very subjective, and while housing in these areas was surely very poor, there may have been other options besides complete destruction."  ... "The clearance of this slum (Brooklyn - Second Ward) displaced over 1,000 families and did not include a single unit of replacement housing.  With this very first urban renewal effort, officials in Charlotte demonstrated their disinterest in truly improving conditions for the city's poor blacks.  With no new low-income housing available and little relocation assistance, many of the displaced black families were forced to take up residence in other slums to the northwest of the city."

"Almost all traces of this community (Brooklyn - Second Ward) were destroyed through urban renewal clearance and private demolition in the 1960s."

Links;

(1)  http://www.torightthesewrongs.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Richards-Elise-Residential-Segregation-in-Charlotte-NC.pdf  --  "Residential Segregation in Charlotte, N.C.” by Elise C. Richards, Duke University, 12/14/2002, pp. 12, 26. 

(2)  http://www.cmhpf.org/educationneighhistcentercity.htm  --  The Center City: The Business District and the Original Four Wards, by Dr. Thomas W. Hanchett.  (Dr. Hanchett is Consultant Historian at the Levine Museum of the New South in Center City Charlotte.)

"In the tradition of the Civil Rights era, when business leaders in the New South emphasized the direct links between racial progress and economic prosperity, the Charlotte Chamber promises international migrants that they will find a multicultural metropolitan area that embraces diverse ideas, opinions, business operations and residents.  As a global metropolis with a small-town feel, Charlotte means many things to many people -- Southern hospitality, the second largest banking center in the country, a city of trees, home of major-league sports teams, a 'can do' city filled with big dreams and friendly neighbors.  This enthusiastic willingness to abandon history altogether - to become whatever anyone with sufficient dollars or dreams wants it to be - is the secret of Charlotte's successes and the simultaneous source of its failures...."  

"By the 1980's and 1990's Charlotte appeared to have transcended these gothic and mythic images of Southern exceptionalism by veering all the way to the other extreme, leading to a pervasive anxiety that the New South / Sun Belt project had succeeded too well in creating a bland bankers' paradise with no unique character, no true soul, no sense of place at all.  Charlotte is 'the city without a past,' in the conventional wisdom cited by a local columnist; 'Potemkin Village with a drawl,' in a sarcastic New York Times assessment; 'a nice place to live,' according to a self-deprecating local joke, ' but you wouldn't want to visit there.'  'Charlotte is overwhelmingly ... average,' charged the Raleigh News and Observer in 1987.  'It is a fine, rich, upstanding city.  It just isn't much of a fine, rich, upstanding Southern city.  It has all of the quaint Southern appeal of Des Moines.  And then the ultimate insult from the cross-state rival, pinpointing the greatest fear of all: ' Charlotte's raging inferiority complex, as witnessed by its overwhelming need to boost its image, comes about because nobody else pays much attention to it."

Link:

(1)  https://ui.uncc.edu/story/new-book-charlotte-nc-global-evolution-new-south-city  --  Graves, Wm. and Smith, Heather A., Eds., Charlotte, NC: The Global Evolution of a New South City, University of Georgia Press, 2010, (Chapter by Matthew D. Lassiter, "Searching for Respect: From New South to World Class at the Crossroads of the Carolinas”). 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2018 by QCxpat
Correct typos