Charlotte Photo of the Day

[SydneyCarton]

They could cantilever over the arcade.

[southernnorthcarolina]

3 minutes ago, Nick2 said:

The latta arcade and Brevard court have two different owners than who bought 330 South Tryon. And the latta arcade is on the national registry of historic places. I think that means it can't be torn down (but I honestly don't know how much clout being on that list carries).

 

Can't be torn down?  I'm not buying it.  It wouldn't be easy, but money talks (and I mean the certainty of exponentially greater property tax revenue for the city and county), and combined with the promise to incorporate some of the historical architectural materials into a new arcade, and they're on the way.  Status as a historical landmark or whatever the proper designation is can cause delays and red tape, not to mention pearl-clutching from the Hysterical Society, but at the end of the day, it's private property.  

[Crucial_Infra]

If Latta Arcade is removed it better be replaced with something exquisite. I can’t imagine what would be more exquisite than the historic Arcade though.  That parking deck, otoh, needs be gone tomorrow. 

Edited February 11, 2019 by Crucial_Infra
clarity

[CLT704]

I am genuinely curious about this apparent blasé attitude to the Latta Arcade, especially when it one of the few historic structure we haven't torn down. The Arcade is not at its best but it's not tear down worthy, and if it ever is I will actually lose patient with this city.

[DMann]

A lot of different owners in Latta Arcade and Brevard Court.  Just ask the guy that was trying to buy our Bill Deihl for years and he sat and said no.

[Crucial_Infra]

1 hour ago, CLT704 said:

I am genuinely curious about this apparent blasé attitude to the Latta Arcade, especially when it one of the few historic structure we haven't torn down. The Arcade is not at its best but it's not tear down worthy, and if it ever is I will actually lose patient with this city.

FTR, I just want to make clear that I’m not blase about Latta arcade being removed. It definitely should not be removed. I can’t imagine a scenario in which it is removed unless it was an extraordinary situation. 

[Nick2]

1 hour ago, southernnorthcarolina said:

 

Can't be torn down?  I'm not buying it.  It wouldn't be easy, but money talks (and I mean the certainty of exponentially greater property tax revenue for the city and county), and combined with the promise to incorporate some of the historical architectural materials into a new arcade, and they're on the way.  Status as a historical landmark or whatever the proper designation is can cause delays and red tape, not to mention pearl-clutching from the Hysterical Society, but at the end of the day, it's private property.  

Money talks but regulation is more important. They could try to get it changed. But I highly doubt it. Latta arcade is unique and a huge draw. They wont get rid of it anytime soon. There are still surface lots in uptown that would be a better option for development. Could it use a facelift? Yes. But I love it and would hate to see it go.

Edited February 11, 2019 by Nick2

[Guest]

On 2/9/2019 at 10:31 AM, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

No. But they would explore razing the deck. Not the office. The deck is the size of catalyst so I’d expect residential or hotel


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm just going to quote myself, where I said the Chamber building will be going nowhere, but the garage might be razed for redevelopment once market conditions allow.

2 hours ago, southernnorthcarolina said:

Not sure how this subject  got into the photo of the day thread, but I'll play along.

The building in question was originally the Mutual Savings & Loan Building, with Mutual occupying the ground floor.  Later, the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce took the first floor.   For many years earlier, the Charlotte City Club was on the 2nd and 3rd floors.  Word was it was chosen as "neutral teritory," with many influential members being associated with the two big Charlotte banks of that time, NCNB and First Union. 

Fast-forward to the present.  It's an obvious tear-down.  Nobody's going to shell out 30 large for a building of that size in order to renovate it.  I suspect they're thinking bigger, as in buying the Latta Arcade and Brevard Court, and tearing them down, too.  This would be met with a great deal of caterwauling from the preservationists, but the Latta Arcade is in pretty rough shape, and is sitting on too valuable a site for such a small structure.  They could win a lot of public relations points by then building a larger two- or three-story retail arcade running the length of the block from Tryon to Church, with an office tower on top of it, and two or three levels of underground parking below it.

South Tryon is a coveted address.  Make no small plans for this site. 

See above.

Edited February 11, 2019 by Guest

[KJHburg]

I go out of town for 1 day and many are trying to tear down Latta Arcade!  Are you freaking crazy?  It is a wonderful little 1910s arcade that seems fully leased and offers lower rents for restaurants and retail  than all the high rises around it.   Leave this treasure of a building alone and believe me there would be a huge fight and I will personally lead it.  Save the Arcade!  

Some of y'all must be working too hard take a break drive to the ocean like me relax have your Krispy Kreme doughnut and a coffee overlooking the ocean and forget your troubles and this terrible idea to wipe away one of uptown's last historical treasures. 

Edited February 12, 2019 by KJHburg

[SydneyCarton]

12 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

I go out of town for 1 day and many are trying to tear down Latta Arcade!  Are you freaking crazy?  It is a wonderful little 1920s arcade that seems fully leased and offers lower rents for restaurants and retail  than all the high rises around it.   Leave this treasure of a building alone and believe me there would be a huge fight and I will personally lead it.  Save the Arcade!  

Some of y'all must be working too hard take a break drive to the ocean like me relax have your Krispy Kreme doughnut and a coffee overlooking the ocean and forget your troubles and this terrible idea to wipe away one of uptown's last historical treasures. 

I don't think that the arcade is going anywhere.  This site is more than big enough for two residential towers.

[QCxpat]

Latta Arcade - The Uptown landmark was built in 1914 and will turn 105 years old in 2019.  There is a glass skylight over the atrium, which was originally used to allow natural light for grading cotton.  It was designed by architect William H. Peeps.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

 

 

                 

Historian Matthew D. Lassiter has observed:  "Charlotte boosters, along with many ordinary residents, have spent the past century on a perennial search for respect, both in terms of an obsessive regard for the city's national reputation and in the sense of a collective crisis of civic identity."  ... "Instead of a New South city,  a national metropolis with American values  ...  Charlotte appeared to have  ...  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 joke, 'but you wouldn't want to visit there.'"  "'Charlotte is overwhelmingly  ... average,'" charged the Raleigh News and Observer in 1987.  "'It's 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.'"   ""Charlotte should have been Charlotte without the N.C.  a long time ago,' asserted former mayor Harvey Gantt in 1993, expressing a common lament of city leaders frustrated over being confused for Charleston (South Carolina) or Charlottesville (Virginia)."  

"'If you want to know the truth of the matter, people we are talking to really don't know where Charlotte is,' Jerry Richardson admits about his efforts to beat Baltimore, St. Louis, and Memphis for the team that will become the Carolina Panthers.'  'They can't get Charlotte straight from Charleston.'"

Perhaps if Charlotte had saved more of its historic architectural legacy and engaged in iconic place-making, it wouldn't  face the conundrum it now does, viz., even though Charlotte is on the cusp of becoming the nation's 15 largest city, few Americans can place it on a map and even fewer have any image of it whatsoever.

Links: 

Lassiter, Matthew D. "Searching for Respect: From 'New South' to "World Class' at the Crossroads of the Carolinas," in Charlotte, NC, The Global Evolution of a New South City, University of Georgia Press, Athens, 2010

http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/March-2015/The-Story-of-Charlotte-Part-11-A-Time-of-Unrest/- Charlotte Magazine, by Chuck McShane 02/17/2015

http://landmarkscommission.org/2016/12/12/latta-arcade/  -  Latta Arcade, Historic Landmarks Commission Report, 07/20/1994

http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/November-2014/Latta-Arcade-100-Years-of-History/  - Latta Arcade: 100 Years of History, Charlotte Magazine, by Lisa Rab, 11/02/2014

 

Edited February 12, 2019 by QCxpat

[Nick2]

What a genuinely good read. Thanks for posting @QCxpat!!!

[KJHburg]

Some photos I took this past Saturday uptown of various buildings.  Since it my anniversary 3 years on UP here some of my favorite uptown buildings. 1not shown the Springhill Suites.   (do have a glimpse of one of my favorites Hearst Plaza)

Edited February 12, 2019 by KJHburg

[JacksonH]

On 2/11/2019 at 4:11 PM, QCxpat said:

 ""Charlotte should have been Charlotte without the N.C.  a long time ago,' asserted former mayor Harvey Gantt in 1993, expressing a common lament of city leaders frustrated over being confused for Charleston (South Carolina) or Charlottesville (Virginia)."  

"'If you want to know the truth of the matter, people we are talking to really don't know where Charlotte is,' Jerry Richardson admits about his efforts to beat Baltimore, St. Louis, and Memphis for the team that will become the Carolina Panthers.'  'They can't get Charlotte straight from Charleston.'"

Perhaps if Charlotte had saved more of its historic architectural legacy and engaged in iconic place-making, it wouldn't  face the conundrum it now does, viz., even though Charlotte is on the cusp of becoming the nation's 15 largest city, few Americans can place it on a map and even fewer have any image of it whatsoever.

 

I could go on and on about this topic.  People in the Southeast know Charlotte, but outside of the SE region people are clueless about it.  I've had to explain to a friend of mine here in California TWICE in recent months that Charlotte and Charlottesville are not the same place.  Back in the '80s, whenever I drove along I-77, I would look for an out-of-state car to follow because I would get a kick out of watching their double-takes when they passed by the UT Charlotte skyline.  It was like they thought they were driving through nowhere, then suddenly were confronted with the fact that they were somewhere and that idea left them totally bewildered.  ("Where did this city come from all of a sudden?  Why have I never heard of it")  So yes, Charlotte needs something for identification, a reason to visit, an image to remember her by.   I've said this before:  San Francisco has the Golden Gate Bridge, Seattle has its Space Needle, Saint Louis has its arch.  What Charlotte needs is the biggest crown in the world.  Maybe put it over BB&T park.  The top of the crown could have a revolving floor; people go up inside for a view of the city.  Maybe the floor is glass and they can see the ballpark beneath them.  And from I-77, passersby see this huge crown in the foreground, with its jewels lit up at night, and in the background the Charlotte skyline rising even higher.

By the way, I love the Latta Arcade pictures.  That's one of the few places that still exists in UT Charlotte that I know my grandparents would have seen and/or visited when they worked there in the 1920s.

[SydneyCarton]

30 minutes ago, JacksonH said:

I could go on and on about this topic.  People in the Southeast know Charlotte, but outside of the SE region people are clueless about it.  I've had to explain to a friend of mine here in California TWICE in recent months that Charlotte and Charlottesville are not the same place.  Back in the '80s, whenever I drove along I-77, I would look for an out-of-state car to follow because I would get a kick out of watching their double-takes when they passed by the UT Charlotte skyline.  It was like they thought they were driving through nowhere, then suddenly were confronted with the fact that they were somewhere and that idea left them totally bewildered.  ("Where did this city come from all of a sudden?  Why have I never heard of it")  So yes, Charlotte needs something for identification, a reason to visit, an image to remember her by.   I've said this before:  San Francisco has the Golden Gate Bridge, Seattle has its Space Needle, Saint Louis has its arch.  What Charlotte needs is the biggest crown in the world.  Maybe put it over BB&T park.  The top of the crown could have a revolving floor; people go up inside for a view of the city.  Maybe the floor is glass and they can see the ballpark beneath them.  And from I-77, passersby see this huge crown in the foreground, with its jewels lit up at night, and in the background the Charlotte skyline rising even higher.

By the way, I love the Latta Arcade pictures.  That's one of the few places that still exists in UT Charlotte that I know my grandparents would have seen and/or visited when they worked there in the 1920s.

I’ve always wanted to see Charlotte get something like the Space Needle, the St. Louis Arch, or the Arc de Triomphe.

Edited February 13, 2019 by SydneyCarton

[HighRiseHillbilly]

31 minutes ago, JacksonH said:

I could go on and on about this topic.  People in the Southeast know Charlotte, but outside of the SE region people are clueless about it.  I've had to explain to a friend of mine here in California TWICE in recent months that Charlotte and Charlottesville are not the same place.  Back in the '80s, whenever I drove along I-77, I would look for an out-of-state car to follow because I would get a kick out of watching their double-takes when they passed by the UT Charlotte skyline.  It was like they thought they were driving through nowhere, then suddenly were confronted with the fact that they were somewhere and that idea left them totally bewildered.  ("Where did this city come from all of a sudden?  Why have I never heard of it")  So yes, Charlotte needs something for identification, a reason to visit, an image to remember her by.   I've said this before:  San Francisco has the Golden Gate Bridge, Seattle has its Space Needle, Saint Louis has its arch.  What Charlotte needs is the biggest crown in the world.  Maybe put it over BB&T park.  The top of the crown could have a revolving floor; people go up inside for a view of the city.  Maybe the floor is glass and they can see the ballpark beneath them.  And from I-77, passersby see this huge crown in the foreground, with its jewels lit up at night, and in the background the Charlotte skyline rising even higher.

By the way, I love the Latta Arcade pictures.  That's one of the few places that still exists in UT Charlotte that I know my grandparents would have seen and/or visited when they worked there in the 1920s.

I have a similar design planned out, but back a little further to the edges of uptown. When I when the lottery I am all over it.

[JacksonH]

3 hours ago, HighRiseHillbilly said:

I have a similar design planned out, but back a little further to the edges of uptown. When I when the lottery I am all over it.

Well if it's something you can post, I'd love to see it.  I'm glad to know I'm not the only one thinking of this sort of thing.  I don't know how to do architectural renderings, but the type structure I'm thinking of would be loosely based on this type of crown:

 

Edited February 13, 2019 by JacksonH

[KJHburg]

One of our own @ricky_davis_fan_21 gives a good current update on the status of uptown new high rises.   Look at his estimate for Duke 2.  Interesting!

https://www.charlotteagenda.com/156197/view-renderings-the-definitive-guide-to-charlottes-changing-skyline/

[Urban Cowboy]

@JacksonH Are you envisioning this crown as a 30-40 ft structure? Or are you envisioning this as a tall structure that could be a part of the skyline? My personal thoughts are that an oddly-designed 30-40 ft crown structure could be fun in a downtown park and be good for photos/a instagram destination for tourists (kind of like the bean in Chicago). But I don't see how a crown could work atop a taller structure and fit with the skyline's aesthetic. 

I think the Space Needle, CN tower, Gateway Arch,  Stratosphere,  and Calgary Tower are all thought-provoking, skyline defining structures.  For all of those skylines (Seattle, Toronto, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Calgary), I immediately think about that one structure when I recall how they appear... Meaning, to a casual observer, all other architecture begins to take a back seat at first look. So you better make it look great! Only the Gateway Arch and Space Needle have stood the test of time in my opinion. The other structures feel dated and a throwback to another time for me. But I'd be all for an interesting structure that could become a destination and observatory.  There was one proposed a few years ago for Jacksonville that I thought had some visual interest - see below:

[11 HouseBZ]

How about the huge crown IS the observation deck way up high in the sky? People think they're going up to see the crown, but when up there, they then realize that the city/ skyline is the real crown. 

[Urban Cowboy]

3 minutes ago, 11 HouseBZ said:

How about the huge crown IS the observation deck way up high in the sky? People think they're going up to see the crown, but when up there, they then realize that the city/ skyline is the real crown. 

I think a crown on top of a tall structure/building would be tacky and appear imbalanced - kind of like Dallas' reunion tower (below). But I'd be interested to see a design and then form an opinion. I think having a crown in a downtown park where people gather by it would be better (if there's a push for a physical crown). Dallas' bean, Philly's LOVE - that kind of structure. Where people want to stand in line for the photo and its their takeaway from being in Charlotte. Really, Romare Bearden is the best placement for something like that since you have the skyline in the background.

[11 HouseBZ]

I guess I'm just pro observation deck somewhere. 

[King of the Queen City]

Charlotte Crown + Seattle Space Needle =

[JacksonH]

3 hours ago, Urban Cowboy said:

@JacksonH Are you envisioning this crown as a 30-40 ft structure? Or are you envisioning this as a tall structure that could be a part of the skyline? My personal thoughts are that an oddly-designed 30-40 ft crown structure could be fun in a downtown park and be good for photos/a instagram destination for tourists (kind of like the bean in Chicago). But I don't see how a crown could work atop a taller structure and fit with the skyline's aesthetic. 

I think the Space Needle, CN tower, Gateway Arch,  Stratosphere,  and Calgary Tower are all thought-provoking, skyline defining structures.  For all of those skylines (Seattle, Toronto, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Calgary), I immediately think about that one structure when I recall how they appear... Meaning, to a casual observer, all other architecture begins to take a back seat at first look. So you better make it look great! Only the Gateway Arch and Space Needle have stood the test of time in my opinion. The other structures feel dated and a throwback to another time for me. But I'd be all for an interesting structure that could become a destination and observatory.  There was one proposed a few years ago for Jacksonville that I thought had some visual interest - see 

I'm thinking of something that would require some architectural and engineering ingenuity -- something that, to my knowledge, does not exist anywhere else in the world.  It would be structurally somewhat similar to the building below, but more in the spirit and shape of the crown in the image below that, with an observation area of some sort at the top (like the orb in the top of the crown).  But it really doesn't matter to me exactly what it is as long as it's distinctive, unique, memorable, and  always associated with, and an identifying feature, of the City of Charlotte.

38 minutes ago, King of the Queen City said:

Charlotte Crown + Seattle Space Needle =

 

I like it!  LOL

Edited February 13, 2019 by JacksonH

[SydneyCarton]

Has anyone seen photos of the Vessel, which is a 15 story, walkable sculpture at the Hudson Yards in New York?  Something like that at the north end of Tryon Street would be nice.