Misc. Uptown Projects/News

[tozmervo]

For the Uptown retail boosters out there, I would remind you that the museum shops are there & are excellent spots for buying gifts. Much more interesting items than you would ever hope to find at South Park. 

[RANYC]

Doing a bit of reading into downtown revitalization metrics.  Couple items have come up so far:

-regional surveys to gauge public sentiment about the city center/urban core and measuring such sentiments year over year to gauge downtown’s progress. 

-foot traffic tech tools to measure the amount and consistency of pedestrian foot traffic at various points in downtown to give hints as to the extent of streetscape and public space activation 

[videtur quam contuor]

2 hours ago, tozmervo said:

For the Uptown retail boosters out there, I would remind you that the museum shops are there & are excellent spots for buying gifts. Much more interesting items than you would ever hope to find at South Park. 

True. Discovery place has had some unique and interesting items for young people and adults as well.

[atlrvr]

For my job I have access to these Fintech tools you mention to measure foot traffic.  Have looked at Nov 2019 vs 2021 at malls across the country.  One consistent observation was California and younger demographic markets recovery in foot traffic less than non-costal markets.... Springfield, MA for instance was > 90% back, while nowhere in CA was 85%.  We ascribe this to CA having the highest % adoption rate of online shopping.

I think there is something cautionary in that data as it relates to stroll districts, but that wasn't what I was looking for explicitly (also it's harder to tell cell phone of shopper vs cell of office worker upstairs apart in a dense mixed use environment...but def possible).

[RANYC]

On 12/21/2021 at 3:31 PM, atlrvr said:

For my job I have access to these Fintech tools you mention to measure foot traffic.  Have looked at Nov 2019 vs 2021 at malls across the country.  One consistent observation was California and younger demographic markets recovery in foot traffic less than non-costal markets.... Springfield, MA for instance was > 90% back, while nowhere in CA was 85%.  We ascribe this to CA having the highest % adoption rate of online shopping.

I think there is something cautionary in that data as it relates to stroll districts, but that wasn't what I was looking for explicitly (also it's harder to tell cell phone of shopper vs cell of office worker upstairs apart in a dense mixed use environment...but def possible).

Is an urban core streetscape bustling with walkers and strollers a worthy goal for center city?  

Should we use more specific metrics around the progress of streetscape vitality in uptown?

Edited December 23, 2021 by RANYC

[RANYC]

CLT Development on Twitter posted about lighting up a long row of the trees in Uptown for the holidays.   Suggested it would be a worthy use of tax dollars.  Took a look online at how such a concept might look.  

Simply Wow.  Eat your heart out Rockefeller Center tree lighting and 5th Avenue holiday displays!  If we could do “this” to the oak trees lining both sides of Tryon all through Uptown, would be riveting.

Bring Enchantment to Uptown, with our trees at the center.  Imagine a tree-lighting gathering where the length of tryon comes alive with holiday tree lights with one flip of a switch!

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by RANYC

[atlrvr]

Just a couple of views I haven't seen before.

 

[j-man]

I know that this is random, but does anyone know or think that there is a benefit to most of the uptown sidewalks being red/brown brick? I was just thinking about how dull they can look at times from a pedestrians perspective. I was wondering would grey brick bring to life the atmosphere Uptown or any urban part of the city.  And could something be done to not have the trees lift it up because its so difficult at times walking in any downtown area without tripping up over the tree roots. This photo is just an example of what I think should be laid instead of such dark brick. 

Edited December 30, 2021 by j-man

[JRCLT]

Charlottesville. The better Charlotte? (Lol)

What Tryon should look like?

[Spartan]

On 12/4/2021 at 10:35 AM, j-man said:

I think that it's safe to bring back up a topic that I brought up maybe a year or two ago. Uptown and Charlotte in general needs to focus a lot more on entertainment and attractions just as much as they are with building all of these residential and office towers. I'm finding that if a certain event isn't happening or coming to the city that there is little to nothing that separates this city from the others, especially the ones of this size. Im not saying that there isn't anything do but in a sense that is what I am saying. I'm still wishing for an uptown Aquarium, or a permanent outdoor fair/carnival type thing. Restaurants at the ground floor of apartments cannot be all this city is getting added for excitement. The epicenter to me is a great concept but just wasn't executed right from its buildout, and look at it now, just dead. 

On 12/16/2021 at 10:06 AM, RANYC said:

Can 4th ward be the model for what we do in other parts of center city?  I find it a stunning, dense, canopied, urban neighborhood.  Super livable.  Super walkable.  Mix of architectures.  Great building-to-street interactions.  Can we get a dozen more of these beyond uptown and all throughout center city?

On 12/16/2021 at 5:54 PM, APS89294 said:

The only things the city is going to do in terms of uptown is continue to approve apartments the majority of the population cannot afford; or condos with the same predicament. What becomes of an area with such a lack of diversity? Bland/boring people in bed by 8:00, no creativity other than suits and bow ties, and a majority population of pseudo-intellectual pompous wind bags. What tourist would willingly visit an area like that without having a reason? i.e. sports events, concerts and conventions. 

 

As a currently residing pseudo-intellectual pompous windbag, I just want to point out the juxtaposition of these three posts, and ask this question: How many aquariums, halls of fame, and museums/theatres do we need to full fill the requirement of not being boring?

Uptown's problems right now are centered around a combination of the bad decisions of 60 years ago and the pandemic. I've lived here going on 15 years, and I can confirm that the pulse in uptown during the pandemic is way different without all the workers here, and the businesses that relied on them are indeed suffering. You can tell which ones don't rely on it as much due to the fact that they are still open. College Street in particular has been devastated. But Uptown is by no means devoid of life. You would be amazed at how many people have discovered and use Romare Bearden Park, First Ward Park, and Fourth Ward Park during the pandemic. You'd also be surprised at how many people are just wandering around uptown after hours and on weekends these days. It's A LOT more than there used to be, and Third Ward in particular has a ton of foot traffic. 

IMO, uptown IS the destination. The goal should be to create a place where locals want to go. Locals do not go to aquariums, and only sparingly go to museums. Locals go to bars and restaurants, theaters, parks, and the like. The conversion of lobbies into restaurant / retail space is the single best type of change this city can make. In order to make a place where people want to hang out, it has to be authentic and full of life. This starts with good urban design, which is centered around the idea of having a lot of active street frontages.  Design for Charlotteans and the tourists will follow. 

 

 

 

On 12/17/2021 at 8:18 PM, RANYC said:

Is there anything we can do with blocks like this right in the core of Uptown?

Walked it today - a very hostile environment for pedestrians...this stretch of 4th street in the pic screams:

• machine over man
• stay in your car
• upright, bi-pedalism has nothing to do with man's ingenuity and progress 
• walkers suck
• run em over
• being fit is elitist
• insulate yourself
• a constant threat of mugging forces us to discourage walking in our street designs
• covid - the excuse workers needed to permanently escape this perversion of urbanity
• don't even think of strolling, meeting someone new, or streetscape serendipity 
• nothing says incubator like a concrete stack of cars
• those who advocate for uptown don't actually tread its streets and peruse its pathways, they drone-shot its skyline for social media

Option 1: Tear it down.

Option 2: Paint a mural on it.

 

On 12/17/2021 at 8:21 PM, atlrvr said:

Pretty certain if the garage is ever redeveloped, the new building will have to meet current center city streetscape standards.  Not sure what it is for this block, but probably at least 10' (it's likely higher than that) and require street trees.

Hard to tell exactly, but it looks like 7' today.

Also, the new development would require certain % retail, and > 50% transparent (glass) facade for ground floor I believe.

So, there are corrective actions for redevelopment, but nothing to require retrofitting or demolition of offending structures.

This is correct. The exact dimension is probably going to change when the UDO gets adopted - but expect it to get a lot wider than it is today. See the Avenue or MLK in front of the Catalyst.

 

 

19 hours ago, j-man said:

I know that this is random, but does anyone know or think that there is a benefit to most of the uptown sidewalks being red/brown brick? I was just thinking about how dull they can look at times from a pedestrians perspective. I was wondering would grey brick bring to life the atmosphere Uptown or any urban part of the city.  And could something be done to not have the trees lift it up because its so difficult at times walking in any downtown area without tripping up over the tree roots. This photo is just an example of what I think should be laid instead of such dark brick. 

 

There is no benefit to red brick, specifically. In fact the ones we use are technically not great for ADA - the beveled edges create challenges for people in wheelchairs (vibration), and the color contrast with the asphalt street isn't great, which is why you have new high contrast mats being placed at curb ramps. The red brick and herringbone pattern were chosen here by the Tryon Street Mall (streetscape) project in the 80s/90s (not sure of the exact timeline), and I'm not sure why they made that decision specifically. But that set the context from which all other sidewalks take their design as the brick aesthetic expands.

One thing to note about these brick sidewalks is that they aren't just brick laying on some dirt. It's a concrete base with a bit of sand and 1/2 depth bricks laying on top, and the trees are in engineered pits. You won't have root issues on those streets like you have in other places (like 4th Ward).

I think the type of sidewalk you're showing is very attractive, but it's just an aesthetic preference. Functionally it's no different than any other, and you'd have to convince a bunch of engineers at the City that it's worth going through the process of changing something that already works pretty well.

 

 

[Guest]

I guess I could be the minority but I would visit an aquarium often and do frequent our existing museums as a resident. Feels like a reductive argument to me personally. If residents are discouraged from visiting in some way then I’d look first at programming and who it’s targeted to rather than any inherent nature of museums/aquarium etc.  

[RANYC]

I agree with Spartan - activating the streetscape for pedestrians through daily and weekly uses is something that can happen over a wide area of uptown, on nearly every block, and would give that something  special, a type of latent energy and allure.

Im not opposed to an aquarium, but I see his point.  Aquarium and other “big box” attractions are sort of “on the nose,” and aren’t likely to have the effect I think we want.  If we didn’t have a pro football stadium, I imagine many of us would be saying we need one in uptown to turbo-charge it.  Perhaps at some point a pro-basketball arena was thought to be a linchpin activating element for uptown.  

I lived in NYC for ages, and while there are nodes that draw masses of tourists, some of the gems of city-living were those smallish, divey, hole-in-the-wall spaces.   
 

A separate issue I have with “big-box” attractions in uptown is that while we are a car-centric region (which isn’t changing any time soon), then we will likely build ramps and tons of parking to accommodate how most patrons will get to them (like an aquarium), which will rob uptown of the type of enchanted urbanity that I’d love for it to manifest.

[Spartan]

20 hours ago, RANYC said:

I agree with Spartan - activating the streetscape for pedestrians through daily and weekly uses is something that can happen over a wide area of uptown, on nearly every block, and would give that something  special, a type of latent energy and allure.

Im not opposed to an aquarium, but I see his point.  Aquarium and other “big box” attractions are sort of “on the nose,” and aren’t likely to have the effect I think we want.  If we didn’t have a pro football stadium, I imagine many of us would be saying we need one in uptown to turbo-charge it.  Perhaps at some point a pro-basketball arena was thought to be a linchpin activating element for uptown.  

I lived in NYC for ages, and while there are nodes that draw masses of tourists, some of the gems of city-living were those smallish, divey, hole-in-the-wall spaces.   
 

A separate issue I have with “big-box” attractions in uptown is that while we are a car-centric region (which isn’t changing any time soon), then we will likely build ramps and tons of parking to accommodate how most patrons will get to them (like an aquarium), which will rob uptown of the type of enchanted urbanity that I’d love for it to manifest.

Exactly. I'm not anti-aquarium - I just don't think it's a silver bullet for uptown's problems anymore than a Hall of Fame. You can put a Ripley's in the mountains and people will go to it - but if you put one in Charlotte does that concept add to what makes Charlotte Charlotte, or does it let us keep with our de facto motto of "We're a big city, too." So sure, add a few more major destinations and take a swing at some more Halls of Fame that may or may not pan out. I just think if we have all the same attractions Atlanta, Houston, and Nashville have, then what makes us unique and why come here? IMO, the answer is the urban fabric.  All of those people need to have something to do before and after they go to the show, and that can't happen in a bank lobby or in a parking deck. My only point here is that by starting with activating street edges and making the city a great place to walk, it makes the city a better place for the people who live here today, and might help an aquarium or other type of business want to locate here without incentives, and strictly because its an awesome city.

 

 

[TheOneRJ]

An aquarium appeals to broad demographics. Not everyone (or most people probably) are interested in going to a NASCAR Hall of Fame. 

[JRCLT]

An aquarium would be nice to have in uptown. I mean an aquarium is like a museum. It is a museum of life that anyone can go to and enjoy. I wouldn’t say it is simply any other attraction for tourists. The aquarium won’t fix everything but I think that it is a piece in the puzzle. I love going to the aquarium because it is dynamic and while it may have the same things it isn’t guaranteed to stay static. It is fun to explore.

Why go uptown if there really isn’t nothing to do. Uptown isn’t a shopping district because malls pulled retail away so foot traffic of course is lower. (It’s hard to convince retail to setup shop where there isn’t already heavy foot traffic which malls inherently have). The retail spots are expensive which take local businesses out of the picture because they can’t afford it. low foot traffic makes it hard for those local business to even survive even if they were financially able to take a gamble in uptown. Retail loves to cluster with other business or where there are a lot of people already.

Some people here have mentioned subsidies for retail and that could definitely help attract business that otherwise couldn’t afford to lease the space. I think its a great idea.

I think parks are attractions themselves I have gone to Romare Bearden Park and First ward as well. They are great places to hang out and visit. That is something Charlotte is doing a great job in providing gathering places. Tryon I think has quite a bit of foot traffic anytime I have strolled down it. Sometimes more on some days than others. I think nearing stonewall there is a dead zone. I have noticed it becomes soulless very quickly somedays and it is likely due in the break in retail there is between MLK jr BLVD and Stonewall. Perhaps the retail under DEP will help with that (if it gets filled with decent retail).

Diversity in many cases always looks beautiful and always works best. In the case or urban and street activation diversity in retail and attractions is key and adding an aquarium may not fix everything but it will surely help not hinder. This is all assuming it is designed also in a pedestrian fashion and that is also key. (There’s enough parking outside in uptown and I am pretty sure you can force people to do something despite the idea that you must cave into customer commodities. Easily accessible by car doesn’t have to be the case. Just look at the Panther’s stadium… Despite it not being surrounded by expansive surface parking lot people still find ways to get there. Also on that note I hope when the new stadium is built. it doesn’t come with large parking lots…especially if a light rail station is planned to be at its door step.

I will say I am anti-suburban mall! I found it more enjoyable to walk downtown Wilmington than walking through the terminals at south park…or concord mills… or north lake… Premium outlets was better, but so out of the way in the “middle of nothing” have only gone thrice?

Apologies for the rant, I didn’t expect it to be this long so I’ll cut it off here. Uptown just has a heavy office presence with not much of anything else aside from sports venues and the fact that Charlotte’s “attractions” are decentralized and far apart, dispersing people instead of bringing them together.

[Desert Power]

On 12/31/2021 at 9:40 AM, JeanClt said:

Charlottesville. The better Charlotte? (Lol)

What Tryon should look like?

 

Yeah. Charlotte would really benefit from closing off some of Tryon or Trade to create a more permanent strolling district, but I cannot see it happening.  Overall, it seems like Charlotte has invested a lot in attractions around town. I'd rather see the marginal dollar going towards our education or park/greenway system than another attraction Uptown right now.

[RANYC]

1 hour ago, JeanClt said:

An aquarium would be nice to have in uptown. I mean an aquarium is like a museum. It is a museum of life that anyone can go to and enjoy. I wouldn’t say it is simply any other attraction for tourists. The aquarium won’t fix everything but I think that it is a piece in the puzzle. I love going to the aquarium because it is dynamic and while it may have the same things it isn’t guaranteed to stay static. It is fun to explore.

Why go uptown if there really isn’t nothing to do. Uptown isn’t a shopping district because malls pulled retail away so foot traffic of course is lower. (It’s hard to convince retail to setup shop where there isn’t already heavy foot traffic which malls inherently have). The retail spots are expensive which take local businesses out of the picture because they can’t afford it. low foot traffic makes it hard for those local business to even survive even if they were financially able to take a gamble in uptown. Retail loves to cluster with other business or where there are a lot of people already.

Some people here have mentioned subsidies for retail and that could definitely help attract business that otherwise couldn’t afford to lease the space. I think its a great idea.

I think parks are attractions themselves I have gone to Romare Bearden Park and First ward as well. They are great places to hang out and visit. That is something Charlotte is doing a great job in providing gathering places. Tryon I think has quite a bit of foot traffic anytime I have strolled down it. Sometimes more on some days than others. I think nearing stonewall there is a dead zone. I have noticed it becomes soulless very quickly somedays and it is likely due in the break in retail there is between MLK jr BLVD and Stonewall. Perhaps the retail under DEP will help with that (if it gets filled with decent retail).

Diversity in many cases always looks beautiful and always works best. In the case or urban and street activation diversity in retail and attractions is key and adding an aquarium may not fix everything but it will surely help not hinder. This is all assuming it is designed also in a pedestrian fashion and that is also key. (There’s enough parking outside in uptown and I am pretty sure you can force people to do something despite the idea that you must cave into customer commodities. Easily accessible by car doesn’t have to be the case. Just look at the Panther’s stadium… Despite it not being surrounded by expansive surface parking lot people still find ways to get there. Also on that note I hope when the new stadium is built. it doesn’t come with large parking lots…especially if a light rail station is planned to be at its door step.

I will say I am anti-suburban mall! I found it more enjoyable to walk downtown Wilmington than walking through the terminals at south park…or concord mills… or north lake… Premium outlets was better, but so out of the way in the “middle of nothing” have only gone thrice?

Apologies for the rant, I didn’t expect it to be this long so I’ll cut it off here. Uptown just has a heavy office presence with not much of anything else aside from sports venues and the fact that Charlotte’s “attractions” are decentralized and far apart, dispersing people instead of bringing them together.

You bring up an interesting point about Uptown.  Say a post-covid world is one of widespread flex work and people gathering, en masse, in offices as part of a daily routine goes away.  What other purpose does Uptown serve and is there widespread agreement on that purpose?  Why is uptown important if not as a mega-office park?

 

 

 

 

[KJHburg]

Uptown needs more and more housing to make it more balanced.  Covid as a friend of my said exposed uptown's weaknesses as too office centric.  Aquarium would be great and Discovery Place once talked about it.  But don't look to the state of NC as they support 3 state aquariums along the coast now.  I do think attractions are important and special events are even more so.   Uptown needs to be the place to go for special events, arts, museums (and maybe one day an aquarium) but what we need to do is double the housing in the next 10 years or sooner.  We need to make uptown more of a neighborhood.  

[RANYC]

19 minutes ago, Desert Power said:

Yeah. Charlotte would really benefit from closing off some of Tryon or Trade to create a more permanent strolling district, but I cannot see it happening.  Overall, it seems like Charlotte has invested a lot in attractions around town. I'd rather see the marginal dollar going towards our education or park/greenway system than another attraction Uptown right now.

CORE CITY PARKS OR PUBLIC SQUARES?

https://www.visitknoxville.com/blog/post/10-things-to-know-about-market-square/

Some folks on twitter were gushing over Knoxville, TN's Historic Market Square and lamenting that Charlotte doesn't seem to have a comparable urban element.  It got me to questioning a number of things. 

• Uptown has signature, anchor parks in most if not all wards, so certainly there are places to gather, but is that enough?   Would hard-scaped squares be preferred or more interesting?
• We have Brevard Court - why does that not really stack up against Knoxville's Market Square, strictly just a matter of scale or something else?
• What exactly distinguishes a core city park from a public square?
• Is a public square special because it is hard-scaped?  Or is a public square special because it is, in theory, lined with retail uses along its sides so that people get the benefits of having a place to gather and stroll and see public art, but then there's also adjacent shopping and eating and entertainment?
• If public squares are a type of intentional open space for the public, should our Parks Department include them in its repertoire?

Edited January 1, 2022 by RANYC

[Desert Power]

15 minutes ago, RANYC said:

CORE CITY PARKS OR PUBLIC SQUARES?

https://www.visitknoxville.com/blog/post/10-things-to-know-about-market-square/

Some folks on twitter were gushing over Knoxville, TN's Historic Market Square and lamenting that Charlotte doesn't seem to have a comparable urban element.  It got me to questioning a number of things. 

• Uptown has signature, anchor parks in most if not all wards, so certainly there are places to gather, but is that enough?   Would hard-scaped squares be preferred or more interesting?
• We have Brevard Court - why does that not really stack up against Knoxville's Market Square, strictly just a matter of scale or something else?
• What exactly distinguishes a core city park from a public square?
• Is a public square special because it is hard-scaped?  Or is a public square special because it is, in theory, lined with retail uses along its sides so that people get the benefits of having a place to gather and stroll and see public art, but then there's also adjacent shopping and eating and entertainment?
• If public squares are a type of intentional open space for the public, should our Parks Department include them in its repertoire?

The main difference I see is size and connectivity. When the Arcade is locked, you only have one entrance to Brevard Court and it can be quite narrow if people are congregating at a table or outdoor TV. It is a specific destination to go vs a place to stroll or scooter/bike through. It is also really cool.

I do think that ability to have a wide, paved space integrated with retail is key. The parks we have in Charlotte are all set across the street from any other retail, which makes them have a different feel. Most of the squares or plazas we do have are controlled by private security of an office building and not particularly accessible to all or outside of banking hours.

[j-man]

19 hours ago, Spartan said:

Exactly. I'm not anti-aquarium - I just don't think it's a silver bullet for uptown's problems anymore than a Hall of Fame. You can put a Ripley's in the mountains and people will go to it - but if you put one in Charlotte does that concept add to what makes Charlotte Charlotte, or does it let us keep with our de facto motto of "We're a big city, too." So sure, add a few more major destinations and take a swing at some more Halls of Fame that may or may not pan out. I just think if we have all the same attractions Atlanta, Houston, and Nashville have, then what makes us unique and why come here? IMO, the answer is the urban fabric.  All of those people need to have something to do before and after they go to the show, and that can't happen in a bank lobby or in a parking deck. My only point here is that by starting with activating street edges and making the city a great place to walk, it makes the city a better place for the people who live here today, and might help an aquarium or other type of business want to locate here without incentives, and strictly because its an awesome city.

 

 

I totally agree with you on that! Definitely see your point. I think the next thing is to talk about what makes Charlotte..Charlotte. At its core and expand on that. I have been advocating for an aquarium but in all honestly this city doesn't come to mind when I think about the ocean or any water for that matter lol. 

[wilmore]

On 12/16/2021 at 10:06 AM, RANYC said:

Can 4th ward be the model for what we do in other parts of center city?  I find it a stunning, dense, canopied, urban neighborhood.  Super livable.  Super walkable.  Mix of architectures.  Great building-to-street interactions.  Can we get a dozen more of these beyond uptown and all throughout center city?

Anyone want to truck in some more historic houses & buildings? 

[CLT2014]

Just something to think about with aquariums.... they often are somewhat like the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Outside of the entrance plaza, you usually end up with multiple blank walls / dead space surrounding the thing because it is basically a giant box holding fish and needs lots of loading docks. IMO, that is why a Shedd Aquarium type placement in an urban park is preferable to a Georgia Aquarium placement within the street grid where it creates dead space on sidewalks. The Georgia Aquarium creates MULTIPLE dead spaces and terrible urban blocks that wouldn't be so bad in a park.

Georgia Aquarium streetscapes:

 

IMO, we would need to find the right location to build something like an aquarium to prevent creating another NASCAR Hall of Fame that kills street life on multiple blocks, such as a corner location or area where the blank walls / loading areas back to an interstate or train.

Edited January 3, 2022 by CLT2014

[kermit]

8 hours ago, wilmore said:

Anyone want to truck in some more historic houses & buildings? 

For the benefit of new arrivals to Charlotte wilmore accurately recounts exactly how the current version of the 4th Ward was created in the mid 1980s. This house is now on 10th street, notice the amount of empty space in both photos, very little 4th Ward housing is original, even our historic districts are manufactured.  (neighborhood brought to you by the NCNB Community Development Corporation)

 

(photos by Dennis Rash)

Edited January 4, 2022 by kermit

[videtur quam contuor]

Note the house next to the transported one with the roof hatch and ladder. That, my friends, is the original design and how roof and chimney repairs were to be made using attic access to the hatch and a ladder to the peak or to assemble roofing access equipment. Sometimes the ladder stayed on the roof and sometimes it came through the hatch.

Moving houses also happened occasionally in Dilworth. 2021 Euclid Avenue was a home originally on Caldwell where the current YMCA parking area is. Long ago Caldwell extended from downtown through to Dilworth. For many years it was home and studio for Allen Brooks, architect who did many historic homes in the nearby areas. He still owns it and may still be his home but his business is on Morehead now. Another was 716 East Boulevard (I think), a home moved to that location and repurposed for the Essex Richards law firm, both men Dilworth stalwarts and residents. It burned 10 or more years ago and replaced by a newer purpose built office building.

In the early 1970's my job required a commute in the afternoons down Graham Street, and from 10th to Fifth street looking to my left were several blocks of trees, litter, utter darkness at winter dusk through to Pine Street. No houses, no lights, no street lights, just a great place to dump a body. One has a sense of it from the first two photos. A city lot for one dollar was negotiable (down).

6 hours ago, kermit said:

For the benefit of new arrivals to Charlotte wilmore accurately recounts exactly how the current version of the 4th Ward was created in the mid 1980s. This house is now on 10th street, notice the amount of empty space in both photos, very little 4th Ward housing is original, even our historic districts are manufactured.  (neighborhood brought to you by the NCNB Community Development Corporation)

 

(photos by Dennis Rash with permission)

6 hours ago, kermit said:

For the benefit of new arrivals to Charlotte wilmore accurately recounts exactly how the current version of the 4th Ward was created in the mid 1980s. This house is now on 10th street, notice the amount of empty space in both photos, very little 4th Ward housing is original, even our historic districts are manufactured.  (neighborhood brought to you by the NCNB Community Development Corporation)

 

 

 

(photos by Dennis Rash with permission)

 

Edited January 4, 2022 by tarhoosier