History of Charlotte

[Windsurfer]

6 minutes ago, archiham04 said:

This is the first time I have noticed the pedestrian bridge and elevated plaza?!?!? above the western portion of the pond.  Does anyone know the history of this?  I just burned a half hour googling to no avail.

I remember it well. Nobody every used it because it snaked around and wasn't very direct for foot traffic. Seems like they tore it down around 1980.  We used to mountain bike in the lake when ever they'd drain it.  As somebody said, it'd make an awesome skate park

[SgtCampsalot]

13 hours ago, rancenc said:

From 1973, the grand opening of Marshall Park

 

Amazing how you can take a wonderful thing and guarantee its "failure" by not putting anything around it. Marshall is a great park, it's just lacking HUMAN LIFE.

[videtur quam contuor]

Yep, it connected the second level of the Education Center with that new (at the time) county office building. The zig zag was the handicapped ramp. The whole mess was a waste of concrete. It served as an excellent viewing platform for 4 July fireworks when they were from the top of buildings downtown. 

[archiham04]

So I went to the Meck Time Machine, and in 1978  there was an elevated pedestrian pathway from the Ed center all the way to the historic Mecklenburg County Courthouse...  apparently realizing the Corbusian dream of J.N. Pease.

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

1 hour ago, archiham04 said:

So I went to the Meck Time Machine, and in 1978  there was an elevated pedestrian pathway from the Ed center all the way to the historic Mecklenburg County Courthouse...  apparently realizing the Corbusian dream of J.N. Pease.

That is really cool!  Which made me think of this... I tried to go back in time lol and look to see if there were any bridges or elevated paths to account for this.  Just doesn't look like an ordinary retaining wall to me.  It's right next to Graham St pub...anyone know what this was?

[Sigma]

13 minutes ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

That is really cool!  Which made me think of this... I tried to go back in time lol and look to see if there were any bridges or elevated paths to account for this.  Just doesn't look like an ordinary retaining wall to me.  It's right next to Graham St pub...anyone know what this was?

Rail spur to the old observer building I believe.

[rancenc]

Downtown in 1961

Downtown from 1987

[rancenc]

Charlotte-Douglas Airport from 1975

[Spartan]

5 hours ago, Sigma said:

Rail spur to the old observer building I believe.

It was a rail spur, but not to the old Observer building. That one crosses Mint St at the Panthers Stadium.

This was a former rail bridge to some of the other industrial buildings that used to dominate Third Ward.

[KJHburg]

From KJ's vault of old postcards of Charlotte view of South Tryon street when back in the mid 1970s tallest building was 40 story NCNB Plaza aka BofA Plaza at 40 stories and a whopping 503 feet!   These were your 3 tallest buildings back in day.  I say it is time for a new tallest and I don't care if South Tryon tips over LOL.   The Goodyear store building stood until very recently remember.  Rise Up Charlotte!  ( I really want to steal that phrase from those dirty birds in the ATL) 

On 5/31/2018 at 4:21 PM, rancenc said:

Charlotte-Douglas Airport from 1975

 

I remember flying on Eastern Airlines into this airport the original CLT.  

[SgtCampsalot]

14 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

From KJ's vault of old postcards of Charlotte view of South Tryon street when back in the mid 1970s tallest building was 40 story NCNB Plaza aka BofA Plaza at 40 stories and a whopping 503 feet!   These were your 3 tallest buildings back in day.  I say it is time for a new tallest and I don't care if South Tryon tips over LOL.   The Goodyear store building stood until very recently remember.  Rise Up Charlotte!  ( I really want to steal that phrase from those dirty birds in the ATL) 

This is incredible! It really feels like a modern day Greensboro, or any other mid-sized city that still has a cool old main street but also a few office towers.

#asimplertime

[rancenc]

Here is one of the many historic buildings of the antebellum period in my hometown of Salisbury.   The Empire Hotel was built in 1855 and is currently being looked at as a redevelopment project.  During the 1860 census, Salisbury and Charlotte were roughly the same size at about 2700 inhabitants..

[videtur quam contuor]

When I moved to Charlotte in 1971 Charlotte was just another southern town, nothing more. The first two blocks of South Tryon included a pool hall and a shoe shine parlor. Several used furniture shops were clustered on East Trade and Brevard. I bought a smoking stand and accessories from one of them. Berlin's Pawn Shop was there also. Where the Transit Center is now was an entire half block sitting below the train track and a small cement building that held Butler Seafood, the same as was on Morehead and McDowell a few years ago. No one, and I mean NO ONE wanted to have a business near the fish house so Butler had the whole Transit Center property to themselves. Plenty of parking! National Hat Shop on the Independence Center corner of the square. Mens Hats! Al Rousso Jewelers where the Polk Park is at the square. Hotel Charlotte. Greyhound station, open late for coffee since everything else was locked down tight. Kistler Hardware on N. Brevard (I can find nothing online about Kistler). Kistler had a shop cat, black and white. The AAA club had offices in a white brick house which was across the street from the Observer in what was the parking lot next to the Goodyear. Not in KJH photo. So much more.

But still just a Southern town just like you see in videos from the 50's and 60's in news and other formats. Women carrying hand fans on the street in summer. White men with short sleeve white shirts and cigars. Birmingham, Memphis, Richmond, all the same. Charlotte was no different from them. Now see how far we have come. I chose a winner.

Kistler Hardware was on N. College. Even today I have to stop and think to keep those separate and distinct. KJH has the photos and I have the unending reel of memory unspooling in my head.

Edited June 6, 2018 by tarhoosier

[nicholas]

17 hours ago, rancenc said:

Here is one of the many historic buildings of the antebellum period in my hometown of Salisbury.   The Empire Hotel was built in 1855 and is currently being looked at as a redevelopment project.  During the 1860 census, Salisbury and Charlotte were roughly the same size at about 2700 inhabitants..

I think Salisbury has a TON of potential, but its location is a bit unfortunate.  It's just too close to both Charlotte and Greensboro to draw larger businesses.  When I drove through there a month or so back, it looked like there was all kinds of potential, especially downtown, but it gets a bit rough once you get a couple blocks past the main intersection in downtown.  I feel like if they can get a little bit of redevelopment/revitalization going, it could heat up pretty quickly. 

Edited June 6, 2018 by nicholas

[stiluvclt]

On 5/31/2018 at 4:21 PM, rancenc said:

Charlotte-Douglas Airport from 1975

 

[stiluvclt]

Great photo of CLT history. 1965 would be more accurate: mainly prop planes, old parking configuration,  west pier rebuilt  (enclosed) for Eastern (never any sky bridges) in 1967 followed by west pier rebuild  (also enclosed, no sky bridges) all before1973. I love the photo.

[rancenc]

29 minutes ago, stiluvclt said:

Great photo of CLT history. 1965 would be more accurate: mainly prop planes, old parking configuration,  west pier rebuilt  (enclosed) for Eastern (never any sky bridges) in 1967 followed by west pier rebuild  (also enclosed, no sky bridges) all before1973. I love the photo.

Thanks of the date change.  This actually came from a FaceBook group page of Charlotte history which has a lot of old pictures and advertisements as well.  I will have to let the owner of the picture know that the date is 10 years older.

Another bit of Salisbury history.  This is the Josephus Hall house which was built in the 1820's and his located in the West Square Historic District.  It had served as the headquarter of the Union occupying army in 1865.

[QCxpat]

Going ...  Going ... Gone!  "The (Ski Slope Church formerly known as Sharon United Methodist) is slated to be torn down Friday (06/08/18), but not before church leaders take down the cross atop the steeple."

  

"In a city full of cranes, the former 'Ski Slope Church" preaches that its demolition is different," Charlotte Agenda, by Andrew Dunn and Clayton Sealey, June 6, 2018.

Excerpts:

"Both church leaders and developers on the project talk about creating a 'live, work, play' environment, a pedestrian-friendly streetscape, a 24/7 community.  ...  Childress Klein and development partner Ascentris announced in May that the project will be known as Apex SouthPark.  Its two 12-story towers will contain:

• 345 apartments
• 175-room hotel with a rooftop restaurant and bar
• 88,000 sq. ft. of commercial space -- shops and restaurants

"Still it hasn't always been an easy sell.  ...  the development plans were divisive.  Another 30% of members left the church after the decision to redevelop the property.  Will the new audience reverse that trend?  Once people are living and dining next door, how will the church bring its new neighbors in the doors?  That's the next phase."

Link:   https://www.charlotteagenda.com/129801/southpark-church-ski-slope-project/ 

Edited June 6, 2018 by QCxpat
correct punctuation

[drumsy]

On 5/31/2018 at 2:45 PM, archiham04 said:

So I went to the Meck Time Machine, and in 1978  there was an elevated pedestrian pathway from the Ed center all the way to the historic Mecklenburg County Courthouse...  apparently realizing the Corbusian dream of J.N. Pease.

Thank you for sharing this resource.  If you are interested in viewing photography older than 1978, Historic Aerials has photography dating back to 1960 for the Charlotte-Metro region.

[NCMike1990]

Piedmont 737 takes off from CLT in the spring of 1988.

[11 HouseBZ]

4 hours ago, NCMike1990 said:

Piedmont 737 takes off from CLT in the spring of 1988.

 Yoo, check out that skyline! Or lack there of!

 

[tozmervo]

20 hours ago, NCMike1990 said:

Piedmont 737 takes off from CLT in the spring of 1988.

Wow, I hadn't thought about how short-lived the old parking deck was (under construction in that photo). It only made it 25 years before it was obsolete and in the way. 

[archiham04]

21 hours ago, NCMike1990 said:

Piedmont 737 takes off from CLT in the spring of 1988.

 

todayhttps://www.google.com/maps/@35.2184916,-80.955646,165a,35y,83.21h,78.87t/data=!3m1!1e3

[NCMike1990]

This is a scene from 1994 drama film "Nell", starring Jodie Foster Liam Neeson. The skyline has changed so much! You can also see the cranes building the stadium. A later scene in the movie shows the skyline from inside the Days Inn on N. Tryon. I recorded this off tv, so I apologize for the glare. 

 

[KJHburg]

I remember that skyline and Duke's old concrete bunker like building was a prominent feature of uptown.  Nell had several scenes filmed at the old Manger Inn on N Tryon where the Skyhouses and eventually the new Publix will go.