History of Charlotte

[Guest]

ok, I've got to know. What is this from? It's about the only thing on this thread I haven't seen before.

Odells Downtown Plan from the 1960s, blerg

[drumsy]

There are some images of Independence Boulevard located below:

http://www.gribblenation.com/ncpics/charlotte/indblvd/1950.html

[ScottCLT]

There are some images of Independence Boulevard located below:

http://www.gribblenation.com/ncpics/charlotte/indblvd/1950.html

Good find! I got quite an education on where Independence Blvd. used to go. I would have never guessed that the one-lane onramp from Wilkinson to I-77 was once a 6-lane Independence Blvd!

[city123]

I enjoyed the old convention center.

[Third Strike]

Ran across this pretty cool Twitter. It shows pics of Charlotte through out the years. Here's a few that I found most interesting:

 

Southern Railway Passenger station:

 

Independence Square West on Trade:

 

East Trade Street, west from Brevard St.:

 

https://twitter.com/ObserverArchive

http://retroclt.blogspot.com/

[Matthew.Brendan]

Amazing! Look at all the street level retail

[AuLukey]

Man, Charlotte may have been small... but it sure had character.  Look at those streetcar lines and that cool above ground booth thingymabob.  That would be so cool here now!

[JusMe]

I had no idea and I'm a Charlotte native. I saw this pic and wanted to cry...... 

 

 

 

[Madison Parkitect]

Some of those buildings on the left look awfully tall for 1930...

[ScottCLT]

For those interested in Charlotte's evolution over the past century, ther are two great coffee table books which I own. "Charlotte - Then and Now" and "Historic Photos of Charlotte." Both give an amazing glimpse into the past, much more than these photos do (nothing bad about these pics, but there is just so much more to see). The before and after book shows historic photos next to modern photos at the same angle so you can see what has changed. The other on is just a collection of old photos, but both books are great. You can find these at Barnes & Noble in the Charlotte area. They're aren't expensive and I just find myself immersed in seeing what this city was like 70-80 years ago while looking at them. One of the biggest losses we've had here is the old downtown YMCA - gorgeous building. I have flipped through all the pages of each of those books countless times. I would love to scan and post images, but that might be a copyright issue. For those that are fascinated by the above images, there is so much more to see from this era. Pick up these books (or at least flip through them while enjoying a coffee at B&N).

[Matthew.Brendan]

Some of those buildings on the left look awfully tall for 1930...

The Empire State Building was completed in 1931, for reference.

[Madison Parkitect]

The Empire State Building was completed in 1931, for reference.

I know, I just didn't realize Charlotte had that many taller buildings by 1930. It looks like a bigger city than I thought Charlotte was, but I don't know a ton about Charlotte history from that era.

[videtur quam contuor]

That photo looks nothing like any Charlotte photo I have ever seen. I see no rail corridors. Our downtown is much less flat than that depiction. The buildings and their height look anachronistic.

[teeg]

The 1930 and 1975 photos are not from the same perspective.  I was able to find the 1930 photo discussed on the Historic Landmarks Commission website:

 

http://www.cmhpf.org/Surveys/Uptown%20Charlotte%20Survey/uptownsurveyskyscrapers.htm

 

Several of the taller buildings are gone.  

[MilZ]

Charlotte Magazine: The Story of Charlotte (Pt 1 of 12)

 

http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/May-2014/The-Story-of-Charlotte-Part-1-Parcel-of-Blockheads/

[Windsurfer]

Thanks for that link!  Pretty interesting and accurate. I guess I had ancester-squatters. :-) since they were part of that contingent of Scots-Irish from Pa. What I always had had a hard time getting my head around was that the Lowland Scots settled Western N.C. while the Highland Scots, ironically, the Eastern lowlands of N.C.  There were actual Clan squirmishes between the two. The Battle of Moores Creek near Wilmington is an example.

[vassago]

For those interested in Charlotte's evolution over the past century, ther are two great coffee table books which I own. "Charlotte - Then and Now" and "Historic Photos of Charlotte." Both give an amazing glimpse into the past, much more than these photos do (nothing bad about these pics, but there is just so much more to see). The before and after book shows historic photos next to modern photos at the same angle so you can see what has changed. The other on is just a collection of old photos, but both books are great. You can find these at Barnes & Noble in the Charlotte area. They're aren't expensive and I just find myself immersed in seeing what this city was like 70-80 years ago while looking at them. One of the biggest losses we've had here is the old downtown YMCA - gorgeous building. I have flipped through all the pages of each of those books countless times. I would love to scan and post images, but that might be a copyright issue. For those that are fascinated by the above images, there is so much more to see from this era. Pick up these books (or at least flip through them while enjoying a coffee at B&N).

 

The UPS man just dropped "Charlotte - Then and Now" at my door.  Very neat, and a bit depressing.  Thank you for the recommendation!

[Madison Parkitect]

Thanks for that link!  Pretty interesting and accurate. I guess I had ancester-squatters. :-) since they were part of that contingent of Scots-Irish from Pa. What I always had had a hard time getting my head around was that the Lowland Scots settled Western N.C. while the Highland Scots, ironically, the Eastern lowlands of N.C.  There were actual Clan squirmishes between the two. The Battle of Moores Creek near Wilmington is an example.

Here's something strange: my ancestors on my dad's side came from Germany to Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Dutch people) then moved to Mecklenburg County for a generation before settling in Asheville around 1800. My grandfather married someone of Scots-Irish descent in that area, then moved to Maryland where my dad and I were born. My family moved to Cincinnati and then to Charlotte in 95, bringing my family's Mecklenburg Co. story back around to the beginning.

[NcSc74]

All I can say is wow, what in the he11 were they thinking.  Imagine the original core with the existing number of glass towers now.  Not to mention the square footage of brick storefronts that would exist  if urban renewal hadn't taken away.  Now I know some will say that without renewal there wouldn't have been the push or space to build the office towers but I have to believe that there was space or there was a better way to facilitate the building booms of the 80s, 90s and 2000s.  Perhaps relocating the housing co-ops and building some tower there or moving the industrial complexes to a portion of the city that hasn't grown yet. 

 

Anyway, I visited Charlotte for the Belk bowl and I must admit 277 has to go.  Either bring it up to 21st century standards or get rid of it.  For a city that has such an impressive skyline the freeways and interstates in the city are atrocious.  It may sound anti-urban or anti-mass transit but the reality is 277 and 77 are about 30 years past due an update.  From what I read on here 277 shoud not have been built so what can the future city leader do to convince the public that burying it will benefit them.

Edited May 11, 2014 by NcSc74

[builtplanet]

I don't know if this has been posted before, but the UNCC library has an interesting digital collection page where they've scanned documents from the urban renewal era.

 

http://digitalcollections.uncc.edu/cdm/search/searchterm/brooklyn/order/nosort

 

The reports are interesting, especially on the quality of housing stock and analysis of the human capital neighborhood by neighborhood. I've lurked around here long enough to know that the brooklyn neighborhood is often talked about as a missed opportunity... take a look at the documents and see what was salvageable about the inner neighborhoods, I don't think they really had too much to work with.

[birky]

^this is awesome!

 

pulled this one from the 1980 Central Area Plan (which is downloadable in pdf form in its entirety!)

 

 

And some interesting population estimates through 2000...

 

 

Edited May 13, 2014 by birky

[ah59396]

^this is awesome!

 

pulled this one from the 1980 Central Area Plan (which is downloadable in pdf form in its entirety!)

 

 

 

Yuck.  We used to be Tulsa.

[CLTNative]

Thanks for sharing! Now i'm obsessed...

 

I actually found the Odell plan from 1966. It shows the original drawings for the Civic Center. The Square was an elevated platform over Trade St and 277 was being planned. Its called the Charlotte Central Area Plan.

[ScottCLT]

This article is mostly pictures from the old Hickory Chero-Cola bottling plant, but check out the last one from 2003 - before TWC Arena was built, during the demolition of existing buildings, they uncovered some old advertising on a brick wall that had been hidden for years. Of course they reduced it to rubble instead of trying to save it.

 

http://retroclt.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-chero-cola-bottling-plant-in-hickory.html

 

[krazeeboi]

^That would look so cool in Uptown today.