History of Charlotte

[KJHburg]

If you took the Uptown Charlotte Hidden History walking tour you would know the significance of these buildings.    The first hospital in Charlotte and the home of the FIRST medical school in Charlotte that was absorbed into the Medical College of VA in Richmond.   *Wake Forest will be 2nd one and lets hope this one sticks around.  

[videtur quam contuor]

There are people alive now born in that hospital.

[KJHburg]

James K Polk Birthplace State Historical Site.   and since it is the current terminus of the LSC Greenway their visitation has grown greatly.  

Happy a Belated Texas Independence Day which was on March 2.  President Polk was instrumental in this state acceptance into the USA.

If you have not visited this Presidential site  you should it is free and has a small museum and reconstruction of the home and outbuildings.  

 

[davidclt]

On 3/4/2023 at 6:02 PM, KJHburg said:

James K Polk Birthplace State Historical Site.   and since it is the current terminus of the LSC Greenway their visitation has grown greatly.  

Interesting James K Polk aside (with Charlotte development implications). Yesterday, on the southbound blue line, I encountered someone claiming to be a direct descendant of the 11th President of the United States having just left his attorney's office after closing on selling 6,000 acres out in Matthews. He was from Mt. Pleasant, hated driving in Charlotte and figured he would take the light rail Uptown to avoid Charlotte's traffic and parking issues. Regardless, after getting his truck from the I-485 PnR , he (claimed) was going to Maserati on Tyvola to buy a Rolls Royce and Maserati, returning to Mt. Pleasant to buy waterfront property and a boat and tell the world "to go to hell." We got to talking because he wanted to double-check that he was going the right direction. He may have been a crank (full of poo) but a funny story nonetheless and if in fact this much land at the margins was sold recently, might be some interesting development coming to Matthews.

[Windsurfer]

4 hours ago, davidclt said:

Interesting James K Polk aside (with Charlotte development implications). Yesterday, on the southbound blue line, I encountered someone claiming to be a direct descendant of the 11th President of the United States having just left his attorney's office after closing on selling 6,000 acres out in Matthews. He was from Mt. Pleasant, hated driving in Charlotte and figured he would take the light rail Uptown to avoid Charlotte's traffic and parking issues. Regardless, after getting his truck from the I-485 PnR , he (claimed) was going to Maserati on Tyvola to buy a Rolls Royce and Maserati, returning to Mt. Pleasant to buy waterfront property and a boat and tell the world "to go to hell." We got to talking because he wanted to double-check that he was going the right direction. He may have been a crank (full of poo) but a funny story nonetheless and if in fact this much land at the margins was sold recently, might be some interesting development coming to Matthews.

Mt. Pleasant? Waterfront?

[Madison Parkitect]

5 hours ago, davidclt said:

Interesting James K Polk aside (with Charlotte development implications). Yesterday, on the southbound blue line, I encountered someone claiming to be a direct descendant of the 11th President of the United States having just left his attorney's office after closing on selling 6,000 acres out in Matthews. He was from Mt. Pleasant, hated driving in Charlotte and figured he would take the light rail Uptown to avoid Charlotte's traffic and parking issues. Regardless, after getting his truck from the I-485 PnR , he (claimed) was going to Maserati on Tyvola to buy a Rolls Royce and Maserati, returning to Mt. Pleasant to buy waterfront property and a boat and tell the world "to go to hell." We got to talking because he wanted to double-check that he was going the right direction. He may have been a crank (full of poo) but a funny story nonetheless and if in fact this much land at the margins was sold recently, might be some interesting development coming to Matthews.

Seems like if there were 6,000 acres about to sell in Matthews we might have heard of it.

[davidclt]

8 minutes ago, Madison Parkitect said:

Seems like if there were 6,000 acres about to sell in Matthews we might have heard of it.

That was my thought . . .

[videtur quam contuor]

Was his name George Santos?

(I call that 2.75$ worth of entertainment on that ride)

[ArchiCLT]

2 hours ago, Windsurfer said:

Mt. Pleasant? Waterfront?

He might've meant Mt. Pleasant, SC, if he's coming from south of town. Little does this guy know we're on some forum over-analyzing his conversation 2 days later.

[KJHburg]

who remembers what is special about this church uptown at 7th and N College from the uptown history tour?

 

[DJ8hep]

who remembers what is special about this church uptown at 7th and N College from the uptown history tour?
 
http://content.invisioncic.com/x329420/monthly_2023_03/20230316_103223.thumb.jpg.0bc5a00939d4b90161b6d850238ebeb8.jpg

Was it hand built by the church members?

[KJHburg]

38 minutes ago, DJ8hep said:

Was it hand built by the church members?

Yes it was! on the weekends and evenings and has stood for 100 plus years now.  

[videtur quam contuor]

Biddle Hall on campus of JC Smith was built 1883-84 much (most?) by student labor. 

https://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/buch1058#?c=&m=&cv=&xywh=-4377%2C68%2C11644%2C3988

[KJHburg]

NC's great Transportation Museum is located just north of Charlotte in Spencer outside of Salisbury.  This was the old Southern Railways steam engine repair facility that employed 2000 at its peak.  Location chosen because it was halfway between Atlanta and DC.  A must see for people with kids,  a must see for those interested in trains, a must see for those who love cars, trucks, planes etc with a NC centric focus.  

https://www.nctransportationmuseum.org/antique-truck-show/

Check out these huge buildings too from early 1900s.  Loved the huge Back shop and the roundhouse.    Just a great museum just $6!  

On yeah train rides on weekends around the property and a ride on the old turntable.   and yes they even had a model of the LYNX trains! 

[videtur quam contuor]

I rode Southern Railroad from New Orleans to Charlotte in 1973 (maybe 74). Before Amtrak took control. Porters and waiters in white jackets, linen tablecloths and flower vases. Train rain daytime hours and I read The Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn during the trip. The book was a sensation of that time and relevant still today, sadly. I saw the ass end of every part of the deep south on that ride. Poorly dressed children, all colors, playing in marshland, sawmills, and pines, so many pines. For the wealthiest country in the world that rail line was a zipper that opened to show the detritus of society and capitalism. I loved it.

[Windsurfer]

6 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

I rode Southern Railroad from New Orleans to Charlotte in 1973 (maybe 74). Before Amtrak took control. Porters and waiters in white jackets, linen tablecloths and flower vases. Train rain daytime hours and I read The Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn during the trip. The book was a sensation of that time and relevant still today, sadly. I saw the ass end of every part of the deep south on that ride. Poorly dressed children, all colors, playing in marshland, sawmills, and pines, so many pines. For the wealthiest country in the world that rail line was a zipper that opened to show the detritus of society and capitalism. I loved it.

My journey was to NYC by way of the scenic route up The Corridor : Camden, Wilmington,  Newark , Trenton.  Talk about backside.  For me, even with southern poverty in my own backyard, the row houses, factories, etc. made me sick. My dad was with me for that trip.  My dad. When Southern Railroad ended, he bought a bunch of the old silverware, including some nice little creamers.  I've still got them somewhere.  My dad was a big fan of rail travel. I also have a letter to the editor he wrote when they moved the train station out to North Tryon.  He thought that was the dumbest Idea ever. 

[QCxpat]

Today - Historical walking tour of Uptown Charlotte for the USO led by UP's @KJHburg 

• Gothic Revival style First United Presbyterian Church 1894-95

 

• Neoclassical style Mayfair Manor / Dunhill Hotel 1929

• Colonial Revival style North Carolina Medical College Bldg. 1905 (now condos)

• Georgian Revival style St. Peter's Hospital 1875 (now condos)

• Queen Anne style Sheppard House 1898

• Jacobean Revival style Poplar Condominiums 1929

• Victorian Italianate style Berryhill House 1884

• Victorian style Crowell-Berryhill Store 1897 (now home to Alexander Michael's Restaurant & Tavern)

• Italian Renaissance Revival style Frederick Apartments 1927

• Gothic Revival style First Presbyterian Church 1857

• Victorian Gothic style St. Peter's Catholic Church 1893

Edited May 14, 2023 by QCxpat

[KJHburg]

My photos of uptown Charlotte 1982 notice quite a few buildings missing?

Even Tryon St was a wide 6 lane street that was shrunk into the wider sidewalks we have today and more trees.  They called it a transit mall the transformation.  

[KJHburg]

May I be the first to wish you a happy Meck Dec Day which is Saturday May 20.

https://charlotte.axios.com/329567/a-local-espn-writer-just-published-a-hilarious-new-book-about-charlottes-role-in-american-independence/

[QCxpat]

Today Uptown -  commemorating The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence    

"We hereby declare ourselves a free and independent people."  May 20, 1775

Edited May 20, 2023 by QCxpat

[KJHburg]

In Remembrance this Memorial Day of those who have fallen in service to this country.    From Beaufort County SC the National Cemetery in Beaufort and from Hilton Head. 

[KJHburg]

from the old Levine Museum of the New South and yes once Charlotte was the budding country music capital of the USA

Charlotte and Nashville have been competitors for 100 years. 

skyline shot from the 1970s  one of those pyramids at the old Civic Center ended up atop the BOAT at Legacy Union

[Professor]

Charlotte was on its way to becoming the country music capital in the 30s.  The Carter family (June married Johnny Cash) had a country music station in Charlotte. Those in charge of the city and the big business folk decided that the "Country Music Capital" was not a good image for Charlotte and did what they could to  divert the title to Nashville.  Probably the same stupid mistake our federal government made in the 60s when they thought that the U.S. was too sophisticated for the textile industry and moved it to Asia. That sure kicked our asses in parts of the southeast. 

[Windsurfer]

13 minutes ago, Larry Singer said:

Charlotte was on its way to becoming the country music capital in the 30s.  The Carter family (June married Johnny Cash) had a country music station in Charlotte. Those in charge of the city and the big business folk decided that the "Country Music Capital" was not a good image for Charlotte and did what they could to  divert the title to Nashville.  Probably the same stupid mistake our federal government made in the 60s when they thought that the U.S. was too sophisticated for the textile industry and moved it to Asia. That sure kicked our asses in parts of the southeast. 

How did you come up with that theory of The Federal government pushing textiles to Asia?  I know one of the early textile magnates who was on the next flight to China after 'Detente". He went for the cheap labor, nothing more.  That was in the 70s.  Perhaps you know more than I do.  Would love to hear more.

[KJHburg]

Happy 247th America all these flags are in the Carolinas