Quote:
Originally Posted by lovesMountains
There are a few 
Perhaps you never visited the Hezekiah Alexander homesite on Shamrock Dr. or the Latta Plantation up in northwest Charlotte? There is also St. Peter's Catholic Church on S. Tryon (well over 100 years old all of them). |
Oh, the Alexander homesite that used to be near Ballantyne on Rea Road......? I could be wrong about this site, so forgive me. Well, how did Charlotte handle that one? That is right, it almost got tore down to put up a Harris Teeter (As if Charlotte desperately need another one of those). How very poetic! And now it just sits. What the key word of today? "Structurally deficient".
Of course and then there is the church in Spirit Square, but when I am talking history, I am referring to neighborhoods similar to this: Ybor City Chamber of Commerce - Visitor Information (broken link)
That entire neighborhood is over 100 years old and people are still there. Yes, I know, you have your South End district, but come on, where is your first Charlotte high rise, known as the Charlotte Hotel? I am not talking about the restaurant on Sharon Amity either. I am talking about the real deal.
What about the first North Carolina National Bank high rise in Downtown? What about your trolley cars that used to transport people around or Woolworth's store in Downtown? Where is your real history? Where are the things that make Charlotte, "Charlotte"?
It is torn down, demolished, gutted, and these new glass structures are there in their place. There is not a lot of history left to Charlotte. It is a city of new money, banks, and that is really it. Oh yeah, and there is a Harris Teeter for every 1 to 1 1/2 miles.
Don't get me wrong, Charlotte has advanced in terms of light rail. It is ahead of many cities, including the one I live in, but your history has been nearly demolished. What is the oldest building in your downtown? In Tampa, there are several. Tampa Hotel is over 100 years old and one of the oldest, highrise structures on the west coast of Florida. The Kress building is over 80 years old and my partner's mother and grandmother, both worked in that building when they were TEENAGERS.
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So, where is Charlotte's Kress building at? Just a head's up that with a simple Google search I found it, but wanna take 2 guess what happened to it in the 1970s?
There is invaluable history here, but Charlotte has very few places left and there is not a historic district. During the US Civil War, Charlotte played an instrumental part. Where is some of the history from that era? Towns to the north like Gettysburg, Manassas, Sharpsburg, Alexandria, and Richmond have retained much of their history for our children and grandchildren to see. Why hasn't Charlotte done this?
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Charlotte vs. Charleston
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