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Every time I look at a "Charlotte then and now" book, Greensboro's Elm St. always comes to mind. Probably my favorite downtown street in the Carolina's.
I really dig Elm Street and it's probably my favorite downtown street in NC in particular; it doesn't quite have what it takes to beat Main Street in Greenville or King, Broad, or Meeting streets in Charleston though.
I really dig Elm Street and it's probably my favorite downtown street in NC in particular; it doesn't quite have what it takes to beat Main Street in Greenville or King, Broad, or Meeting streets in Charleston though.
Charlotte decimated Tryon St during urban renewal so it lost out on the primary historic strip that would've been comparable to Greensboro's Elm St. So now it's retrofitting areas which makes it rather costly to develop affording buildings that could support small shops, boutiques, etc in the center city. The city needed a entertainment venue like Epicentre, however I wish it'd been a throw-back design with a mini-street feel, brick, patios, interior water feature, etc. I like the Epicentre but opportunity missed in my opinion.
Charlotte is not a major city. If you went to Paris, Rio, or Tokyo and told people you live in Charlotte, they would not have a clue where you're talking about. Further, it doesn't feel like a major city. Lots of us move here to escape a major city.
Charlotte is a strong B city in the US. Downtown has had a remarkable development run in the past 2 decades that is now stretching into existing neighborhoods like Southend and Dilworth.
Some have mentioned Elm St, Meeting st etc... I don't see how not having a central street makes you major city or not. Charlotte is what it is because the large corporate citizens built out downtown. While it may not please planners and architects, the result is a great downtowns at is filling in the gaps. There are plenty of places for retail from Brevard, to Stonewall, down South Boulevard, South Tryon and out Elizabeth. I would not trade our downtown in any way for Greensboro. Since the bread is talking Bout major city, that would take us the opposite direction.
I really dig Elm Street and it's probably my favorite downtown street in NC in particular; it doesn't quite have what it takes to beat Main Street in Greenville or King, Broad, or Meeting streets in Charleston though.
None of these cities are major, in fact All are small. So, while they may have a nice street or two, not sure how this is relative to the topic.
None of these cities are major, in fact All are small. So, while they may have a nice street or two, not sure how this is relative to the topic.
You wanna talk about "mid-major" cities in the US then, there are cities with similar street's comparable to Elm St in them, that serve a like-minded purpose (central entertainment/dining district). Nashville's Broadway, Austin's 6th, Richmond's Cary.
The discussion of Elm St was going off-topic starting with my post. Now back to topic we may go...
So you met the rare Brit who knows US basketball? That proves nothing. Charlotte is not a major city.
Moreover, while foreigners will travel thousands of miles to vacation in NY, SF, or Miami, they would not come to Clt for a holiday.
Where did I say that proves that Charlotte is a major city? I don't think it is, and have never stated that it is. Just pointing out that a European had heard of Charlotte.
I really dig Elm Street and it's probably my favorite downtown street in NC in particular; it doesn't quite have what it takes to beat Main Street in Greenville or King, Broad, or Meeting streets in Charleston though.
I should have stated the reasons for in my original post, I suppose. It's not because I think it is better or more active than other streets in the Carolina's, more of because it holds it's weight against bigger, more popular cities with comparable streets. Like the gem in the Triad, that is still pretty active/fun even on a Wednesday night.
You wanna talk about "mid-major" cities in the US then, there are cities with similar street's comparable to Elm St in them, that serve a like-minded purpose (central entertainment/dining district). Nashville's Broadway, Austin's 6th, Richmond's Cary.
The discussion of Elm St was going off-topic starting with my post. Now back to topic we may go...
I would like to see a district evolve in Charlotte that has a high concentration of restaurants/retail, maybe Stonewall will evolve with the Cresecent projects, connection with Southend and Midtown. Stonewall would be a good fit that would also tie into the Greenway and Myers Park.
I don't think there is any doubt that Charlotte is a mid major. But, at what point does it become major? We should be close to 3m within 10 years which puts us above places like St Louis and closing in on Minneapolis. Denver is roughly 2.7m, is that major. Boston is only at 4.7, is that major. I am not sure where a city becomes major but I think we will be there in a decade or so.
The other question is why that matters. Charlotte does a ton of things very well, you can make a great living here, the income relative to cost of living is a nice ratio, better than most. It has great neighborhoods, restaurants, retail, air travel, etc.....so, does adding another million residents over the next 15 years make us any better? Sure, we will have a lot more options across the board but for me, I will still live a very similar lifestyle that I have today.
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