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You're right. Charlotte's rougher areas retain a decent aesthetic and at one point, the most gang-infested neighborhood in the city was the postwar subdivision of Hidden Valley which could pass for the neighborhood where the Brady Bunch lived.
Hidden Valley reminds me very much of Parkwood Estates and Haynes Manor here in Nashville. Very similar demographics and aesthetics, though unfortunately these areas a now seeing gentrification and price increases.
That's interesting since the surrounding areas are where Charlotte's personality can really be experienced. South End, Dilworth, Elizabeth, Plaza-Midwood, Wilmore, Wesley Heights, Greenville, etc. allow one to see new Charlotte against the backdrop of old Charlotte in more human-scaled, fine-grained contexts.
To be fair, when I am there, I have to stay in or near Matthews, so most of my experience lies in the stretch between Matthews and uptown.
I have taken Amtrak into Charlotte, and walked from the station to uptown. Not a bad walk, but it did feel quite sketchy.
I’ll give the areas mentioned a shot next time I am there.
I’ve explored literally all of uptown on foot numerous times. Reminds me of downtown Atlanta, on a smaller scale. Similar corporate vibe though, which is nice. Coming from Orlando (I no longer live there, but it was my residence until very recently) where downtown is primarily residential and has more of a fun/relax/party vibe, I liked what I saw in uptown Charlotte.
My question is what is it that everyone actually cares about? Is this VS about who is taller? Who has more skyscrapers? Who has better looking skyscrapers? Who has more street activity? Who is building more? Who has the better outlook? To me:
Hidden Valley reminds me very much of Parkwood Estates and Haynes Manor here in Nashville. Very similar demographics and aesthetics, though unfortunately these areas a now seeing gentrification and price increases.
This is because the the actual "hoods" were torn down and gentrified years ago. Check out YouTube footage of old hoods that are gone like Genesis Park, Fairview Homes, Tryon Hills, Delehay Courts, Piedmont Courts, Earle Village, Southside,Boulevard Homes, North Charlotte(Peagram Street), Lasalle Street before gentrification, old Wilmore...yeah these place have been gone almost 25 years. What has happened is when these hoods were torn down, the city forced the residents to move to outer Charlotte areas to "hide" the riff raff. Alot of these residents moved to the university area and East Charlotte aomngst the nice houses. Hidden Valley for the most part has been middle class....
Hidden Valley reminds me very much of Parkwood Estates and Haynes Manor here in Nashville. Very similar demographics and aesthetics, though unfortunately these areas a now seeing gentrification and price increases.
This is because the the actual "hoods" were torn down and gentrified years ago. Check out YouTube footage of old hoods that are gone like Genesis Park, Fairview Homes, Tryon Hills, Delehay Courts, Piedmont Courts, Earle Village, Southside,Boulevard Homes, North Charlotte(Peagram Street), Lasalle Street before gentrification, old Wilmore...yeah these place have been gone almost 25 years. What has happened is when these hoods were torn down, the city forced the residents to move to outer Charlotte areas to "hide" the riff raff. Alot of these residents moved to the university area and East Charlotte aomngst the nice houses. Hidden Valley for the most part has been middle class....
This is because the the actual ”hoods” were torn down and gentrified years ago. Check out YouTube footage of old hoods that are gone like Genesis Park, Fairview Homes, Tryon Hills, Delehay Courts, Piedmont Courts, Earle Village, Southside,Boulevard Homes, North Charlotte(Peagram Street), Lasalle Street before gentrification, old Wilmore...yeah these place have been gone almost 25 years. What has happened is when these hoods were torn down, the city forced the residents to move to outer Charlotte areas to ”hide” the riff raff. Alot of these residents moved to the university area and East Charlotte aomngst the nice houses. Hidden Valley for the most part has been middle class....
Got you, yeah I heard about some of those particularly the Brooklyn/2nd Ward neighborhood in Uptown Charlotte. A lot of this happened in many southern cities during the urban renewal era of the 60's. Nashville had it's own in and around downtown when many large housing projects were torn down that surrounded downtown like Jo Johnston and Preston Taylor homes, with some like JC Napier, Sudekum Homes, University Courts, Cayce Homes and Edgehill homes still exist, they're all planned to be redeveloped into mixed income housing with Cayce homes being currently redeveloped now. Gentrification is just the more recent trend of uprooting long time black residents.
The neighborhoods I posted for Nashville, Parkwood Estates and Haynes Manor are middle class or started out as middle class areas but has since have had more working class people move in as areas close to downtown have gotten more expensive. Now these areas are seeing price increases where working class people are now moving to surrounding counties.
You're right. Charlotte's rougher areas retain a decent aesthetic and at one point, the most gang-infested neighborhood in the city was the postwar subdivision of Hidden Valley which could pass for the neighborhood where the Brady Bunch lived.
Hidden Valley doesn't look bad at all. It's close to NoDa, so it may be gentrified beyond recognition in the upcoming years.
Hidden Valley doesn't look bad at all. It's close to NoDa, so it may be gentrified beyond recognition in the upcoming years.
It has already started. The Greenway is being extended now through HiddenValley. Houses and streets are being remodeled and new condos and apartments have been built. The lightrail line runs along the backside of Hidden Valley on North Tryon street...
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