Boring Charlotte

[Charlotte_native]

If downtown is like a shopping mall I want to find the mall that has drum circles, street musicians, tons of non-chain restaurants, music venues (Alley Cat), theaters, museums, libraries, chess players at the waterfall park, tons of skateboarders, street vendors, hot dog vendors, tourists and people strolling around all the time, night clubs and lounges, and major sporting events.

Of course there are francises mixed in, some people want them.

As far as coffee, I recognize it is a chain, but is Starbucks at 101 N Tryon not open late? I just assumed it was, but don't really know. I would think they could stay busy until 2am on Thus-Sun.

[monsoon]

I was responding to the reason why downtown Charlotte is so boring. Chains, and franchise concepts dominate downtown except for the places to get drunk and some of the dinner places. We have discussed this before and general consensus that downtown resembles a cross between an office park and a suburban strip mall. (and yes those places have live entertainment on the streets too) Manhattan it's not though I guess people like to believe that it might be.

The fact remains that it really isn't the environment where one might expect to find a real coffee house open for much of the day, or real ethnic food (not the americanized stuff in Iveys that caters to lunch goers an the franchise concept noodle place), or anything else that one can find almost anywhere else in the metro.

[krazeeboi]

I just wish all of the fast food joints weren't hidden inside the buildings.

[Charlotte_native]

I was responding to the reason why downtown Charlotte is so boring. Manhattan it's not though I guess people like to believe that it might be.

[atlrvr]

Manhattan isn't a central business district....it is an entire county with 1.5 million people living there. I would say that downtown Manhattan is much more boring than Charlotte. Walk down Wall St. on a Sunday and finding a non-tourist is next to impossible.....walk a block off of Wall St. on a Sunday and you'll find no one except perhaps a lost tourist trying to find Wall St. There may be lots of action going on in Chelsea, SoHo, UES, UWS, Chinatown, East Village, Greenwich Vllage etc....but these are all residential neighborhoods (except SoHo is now almost like a mall).

I guess the point is, you're more likely to find Starbucks than an ethnic food restaurant in New York's downtown, so when you compare apples to apples, I think Charlotte is doing quite well in making its CBD a place to work, live and visit. There is a wide range of options downtown Charlotte, but if your cup-of-tea isn't filled there, then there are plenty of other parts of the city that offer different vibes and amenities. If every culture had a token outpost downtown, wouldn't it be a bit like Epcot?

[monsoon]

Manhattan isn't a central business district.......

[Charlotte_native]

I'm just glad that any given night I can walk outside and find lots to do downtown and lots of others walking around doing the same. People watching has become extensive -- I can't wait to see how much it grows once Avenue and Trademark are occupied in a couple of months. There are already lots of folks on the streets and lines to get in places every night of the week, add those residents to the mix -- JOY.

I especially can't wait for the restaurant in the bottom of Trademark that is going to be open Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner -- including weekends.

[geekUSA1981]

I think a lot of the complaints about lack-of-this, or lack-of-that, will start to disappear once the uptown population reaches it's estimated 27,000 over the next 5 years, and continues to grow beyond that. As more people move uptown, they'll create a demand for services to be provided within a close enough proximity that will not require the use of their cars. And, they'll demand access to those services for longer hours, everyday of the week.

[kpryde4u]

I think the question is... what is there fun to do right now in downtown Charlotte other than drinking at bars?

[cltheel.sdl]

I think the question is... what is there fun to do right now in downtown Charlotte other than drinking at bars?

[Charlotte_native]

I think the question is... what is there fun to do right now in downtown Charlotte other than drinking at bars?

[voyager12]

Since Charlotte is transplant central many people's perceptions and expectations are colored by where they are from. After living in downtown Charleston for seven years I have difficulty finding Uptown appealing. I think this will always be the case. And I admit as I have said before that the comparison is unfair but it sticks in one's head.

[Raintree21]

Going to plays and musicals at Blumenthal, eating at the myriad of restaurants, Bobcats games, Checkers games, Panthers games, hanging out at The Green, ice skating at The Green, playing chess at the park beside the Interstate Tower, concerts at the arena, street concerts, Speed Street, Taste of Charlotte, Bank of America Invitational bike race, New Year's, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving parade, Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Afro American Museum, Levine Museum of the New South, going clubbing, salsa dancing, frolicking in fountains, etc. It's really not that hard to find things to do other than getting drunk at bars. Things are only going up from here.

[voyager12]

I am looking forward to the museums. That's about it. My ambivalence towards Uptown derives from the empty feeling I get walking around there. It's just my opinion but I don't get the warm fuzzies and the "urban" vibe from all the monolithic nondescript buildings. It's not a place where you can wander all day in and out of little shops and etc etc and just get "lost". And that's not Uptown's future either judging from Epicenter and the other mass market entertainment plexes going up. There may be a few storefronts here and there but that is not a priority. Chains are. So I wander around Dilworth's little walkable strip, PlazaMidwood, NoDa, and SouthEnd and while they are all very small pockets. They feel more alive and urban to me than Uptown.

[cinco]

Going to plays and musicals at Blumenthal, eating at the myriad of restaurants, Bobcats games, Checkers games, Panthers games, hanging out at The Green, ice skating at The Green, playing chess at the park beside the Interstate Tower, concerts at the arena, street concerts, Speed Street, Taste of Charlotte, Bank of America Invitational bike race, New Year's, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving parade, Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Afro American Museum, Levine Museum of the New South, going clubbing, salsa dancing, frolicking in fountains, etc. It's really not that hard to find things to do other than getting drunk at bars. Things are only going up from here.

[krazeeboi]

Right now, I think the biggest drawback for Uptown is the lack of a central, signature urban park. In any other city, people will drive downtown just to hang out at a park, relax, and people watch. I think the new 3rd Ward park will do more for activity Uptown than most realize.

[New Name]

No one has been able to put their finger on it yet... but the fact is: there are no secrets in uptown. There are no closet stores with cool items waiting to be discovered by only you on a sunday afternoon. No hidden cafes down an alleyway - heck...no real alleyways! Every inch of uptown is planned out, every corridor, and every closet. There is no excitement for a niche that you could stumble on and tell you friends about. There are two reasons why - the price of real estate, and the fact that everything in the city is master planned and brand spankin' new.

[Charlotte_native]

No one has been able to put their finger on it yet... but the fact is: there are no secrets in uptown. There are no closet stores with cool items waiting to be discovered by only you on a sunday afternoon. No hidden cafes down an alleyway - heck...no real alleyways! Every inch of uptown is planned out, every corridor, and every closet. There is no excitement for a niche that you could stumble on and tell you friends about. There are two reasons why - the price of real estate, and the fact that everything in the city is master planned and brand spankin' new.

[geekUSA1981]

No one has been able to put their finger on it yet... but the fact is: there are no secrets in uptown. There are no closet stores with cool items waiting to be discovered by only you on a sunday afternoon. No hidden cafes down an alleyway - heck...no real alleyways! Every inch of uptown is planned out, every corridor, and every closet. There is no excitement for a niche that you could stumble on and tell you friends about. There are two reasons why - the price of real estate, and the fact that everything in the city is master planned and brand spankin' new.

[monsoon]

Latta Arcade is one of the nice surprises downtown. They really need to open it up more to Tryon St.

[Charlotte_native]

***For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the clothing store. It was something kind of funky. Anybody know?

[voyager12]

I have never been to Latta Arcade. I will have to wander through sometime. Uptown is another planet to me. After two years I still get completely lost around there and looking at it broadly it's tough to see any interesting places to wander around so it's easy to dismiss. I will have to look closer soon, it's like a scavenger hunt. The genesis of this latest debate was not primarily focused on Uptown though. There was a question of encouraging more places to stay open later in Charlotte overall. Does anyone have any info on when Itermezzo Pizzeria and Cafe on Central at the corners intersection will open? It looks almost ready.

[geekUSA1981]

^^^It officially opened yesterday. Tonya Jameson wrote about it today: http://qhc.blogspot.com/2007/07/new-hangou...ral-avenue.html

[Spartan]

Latta Arcade and Brevard Court. Built in the 20's, still looks like it did then, basically an alley with two story storefronts on each side and brick paver central walkway, little cafes and restaurants, funky shoe store and funky clothing store that also produces local music. George Herman's is a hole-in-the-wall sports bar there that was a fantastic accidental find for me one night -- old as hell and not updated, two stories, poker games going on in the back room, and tons of baseball fans there that night (that is how we found it, we heard them yelling at each other NY vs. Red Sox).

Not that it changes downtown overall, but it fits what you have just described to a T. Someone just posted a picture of it in the Coffee House for daily pictures...

[Raintree21]

Civil War soldier re-enactors will gather Saturday and next Sunday at Historic Latta Plantation in Huntersville for a Civil War Infantry Weekend program. The event takes place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and from 1-4 p.m. Sunday.

More information can be found at http://www.lattaplantation.org/.