Bearden Park in Third Ward, Uptown Charlotte

[CLT2014]

16 minutes ago, carolinaboy said:

I consider myself to be a responsible gun owner. I never leave a firearm in my vehicle. If I am out and about it is on my person. I am on the fence honestly about others leaving a firearm in their vehicle.  If someone breaks into your car and steals a firearm, they are the criminal. On the other hand, leaving a firearm in your vehicle is not a great idea obviously because they can be stolen more easily.

Absolutely agree the person stealing is a criminal, but we can also mitigate a person being a criminal that also has a firearm by not leaving guns in cars overnight.... Per CMPD the vast majority of the time the car is unlocked too (80% - 90% of the time depending on the county). They don't even need to break windows. Open door, get gun, walk away.

People are getting the guns throughout the region too. For example two guns stolen from unlocked cars in suburban Indian Trail where then used in homicides in South End hours later. They are prowling suburban neighborhoods where people feel safe and leave their cars unlocked with loaded guns inside.

Edited January 6 by CLT2014

[RANYC]

4 minutes ago, videtur quam contuor said:

Using a laptop I go to my name/avatar on top right and under that list of actions is "Ignore". Enter the account name.

Warning: Members who reply to that person with a block quote will display the ignored content even though I have ignore enabled. This is a nuisance for me. If those who dispute his comments will think about us who have a person on ignore, I appreciate that. I see no option for "block".

 

Done

[carolinaboy]

2 minutes ago, CLT2014 said:

Absolutely agree the person stealing is a criminal, but we can also mitigate criminals having a gun as well by not leaving guns in cars overnight.... Often in an unlocked car per CMPD most of the time.

I would encourage fellow gun owners to not leave firearms in their vehicles for sure. 

[Professor]

2 hours ago, MothBeast said:

Alright can a mod finally ban this mf? What does someone have to say to get banned in this website? “I HATE MINORITIES” in all caps?? I’m about done with this site if this level of moderation continues, and I hardly think I’m the only one running out of patience. 

 

 

Edited January 6 by Larry Singer

[Professor]

2 hours ago, MothBeast said:

Alright can a mod finally ban this mf? What does someone have to say to get banned in this website? “I HATE MINORITIES” in all caps?? I’m about done with this site if this level of moderation continues, and I hardly think I’m the only one running out of patience. 

Keep running.

[DownEast]

"Philidelphia." IQ certainly leans racist or at the very least prepubescent.  Maybe a short intelligence quiz to sign up for the site might keep these Joe the Dumber types over on CityData. 

Edited January 6 by DownEast
FTC

[Guest]

3 hours ago, videtur quam contuor said:

Using a laptop I go to my name/avatar on top right and under that list of actions is "Ignore". Enter the account name.

Warning: Members who reply to that person with a block quote will display the ignored content even though I have ignore enabled. This is a nuisance for me. If those who dispute his comments will think about us who have a person on ignore, I appreciate that. I see no option for "block".

 

Great tip thank you. I have avoided replying to him directly or referring to him directly for this reason. He has changed his username now probably to avoid this kind of attention but don’t let it fool you.

”Professor” smh

[atlrvr]

*** moderator note ***

My simple assumption is Larry Singer/Professor is stating the much higher percentage of union labor and socialist leaning politicians in Helsinki and Oslo relative to Baltimore and Philadelphia, has resulted in significantly lower income dispersion in those European cities, which leads to overall higher levels of populace happiness and lower levels of hopeless, that typically manifest in criminal activity.

All of these issues are actually way more complicated than any hot take.

My preference, given this site's general goal is to foster conversations about urban issues, is to allow conversations to happen, and acknowledge there are a variety of views, some reductionist, others offensive, but those variety of views actually provides insights how a population overall interacts with the built environment.

And as noted, if anyone wants to ignore the views of others, the block feature usage has been described above.

Edit:  Adding @Neo as site owner who may have different philosophy than me which I respect.

[Professor]

13 hours ago, atlrvr said:

*** moderator note ***

My simple assumption is Larry Singer/Professor is stating the much higher percentage of union labor and socialist leaning politicians in Helsinki and Oslo relative to Baltimore and Philadelphia, has resulted in significantly lower income dispersion in those European cities, which leads to overall higher levels of populace happiness and lower levels of hopeless, that typically manifest in criminal activity.

All of these issues are actually way more complicated than any hot take.

My preference, given this site's general goal is to foster conversations about urban issues, is to allow conversations to happen, and acknowledge there are a variety of views, some reductionist, others offensive, but those variety of views actually provides insights how a population overall interacts with the built environment.

And as noted, if anyone wants to ignore the views of others, the block feature usage has been described above.

Edit:  Adding @Neo as site owner who may have different philosophy than me which I respect.

Thank you  aTlvr for getting it. Oslo and Helsinki would be considered as non-diverse cities. They have socialistic type governments, but due to their not being diverse, their taxes can be focused on luxuries such as cultural venues, theatrics, the arts, etc.). Violent crime is practically non-existent in Oslo and Helsinki making it possible for tax money to be spent on beneficial assets, not constantly adding more cops, firemen, jails, etc. For example, in most cases, when or if a taxpaying American goes into a nursing home, they often lose their homes, 401K accounts, IRAs, and/or anything of value from a lifetime of work, to pay for their maintenance and keep. After the first 100 days of care, the cost is approximately $1200 per month. Whether fair or not, but the non-taxpaying patients that have spent their lives mooching off of our government get free care equal to those that lost everything. 

The higher tax payments in Norway and Finland cover these otherwise dreadful medical and nursing home payments for which we are mostly burdened in the U.S.  I just went through this with a family member.  Additionally, with the Norwegian and Finnish systems, workers production output is at a level allowing workers to enjoy a shorter workweek and amongst the best medical treatment centers in the world. My point with Baltimore and Philadelphia is that we have two crime ridden cities. They suffer homelessness, unemployment, incredible drug problems, and violent crime. Most residents could never enjoy the benefits enjoyed by citizens of Oslo or Helsinki.  People that are united and cohesive help each other and with that comes strength. I used Oslo and Helsinki. I could have used Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, or many other mostly not-diverse cities, but I didn't. I also could have used St. Louis, Detroit, or New Orleans, but I didn't. Diversity isn't all about racism. It is about mixing. As I tried to say, it can be good or it can be bad, depending on the mix. If you get lots of people with opposing ethics and ideologies, diversity can be an issue. If you mix criminals with peace loving individuals, it isn't going to work it probably.

Unfortunately guys like MB has gotten on the bandwagon with other similar MFs (his term) that cry like little Bs if someone says something they consider sensitive and call them "racists."  It is sick and pathetic. That is why I changed my "pen name" to Professor so I could break away from sensitive morons.  But he can continue calling me a racist if he wants. The title has lost its meaning thanks to him and other woke individuals. 

Edited January 7 by Professor

[Professor]

19 hours ago, DownEast said:

"Philidelphia." IQ certainly leans racist or at the very least prepubescent.  Maybe a short intelligence quiz to sign up for the site might keep these Joe the Dumber types over on CityData. 

And your statement shows a full range of intelligence. LOL. What are your "trying" to say? 

[SydneyCarton]

I think that the CMPD  has responded.  I went to the Panthers game, and Bearden Park and Uptown generally were the most orderly that I’ve seen recently.

 

 

Edited January 8 by SydneyCarton

[Durhamite]

22 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

I think that the CMPD  has responded.  I went to the Panthers game, and Bearden Park and Uptown generally were the most orderly that I’ve seen recently.

 

 

Cities have crime, even non-diverse cities and the media tends to sensationalize certain places, well it's news.   Plus, we live in gun-addicted country where you can get a dozen of doughnuts and a 9mm to go (seriously).  I think this is where Uptown's (used to be small city urban) squeaky clean image will struggle with that change as they have historically pushed and priced diversity to the fringes, now it's coming back/home. - which I think is great because a few decades ago, nobody went there other than for work.    Not the sole reason but one of the reasons the CIAA event isn't there right now and the Epicentre (still a bad design IMO) debacle is that Charlotte just wasn't quite ready for the abrupt transition of becoming an energetic city with all of sorts of people from a lot of different backgrounds, even nutty "Professors" .  

[Professor]

16 hours ago, Durhamite said:

Cities have crime, even non-diverse cities and the media tends to sensationalize certain places, well it's news.   Plus, we live in gun-addicted country where you can get a dozen of doughnuts and a 9mm to go (seriously).  I think this is where Uptown's (used to be small city urban) squeaky clean image will struggle with that change as they have historically pushed and priced diversity to the fringes, now it's coming back/home. - which I think is great because a few decades ago, nobody went there other than for work.    Not the sole reason but one of the reasons the CIAA event isn't there right now and the Epicentre (still a bad design IMO) debacle is that Charlotte just wasn't quite ready for the abrupt transition of becoming an energetic city with all of sorts of people from a lot of different backgrounds, even nutty "Professors" .  

If you read about the history of Charlotte, you would likely be surprised. Charlotte has never been a small, sleepy, church obsessed city as many believe. In the 40s and 50s, Charlotte had the reputation of being the city with more churches and whorehouses than any other city with the exception of Edinburgh, Scotland.  Charlotte always had an underground world of unlawfulness including gambling and prostitution.  Before prohibition, uptown Charlotte was overburdened with bars and drunkenness. Uptown Charlotte was like many good cities before malls came into existence. There were many retailers, i.e. department stores, shops, restaurants, movie theaters, pool halls, and many other amenities. Downtown was bustling with activity.  Charlotte was known for its gay bars from World War II until the 70s.  Charlotte and Jacksonville, Fl. were reputed as the two main centers then for safe gay activity on the east coast. Things took a downhill turn after 1970 when even some government offices were "off limits" due to uptown crime. Places like 4th Ward turned into a undesirable, unsafe area in the late 60s and Belks, Ivey's, and other popular stores made their exit from downtown.  Despite the issues of the late 60s and 70s, Charlotte has never not been an energetic city. It has been a city on the move for many decades in banking, trucking, manufacturing of medical commodities, motor sports, and transportation just to name a few. I'm not saying that Charlotte is the best place in the world, but I am shocked that more people aren't familiar with its interesting history that dates back to the Revolutionary War.  

[Windsurfer]

3 hours ago, Professor said:

If you read about the history of Charlotte, you would likely be surprised. Charlotte has never been a small, sleepy, church obsessed city as many believe. In the 40s and 50s, Charlotte had the reputation of being the city with more churches and whorehouses than any other city with the exception of Edinburgh, Scotland.  Charlotte always had an underground world of unlawfulness including gambling and prostitution.  Before prohibition, uptown Charlotte was overburdened with bars and drunkenness. Uptown Charlotte was like many good cities before malls came into existence. There were many retailers, i.e. department stores, shops, restaurants, movie theaters, pool halls, and many other amenities. Downtown was bustling with activity.  Charlotte was known for its gay bars from World War II until the 70s.  Charlotte and Jacksonville, Fl. were reputed as the two main centers then for safe gay activity on the east coast. Things took a downhill turn after 1970 when even some government offices were "off limits" due to uptown crime. Places like 4th Ward turned into a undesirable, unsafe area in the late 60s and Belks, Ivey's, and other popular stores made their exit from downtown.  Despite the issues of the late 60s and 70s, Charlotte has never not been an energetic city. It has been a city on the move for many decades in banking, trucking, manufacturing of medical commodities, motor sports, and transportation just to name a few. I'm not saying that Charlotte is the best place in the world, but I am shocked that more people aren't familiar with its interesting history that dates back to the Revolutionary War.  

I grew up here. Both sides of my parents lived here (except for a few who came from near Clyde, NC) back to the 1740s, and I don't ever remember hearing stories of the "whorehouses" and "gay bars", except for a few times my dad pointed out where some had been on East Trade near where The Midnight Diner is now. Not sure how you'd find a statistic that compares it to Edinburgh. Growing up, all I can remember are Oleans on South Blvd and Scorpios, but I know that's long after the period you're talking about.

[Professor]

Some of my mom's family settled in Lincoln Co. in the mid 1700s and Surry Co. in the late 1700s.  My dad and his family were from Europe.  Like most back then, they were very religious and only drank whiskey. About uptown, there were a couple of large gambling/w-houses in 4th Ward and 3rd Ward. I don't recall the one on East Trade. I was very young and only went as a customer once when I was in high school.  I remember the names of gay bars in downtown area being The Brass Rail, Anchor Inn, the Blue Note Lounge, one next to the Memorial Stadium, and others scattered throughout town, A few were on Morehead (no pun intended). I have no idea where or when the association between Charlotte and Edinburgh was made, but being very familiar with both cities, it sounds about right.  Afterall, Charlotte is a highly Scots-Irish town.  I was a bellhop as a teenager and got to know a lot about the hidden part of town.  When my uncle returned from WWII (82nd Airborne) he became a bellhop at the old Barringer Hotel on Tryon Street. He had a group of prostitutes working for him and sold a wee bit of illegal whiskey.  He was eventually arrested and actually ran out of town. I don't know why I mentioned this. Sometimes I just go on and on.......  I'm sure I've offended someone. Have a nice day. Bearden Park is a nice addition. I love the buildings surrounding it and the gorgeous view. 

Edited January 9 by Professor

[Boricua]

9 hours ago, Professor said:

Some of my mom's family settled in Lincoln Co. in the mid 1700s and Surry Co. in the late 1700s.  My dad and his family were from Europe.  Like most back then, they were very religious and only drank whiskey. About uptown, there were a couple of large gambling/w-houses in 4th Ward and 3rd Ward. I don't recall the one on East Trade. I was very young and only went as a customer once when I was in high school.  I remember the names of gay bars in downtown area being The Brass Rail, Anchor Inn, the Blue Note Lounge, one next to the Memorial Stadium, and others scattered throughout town, A few were on Morehead (no pun intended). I have no idea where or when the association between Charlotte and Edinburgh was made, but being very familiar with both cities, it sounds about right.  Afterall, Charlotte is a highly Scots-Irish town.  I was a bellhop as a teenager and got to know a lot about the hidden part of town.  When my uncle returned from WWII (82nd Airborne) he became a bellhop at the old Barringer Hotel on Tryon Street. He had a group of prostitutes working for him and sold a wee bit of illegal whiskey.  He was eventually arrested and actually ran out of town. I don't know why I mentioned this. Sometimes I just go on and on.......  I'm sure I've offended someone. Have a nice day. Bearden Park is a nice addition. I love the buildings surrounding it and the gorgeous view. 

Hey Professor I for one would love to hear more about Charlottes' seedier past. Or any Charlotte history pre 1980. 

[Professor]

8 hours ago, Boricua said:

Hey Professor I for one would love to hear more about Charlottes' seedier past. Or any Charlotte history pre 1980. 

I like reading trivia, history, and seedy happening sources. My wife bought a little paperback for a Christmas stocking stuffer.  It was titled "Wicked Charlotte, The Sordid Side of the Queen City" by Stephanie Burt Williams.  It left out lots of events but listed a few. It talked about the old days of moonshine, NASCAR, robberies, murders in Charlotte. Not a great book but small and some cool events.  All the events were pre 1980. 

[Windsurfer]

20 minutes ago, Professor said:

I like reading trivia, history, and seedy happening sources. My wife bought a little paperback for a Christmas stocking stuffer.  It was titled "Wicked Charlotte, The Sordid Side of the Queen City" by Stephanie Burt Williams.  It left out lots of events but listed a few. It talked about the old days of moonshine, NASCAR, robberies, murders in Charlotte. Not a great book but small and some cool events.  All the events were pre 1980. 

I've got a couple of stories. Does this deserve a separate thread?

[Durhamite]

On 1/9/2024 at 11:09 AM, Professor said:

If you read about the history of Charlotte, you would likely be surprised. Charlotte has never been a small, sleepy, church obsessed city as many believe. In the 40s and 50s, Charlotte had the reputation of being the city with more churches and whorehouses than any other city with the exception of Edinburgh, Scotland.  Charlotte always had an underground world of unlawfulness including gambling and prostitution.  Before prohibition, uptown Charlotte was overburdened with bars and drunkenness. Uptown Charlotte was like many good cities before malls came into existence. There were many retailers, i.e. department stores, shops, restaurants, movie theaters, pool halls, and many other amenities. Downtown was bustling with activity.  Charlotte was known for its gay bars from World War II until the 70s.  Charlotte and Jacksonville, Fl. were reputed as the two main centers then for safe gay activity on the east coast. Things took a downhill turn after 1970 when even some government offices were "off limits" due to uptown crime. Places like 4th Ward turned into a undesirable, unsafe area in the late 60s and Belks, Ivey's, and other popular stores made their exit from downtown.  Despite the issues of the late 60s and 70s, Charlotte has never not been an energetic city. It has been a city on the move for many decades in banking, trucking, manufacturing of medical commodities, motor sports, and transportation just to name a few. I'm not saying that Charlotte is the best place in the world, but I am shocked that more people aren't familiar with its interesting history that dates back to the Revolutionary War.  

I'm well aware Charlotte's history as many times conveyed in a fabulous manner by tarhoosier and others.  And through my own research as I'm extremely familiar with the history of most if not all NC cities, medium to large.  Let's not forget about Brookyln and be careful of the frivolous use of the word "crime", often a euphemism used as a convenient excuse to push Black people out of certain areas.  See Durham's Hayti areas.  Back to Charlotte, after urban renewal and the elimination of Uptown's organically developed "diverse" mix of "hoods' and seedier heyday, which I imagined rivaled Hay Street in Fayetnam, it transformed into a 9-5 banking district for the most part.  Which I'm not saying good or bad but hit a bad stretch with loss of grit, a lot of historic building stock, retail, etc in the 80s.  IMO, it has struggled regaining many aspects of the holistic definition of downtown (uptown) diversity, etc which really makes for a more interesting place.    Uptown didn't "save" Tryon St's human scale element like Elm St in Greensboro which I think it would have easily surpassed.  

This is a topic for I think the history of Charlotte thread.  I'm always in this forum as this city for whatever reason engages my attention, which seems to teeter on greatness, then seems to not figure it out but the growth and urbanizing is undeniable.  Prime example is Beardon  Park, it's nice but should have been much larger, etc.  When working in 400 S.Tryon, one of my colleagues that worked in the building with me from Chicago termed it "pathetic" park.   Basically, while nice, he had envisioned something much larger and interactive.

Edited January 10 by Durhamite

[Professor]

5 hours ago, Windsurfer said:

I've got a couple of stories. Does this deserve a separate thread?

Probably. You lead, we'll follow. 

[elrodvt]

On 1/7/2024 at 9:30 AM, Professor said:

Thank you  aTlvr for getting it. Oslo and Helsinki would be considered as non-diverse cities. They have socialistic type governments, but due to their not being diverse, their taxes can be focused on luxuries such as cultural venues, theatrics, the arts, etc.). Violent crime is practically non-existent in Oslo and Helsinki making it possible for tax money to be spent on beneficial assets, not constantly adding more cops, firemen, jails, etc. For example, in most cases, when or if a taxpaying American goes into a nursing home, they often lose their homes, 401K accounts, IRAs, and/or anything of value from a lifetime of work, to pay for their maintenance and keep. After the first 100 days of care, the cost is approximately $1200 per month. Whether fair or not, but the non-taxpaying patients that have spent their lives mooching off of our government get free care equal to those that lost everything. 

The higher tax payments in Norway and Finland cover these otherwise dreadful medical and nursing home payments for which we are mostly burdened in the U.S.  I just went through this with a family member.  Additionally, with the Norwegian and Finnish systems, workers production output is at a level allowing workers to enjoy a shorter workweek and amongst the best medical treatment centers in the world. My point with Baltimore and Philadelphia is that we have two crime ridden cities. They suffer homelessness, unemployment, incredible drug problems, and violent crime. Most residents could never enjoy the benefits enjoyed by citizens of Oslo or Helsinki.  People that are united and cohesive help each other and with that comes strength. I used Oslo and Helsinki. I could have used Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, or many other mostly not-diverse cities, but I didn't. I also could have used St. Louis, Detroit, or New Orleans, but I didn't. Diversity isn't all about racism. It is about mixing. As I tried to say, it can be good or it can be bad, depending on the mix. If you get lots of people with opposing ethics and ideologies, diversity can be an issue. If you mix criminals with peace loving individuals, it isn't going to work it probably.

Unfortunately guys like MB has gotten on the bandwagon with other similar MFs (his term) that cry like little Bs if someone says something they consider sensitive and call them "racists."  It is sick and pathetic. That is why I changed my "pen name" to Professor so I could break away from sensitive morons.  But he can continue calling me a racist if he wants. The title has lost its meaning thanks to him and other woke individuals. 

@Professor, I know it wasn't the focus of your post and this is way off the Bearden topic but I just have to comment that you are in for a rude surprise if you expect to live in a nursing home for 1200 a month! We shopped extensively and had to go out of state to get under 4k for my mom last year. Then they said she needed memory care because she wandered once and we're over 5. I'm told we're very lucky... Maybe your thinking after all assets are spent down and your essentially a ward of the state in a Medicaid facility? Shivers... 

Edited January 10 by elrodvt

[Norm2]

9 hours ago, Durhamite said:

I'm well aware Charlotte's history as many times conveyed in a fabulous manner by tarhoosier and others.  And through my own research as I'm extremely familiar with the history of most if not all NC cities, medium to large.  Let's not forget about Brookyln and be careful of the frivolous use of the word "crime", often a euphemism used as a convenient excuse to push Black people out of certain areas.  See Durham's Hayti areas.  Back to Charlotte, after urban renewal and the elimination of Uptown's organically developed "diverse" mix of "hoods' and seedier heyday, which I imagined rivaled Hay Street in Fayetnam, it transformed into a 9-5 banking district for the most part.  Which I'm not saying good or bad but hit a bad stretch with loss of grit, a lot of historic building stock, retail, etc in the 80s.  IMO, it has struggled regaining many aspects of the holistic definition of downtown (uptown) diversity, etc which really makes for a more interesting place.    Uptown didn't "save" Tryon St's human scale element like Elm St in Greensboro which I think it would have easily surpassed.  

This is a topic for I think the history of Charlotte thread.  I'm always in this forum as this city for whatever reason engages my attention, which seems to teeter on greatness, then seems to not figure it out but the growth and urbanizing is undeniable.  Prime example is Beardon  Park, it's nice but should have been much larger, etc.  When working in 400 S.Tryon, one of my colleagues that worked in the building with me from Chicago termed it "pathetic" park.   Basically, while nice, he had envisioned something much larger and interactive.

Charlotte definitely thinks too small when it comes to public park space. Most land is now gone though.....

[Professor]

19 hours ago, elrodvt said:

@Professor, I know it wasn't the focus of your post and this is way off the Bearden topic but I just have to comment that you are in for a rude surprise if you expect to live in a nursing home for 1200 a month! We shopped extensively and had to go out of state to get under 4k for my mom last year. Then they said she needed memory care because she wandered once and we're over 5. I'm told we're very lucky... Maybe your thinking after all assets are spent down and your essentially a ward of the state in a Medicaid facility? Shivers... 

I meant $12K a month for a nursing home with "total" care. Four thousand is really cheap. My brother lost his home, 401K accounts, etc. to pay after medicaid ran out. It was a nightmare for him. He was in a Florida nursing home.