Charlotte road video in 1986

[cityboi]

You can see what Charlotte's skyline looked like in 1986. cool video. The radio station sounds alot like the stations on GTA Vice City which was set in the 1980s.

Later on in the video you can see the Wachovia (First Union) tower under construction.....you can also see that at the service station that gas was 69 cents a gallon! I was 8 years old at the time in the 3rd grade. I remember when people thought the gas was high when it was 89 cents a gallon. People though the world was going to end when it finally hit a dollar.

the guy videotaped the same route in 2008

[monsoon]

Ahh. $0.69/gallon gasoline.

[cityboi]

Lets see, Ronald Reagan was president during that time, Barack Obama was 25 years old, The 8-bit Nintendo had recently hit the shelves, although it wasnt really popular until around 1988. In 1986 I was playing video games on my Commodore 64. But yea I wish it was 69 cents a gallon today. Its amazing how much Charlotte has changed in 22 years. It hard imagining Charlotte without that big Bank of America tower.

[DCMetroRaleigh]

What a great video. I was a child at the time, but it brings back so many memories. It makes me sort of sad in a way how quickly time passes. There was a time when 1986 seemed so modern, so cutting edge. Now, it seems so antiquated, so primitive. To think that in 20 years, today's modernity will be seen as archaic and old timey makes me realize just how fleeting life is.

[cityboi]

That time frame in Charlotte brings back memories because my sister attended Kings College back in 1987 and we'd drive down to see here every weekend. But just look at the dramatic difference in Charlotte's skyline.

I think for most of us, our childhood years were the best years of our lives and 1986 was the best time of my life. I guess when you are a child, you dont have to deal with the day to day stress that you have to deal with as an adult.

[MZT]

I graduated high school in 1986. A good price for gas was 77

[RiverwoodCLT]

I had been in Charlotte for one year. I moved here from Texas.

[Andyc545]

I was 10 months old at the time, but then again I wasn't in Charlotte until 2002, although there were visits before Hearst took to the skyline. I'm amazed how huge the city looks when all of the towers are still small, but then everything is dismal in comparison to the skyline with BofA. I just wonder how the skyline will have a mental alter when there are buildings like Wachovia, Vue, and possibly Trump...

[JRNYP2C]

It really is interesting to see how much Charlotte has changed over that period of time. However, like the saying goes:

"The more we change, the more we stay the same".

The two things I thought were the most amusing about the videos is that the roads are still as bad now as they were in 86 and we are still listening to the same music from 86!!!

[PlazaMidwoodGuy]

Both of these videos are on another thread already (entitled "Videos of Charlotte"). They're still cool, though.

[swampfox43]

There's another video of Charlotte from 1991. You can see the BoA tower about 3/4 of the way completed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w7U6laIT3A

[teshadoh]

Thanks for pointing out the video - that brings back some memories too. Honestly, most of my memories of Charlotte are still based from driving up from Rock Hill in the 80's. Particularly at 4:00 when the driver drives toward Carowinds & shows Thunder Road. Lots of other little things brings back memories - Fast Fare convenience stores, the old Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket signs, as mentioned the crappy 'classic rock' oriented radio stations, & the downtown Charlotte Belks.