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Charlotte's Democratic National Convention

monsoon

By monsoon
in Charlotte

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15895 City

15895

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Got my photos from the day uploaded to https://plus.google....129311974025873

Included quite a few "environment" photos from around just to help get a sense of the overall insanity that's taken over Center City

https://plus.google.com/photos/107391297005498851824/albums/5784129311974025873#photos/107391297005498851824/albums/5784129311974025873/5784130072649910322

I would've bought that picture in a New York minute if it had more diversity. Love it. I know the African American community is excited! The Gantt Museum was sooo slammed they had to stop people from going in and just let people go in for every person that came out. I ended up not going in because it was just a long wait. There were lots of African Americans and you could see them glowing for the fact that we have progressed as a nation :) It was pretty inspiring.

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ah59396 Town

ah59396

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I'll be honest, I thought the police (even with the presence) have been fantastic. Very courteous, helping citizens whenever possible and for the most part letting people do what they like. They've given the protesters their fair space and honestly I think it's pretty cool to see horse cops riding through uptown.

On a side note, I really wish we could just keep that Google building in uptown. I think we lack weird stuff like that and it's a good example of one of those things that just get "left over" after big events and turns into a tourist attraction. Free wifi inside, a little food bar and tons of (as you would suspect) neat Google crap everywhere. If you could keep the homeless out of it, it would be quite a draw for people in town to check-out.

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15895 City

15895

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On a side note, I really wish we could just keep that Google building in uptown. I think we lack weird stuff like that and it's a good example of one of those things that just get "left over" after big events and turns into a tourist attraction. Free wifi inside, a little food bar and tons of (as you would suspect) neat Google crap everywhere. If you could keep the homeless out of it, it would be quite a draw for people in town to check-out.

Does anyone think there is even any possibility the powers-that-be consider trying to keep it in any form?

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15895 City

15895

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So does anyone think the DNC will lead to economic developments? Whether it be new Jobs, Real Estate developers, entrepreneurs to build more restaurants, etc?

I guess after the DNC the observer will update us on the local stuff and potential impact after all is said and done.

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Third Strike Hamlet

Third Strike

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So does anyone think the DNC will lead to economic developments? Whether it be new Jobs, Real Estate developers, entrepreneurs to build more restaurants, etc?

I guess after the DNC the observer will update us on the local stuff and potential impact after all is said and done.

I really hope so. I'm volunteering for the DNC, and I've gotten many comments on how Charlotte is a beautiful city. I also wonder if Charlotte will get a slightly bigger boost in population this year.

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nonillogical Burg

nonillogical

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I just tried to ride my bike around uptown to check things out, but couldn't get far. I was basically treated the same as a car and steered away from even roads that I thought were open according to the maps. I'm not sure if this is partially due to the restricted items thing (helmet & backpack) and me obviously looking like a commuter. I may try to lock it up and walk in this evening but am a little discouraged at this point.

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kermit Megalopolis

kermit

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I am getting a sense that the DNC is not helping businesses outside of downtown. Restrauants in Dilworth are emptyier than usual (execpt for swams of out of town police eating), Southend has felt empty and Plaza / Thomas street looked pretty bleak this afternoon. I heard on the radio today that even many of the street vendors downtown are from out of town.

I hope I am wrong, and I certainly don't have a ton of data to work from and I am too old to be out late. Does anyone else have a sense of economic impact outside the standard convention hotel stuff?

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nonillogical Burg

nonillogical

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I am getting a sense that the DNC is not helping businesses outside of downtown. Restrauants in Dilworth are emptyier than usual (execpt for swams of out of town police eating), Southend has felt empty and Plaza / Thomas street looked pretty bleak this afternoon. I heard on the radio today that even many of the street vendors downtown are from out of town.

I hope I am wrong, and I certainly don't have a ton of data to work from and I am too old to be out late. Does anyone else have a sense of economic impact outside the standard convention hotel stuff?

I agree that things have been a little empty outside of uptown, but not to a huge degree. I would say most restaurants that are usually 70% full seem about 50% instead. I've seen a few lanyards on people in Dilworth, Southend and Wesley Heights restaurants but not a lot.

It does feel like an awful lot of residents were scared into leaving town or taking the week off work, and I think they are huge wusses!

btw my follow-up attempt to go uptown was more successful, I was able to park my bike on Tryon no problem and walk around. The scene at the Epicenter was a sight to behold and every restaurant and bar from Church to College was packed. Also heard a bit of passing positive chatter from people seemingly pretty impressed with the area.

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ScottCLT Burg

ScottCLT

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I am getting a sense that the DNC is not helping businesses outside of downtown. Restrauants in Dilworth are emptyier than usual (execpt for swams of out of town police eating), Southend has felt empty and Plaza / Thomas street looked pretty bleak this afternoon. I heard on the radio today that even many of the street vendors downtown are from out of town.

I hope I am wrong, and I certainly don't have a ton of data to work from and I am too old to be out late. Does anyone else have a sense of economic impact outside the standard convention hotel stuff?

I live in Southend, and I have seen the badges everywhere as far as East/west station from people walking/riding to the convention. And they seem to enjoy the neghborhood. Several neighbors have rented out their condos and from what I have heard, the renters have loved being in Southend during the week. Businesses here seem to be doing great during the DNC. Of course you can't expect that everywhere in Charlotte, but here it seems pretty good.

Probably the biggest hindrance to the Southend scene has been yesterday when Tryon from Parke Ave. to Summit was blocked. Not sure why, but it took forever for me to get home because of it. I figure someone important was at CM.

I also talked to some restaurant employees downtown and it has been overwhelming...King's Kitchen ran out of ice, sweet tea, beer, and who knows what else while I was there!

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nonillogical Burg

nonillogical

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Probably the biggest hindrance to the Southend scene has been yesterday when Tryon from Parke Ave. to Summit was blocked. Not sure why, but it took forever for me to get home because of it. I figure someone important was at CM.

There was an event at the Elder Gallery, and as I passed through on my way home from work I happened to notice a limo parked across from Dharma with the VP seal and flag, and plenty of secret service hurrying about!

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15895 City

15895

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I usually park at Greek Isle on Bland Street and take LRT. I love the vibe of that area and I like the bars there to. The parking lot was much, much more empty than normal (usually it can get slammed full, in which case I park over at East/West. I'm not gonna hog parking spots) .

Greek was dead... The doors were open and I think only Staff were sitting down at a table. This was at 5PM when I left Carolinafest that there was no one.

FLT.png

Edit:

I would love to see some Barclays, US Bank, Banco Santander, TD Bank, etc. logos in the coming years.

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HopHead City

HopHead

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So I was one of the lucky 2,000 people that got a ticket to the Foo Fighters "Rock the Vote" show at the Fillmore last night. Awesome. Awesome show. They played for over 3 hours and definitely "rocked the vote". Saw them last year at TWC Arena which was great, but club shows are tough to beat.

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cityboi Metropolitan Area

cityboi

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This is HUGE for Charlotte. I think its the proof to the nation that Charlotte has arrived. Congrats for Charlotte successfully hosting the largest and biggest media covered convention in North Carolina's history! It just goes to show that when cities invest in downtown, great things can happen. If the downtown arena had not been built, the DNC might not have come to our state. It gives me goose bumps to see Charlotte and its downtown getting such national and international exposure.

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AuLukey Town

AuLukey

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Well, it's finally all over.

I came across an interesting article from Tuesday by the Tampa Bay Times on the dissimilarities in the two cities during their conventions.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/atmosphere-in-charlotte-more-free-fun-than-tampa/1249611

Pretty decent news for Charlotte that the outside world is seeing a more inviting city than with the RNC. Too bad we've since been getting slammed with sensational articles about bed bugs and lack of quality accommodations due to our "small size." I blame the lack of a solid tourism industry on the lack of accommodations.

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