History of Charlotte

[Boricua]

On 6/4/2023 at 5:24 PM, KJHburg said:

from the old Levine Museum of the New South and yes once Charlotte was the budding country music capital of the USA

Charlotte and Nashville have been competitors for 100 years. 

skyline shot from the 1970s  one of those pyramids at the old Civic Center ended up atop the BOAT at Legacy Union

I went to a White Party back in the late 90s on the top of the Jefferson Pilot Building. Aka 2 First Union. Aka 2 Wells Fargo. 32 stories up. Highest I've been in any building in Charlotte. They should open that space back up again. Great views

[KJHburg]

the term "air conditioning" was conceived here in Charlotte and in South End to be specific. 

[videtur quam contuor]

To be clear about this, the move of textile mills from water powered to electric power revealed a critical defect. When the mill was next to, above or very near the water source there was constant humidity. Spinning the cotton to yarn (thread) requires regular humidity or the thread becomes dry and fragile and breaks. Dry weather affects human hair in this way. Mill managers discovered that these many breaks at the new mills required someone, often a child, to crawl into the machine and tie the broken threads. You can imagine what this does to efficiency. Mr Cramer created a web of pipes that would release a mist of water when directed by a humidistat, or similar device. This allowed the process to continue with steady output. It conditioned the air humidity not the temperature. It had no relevance to worker comfort other than not having to tie broken threads and restart machines. 

[videtur quam contuor]

For those late to the region, a short update on a well known individual. The statue at the intersection of Providence-Providence-Morehead-Queens (PEAK Charlotte) is Hugh McManaway. He was the son of a prominent family, his mother one of the Pharr family of McAdenville mill money. They and he lived in a Victorian home at 1700 Queens, moved to the location over a hundred years ago from downtown Charlotte. I do not know the disability of Hugh but he was a quick talker, though conversation was brief as he could not carry a line of questioning far. He was unsteady with money. He understood that it is a means of exchange but the value and interaction with elements of money was beyond him. He could care for himself in a  general sense. He patrolled his neighborhood for years. His most famous duty was to direct traffic at that intersection. Pointing or waving a towel as all drivers and pedestrians moved through without concern for his suggestions. At that corner where the Harris-Teeter now sits was a small restaurant, the Town House. It was THE center for Myers Park and Eastover interaction, gossip, and conversation. Hugh would have meals there and the staff kept a tab for him which was paid by the family. He had several pet phrases which he repeated including "My name is Hugh McManaway, I work for God and not for pay." He was well known, loved, and a precious part of the neighborhood. It was a time when the community took care of its own. This, too, is your Urban Planet.

There were people of this type in neighborhoods I knew in my youth.

Adjunct to above: Sometimes a lawyer serves an affluent family as an advisor and financial overseer and then the job becomes a lifetime responsibility.

[KJHburg]

from the City of Concord 

#ThrowbackThursday to the 1920’s when #ConcordNC’s streets were lined with trolley tracks! We’ve heard all about the trolley tracks left underneath the streets of Downtown Concord NC and finally got an up close look at them last week when our Wastewater crews were repairing a sewer line and uncovered the more than 100 year old tracks!
Pictured is a trolley traveling on the very same tracks our crews uncovered on Depot Street, now known as Cabarrus Avenue.

[KJHburg]

Charlotte Mecklenburg Historical Landmarks now has an interactive map of all locally historic properties.  It is great to use.

http://landmarkscommission.org/

[KJHburg]

this day in Charlotte history the largest concert EVER in NC at the Charlotte Motor Speedway from UNCC Archives. 

North Carolina's largest concert ever took placed on this day, August 10, 1974, at

@CLTMotorSpdwy

. August Jam—with headliners like

Allman Brothers 

—had expected a crowd of 70,000, but widespread gatecrashing raised audience totals to over 200,000. : #bryantmcmurray #CLTHistory

[videtur quam contuor]

A friend and I planed to attend when we heard that gates were no longer attended. We drove toward the Speedway and there were cars parked all all along the access roads, crowds of people walking toward the Speedway, many carrying sleeping bags and other gear. We realized that in our haste and poor judgment we had overestimated the amount of effort the enjoyment would require. Plus he had his new Porsche and was not planing to leave it roadside for even a minute. Somehow we thought gate crashers would not change the secure parking arrangement

Good (better?) sense then prevailed and we cruised home. I was there, depending on the meaning of "there".

[KJHburg]

Does the Meck Dec really matter?  I think so but read this article about it.

https://www.charlottemagazine.com/does-the-mecdec-matter/

Charlotte in 1775 was a nothing burger.  It was on nobody's radar just a small little frontier town.  Salem, New Bern, Charleston, Wilmington, Beaufort (both of them) Edenton, even Salisbury were much more important in the Carolinas.  Too bad UP was not around surely one of us would have posted it here under local news. And it would have not been lost to fire.  

[Windsurfer]

Am touring Kew Gardens in London today. This is where King George III and Queen Charlotte enjoyed staying.  Here are a couple of pictures of Charlotte that I have not ever seen myself. What strikes me is the continuity of her face between, what appears, decades.  In other words, I bet they're very accurate of her looks. I know that historians in Charlotte have been wanting some kind of evidence of her looks, besides the one hanging in The Mint Museum.  There was even a period when folks claimed she had a lot of African in her blood.

[Professor]

3 hours ago, Windsurfer said:

Am touring Kew Gardens in London today. This is where King George III and Queen Charlotte enjoyed staying.  Here are a couple of pictures of Charlotte that I have not ever seen myself. What strikes me is the continuity of her face between, what appears, decades.  In other words, I bet they're very accurate of her looks. I know that historians in Charlotte have been wanting some kind of evidence of her looks, besides the one hanging in The Mint Museum.  There was even a period when folks claimed she had a lot of African in her blood.

 Queen Charlotte's African ancestry was Madragana Den Aljandro.  She was the partner of King Alfonso II of Portugal (my ancestor).  She was the daughter of a Sharia Law Judge in Spain during the 13th century. Madragana was a beautiful white woman of Arab extraction, King Alfonso and her father were also very white despite her father being from North Africa (Arab).  Over the years misleading portraits have been created misrepresenting the person for whom they were intended.  King Edwards III's son, "Edward the Black Knight of Lorne" was depicted as black as was James Stuart, "The Black Prince."  They word" black" was part of their title as black was the color of their armor.  Great Britain, until now, has been obsessed with blood lines historically. Mixing of cultures was done in planning marriages to obtain land, fortune, or advancement in the royal circles. Social engineering in movies and television is replacing reality with quotas. History should never be distorted for the sake of placation. The past is history and it can't be changed. Even if Hollywood makes Hannibal, Queen Charlotte, Cleopatra, and Snow White, it won't make the world any better. It will just be part of their little lie. We should all be proud of what we are and if we aren't happy, strive to do better. 

Thanks for the photos.  If you are into British wars, etc., and since you are in South London, and if you have time, check out the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth (S. London). The tube station Lambeth North Station. It is one of my absolute favorite museums in London and not crazy with tourists. Have fun. 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Larry Singer

[Windsurfer]

4 hours ago, Larry Singer said:

 Queen Charlotte's African ancestry was Madragana Den Aljandro.  She was the partner of King Alfonso II of Portugal (my ancestor).  She was the daughter of a Sharia Law Judge in Spain during the 13th century. Madragana was a beautiful white woman of Arab extraction, King Alfonso and her father were also very white despite her father being from North Africa (Arab).  Over the years misleading portraits have been created misrepresenting the person for whom they were intended.  King Edwards III's son, "Edward the Black Knight of Lorne" was depicted as black as was James Stuart, "The Black Prince."  They word" black" was part of their title as black was the color of their armor.  Great Britain, until now, has been obsessed with blood lines historically. Mixing of cultures was done in planning marriages to obtain land, fortune, or advancement in the royal circles. Social engineering in movies and television is replacing reality with quotas. History should never be distorted for the sake of placation. The past is history and it can't be changed. Even if Hollywood makes Hannibal, Queen Charlotte, Cleopatra, and Snow White, it won't make the world any better. It will just be part of their little lie. We should all be proud of what we are and if we aren't happy, strive to do better. 

Thanks for the photos.  If you are into British wars, etc., and since you are in South London, and if you have time, check out the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth (S. London). The tube station Lambeth North Station. It is one of my absolute favorite museums in London and not crazy with tourists. Have fun. 

What a confusing web. I thought Charlotte's primary history was from North Germany. (?).  Mecklenburg to be precise.

Thanks for the tips. I have heard of both museums and will check them out.  It's good being retired.

[KJHburg]

Producing electricity for 100 years clean hydro power.  This dam provided electricity for Charlotte and its future growth and even current growth.

Mountain Island Hydro marks 100 years of producing clean energy | Duke Energy | illumination (duke-energy.com)

there is a nice little trail downstream from the dam I have walked on in Gaston County.  

Edited September 21, 2023 by KJHburg

[Windsurfer]

11 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Producing electricity for 100 years clean hydro power.  This dam provided electricity for Charlotte and its future growth and even current growth.

Mountain Island Hydro marks 100 years of producing clean energy | Duke Energy | illumination (duke-energy.com)

there is a nice little trail downstream from the dam I have walked on in Gaston County.  

My understanding is that Thomas Edison once stopped by to visit on his way up to Biltmore House where he helped a little on the electrification of Biltmore.

[KJHburg]

On this very night back in 1989 the worst natural diasaster to strike Charlotte happened.  Hurricane Hugo blew through Charlotte the eye and all at Cat 1 status with 85 mile per hour winds. 

Power was out for the Charlotte 90% plus percent.  Some were out of power for 3 plus weeks.  As I recall uptown Charlotte and Southpark Mall areas never lost power.   I live in a now gone apartment complex in the Southpark area off Colony Rd and saw transformers blowing all night and the next morning found a huge tree limb crushed my first new car Nissan Sentra and the trunk of it.  100s and 100s of thousands of trees fell in the county.  Myers Park, Dilworth all intown neighborhoods were devasted with lots of trees on homes.  I had wisely the day before gotten a fill up at the gas station and some cash from the ATM as most were not working for at least a week.  (I still do this today if I think is a possibility of widespread power outages here)   Blinds were dangling out of the One Wells Fargo Center then 1 FU uptown from the broken windows.  Glass litered the streets uptown.  It was the worst of times  but also some of the best of times.  Neighbors helped neighbors.  People were too busy in survival mode to hate or be angry with people.  My dad had a gas grill than he used to cook lots of food before it would go bad in the backyard.  It was the very weekend of the Festival in the Park which is this weekend. 

I am sure you have your own stories if you were here.   Oh yeah it was a catergory 4 storm when it hit just north of Charleston in far northeastern Charleston County.  Massive damage there.  Whole towns under water.  Isle of Palms and Sullivans Island basically wiped clean.  

Remembering Hurricane Hugo (spectrumlocalnews.com)

32 years ago, Hurricane Hugo ravished Carolinas (wbtv.com)

Hurricane Hugo Roared Ashore 31 Years Ago - WCCB Charlotte's CW

It is ironical that Hugo is the mascot for the Hornets now/ 

[rancenc]

Interesting stat for the state of NC!

https://www.wral.com/story/preserving-the-past-nc-ranks-number-8-for-most-historic-homes-in-the-united-states/21085818/

[KJHburg]

I dont know how I found this it seem to find me but here is the story of the Eastern Airlines crash at CLT back in 1974.   Very interesting story and the changes made immediately after this crash.  I did not know any about Steven Colberts family.  

Critical Conversations: The crash of Eastern Airlines flight 212 | by Admiral Cloudberg | Medium

The last fatal crash at CLT was in 2003 a smaller regional jet.

CLT had a fatal crash with a US Air jet back in 1994 too.   This flight was coming from Columbia to CLT. 

Edited October 9, 2023 by KJHburg

[videtur quam contuor]

I mentioned this here some time ago that I worked out West Boulevard at that time and I was going toward work in the morning in 1974 and I heard sirens behind me and I thought every emergency vehicle in the city passed me. I was unaware of the nature of the tragedy of course until I reached work. A quiet day among colleagues. 

edit: typo

Edited October 9, 2023 by videtur quam contuor

[KJHburg]

Happy birthday, Mecklenburg County (or us)! 

Mecklenburg County was formed 261 years ago TODAY from the western part of Anson County. We're named in honor of the marriage of King George III to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (AKA Queen Charlotte).

[rancenc]

I guess this COULD be history to a certain point , but ran across this video posting on YOUTUBE by chance.  This program was on Channel 36 (now WCNC) back in the mid 80's.  It was essentially Charlotte's take on "American Bandstand" I guess.   Various schools would be invited to be taped at a local night club for airing along with music videos and occasionally a guest musical act.  Seems like   the program ran from late 1984 to around the spring of 1986.  I had just been out of high school for about 1 year when the program first came on and recognized some folks from one of the high schools in the first broadcasts that were aired.

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by rancenc

[KJHburg]

From the KJ Vault    when I was trying to get a bird out of my garage I found this softback book from 1978 the Atlas of Charlotte Mecklenburg written by James W Clay (yes that one) from UNC Charlotte and the Dept of Geography there.  

I loved this book back in the day with all its facts.   Now I will put it here as it is history.

Look at the shopping center cluster which was Eastland, then Southpark then Freedom Mall on the westside.

Look at the apartment concentrations back in the day mainly N Tryon Sugar Creek area and east Charlotte.   No big cluster at all uptown or southend (as of course there was no place named southend it was factories and warehouses) 

Notice those college enrollments.  Only school that has dropped in poor Barber Scotia College in Concord which is basically closed now.

Look at those populations of Charlotte and the towns.  Huntersville now by far the 2nd biggest was way down the list in 1978.

Look at the map of uptown and government center area.   See the Trade Center that is where the convention center stands but I remember the old building and of course the 9 pyramid topped Civic Center.  

 

[tozmervo]

On 11/25/2023 at 6:19 PM, KJHburg said:

Friendship College closed in 1981, Sacred Heart closed in 1987. NC Textile Vocational School became the Kimbrell campus of Gaston College in 2005. Rowan Tech also became Rowan-Cabarrus CC. Interestingly Southern Piedmont CC (Union County) isn't on here.

[Windsurfer]

1 hour ago, tozmervo said:

Friendship College closed in 1981, Sacred Heart closed in 1987. NC Textile Vocational School became the Kimbrell campus of Gaston College in 2005. Rowan Tech also became Rowan-Cabarrus CC. Interestingly Southern Piedmont CC (Union County) isn't on here.

Is Rutledge College still around?

[rancenc]

48 minutes ago, Windsurfer said:

Is Rutledge College still around?

I believe all the Rutledge College campuses closed in the very early 1990's or right around the end of 1980's.  Seems like there were 4-5 campuses in NC at the time.

[videtur quam contuor]

Rutledge *college* is how George Shinn, founder of Charlotte Hornets made his millions. A natural salesman he drifted into the Rutledge orbit. The *college* made its money by recruiting students with promises of government loans, stipends, VA benefits, and and so on. The classes and instructors were of minimal competence and quality. The college kept all the money and the students had whatever qualifications they may have achieved, IF they finished their programs. Many found it of little benefit in the employment marketplace. Still the admissions people (read: sales agents) had quotas for recruitment and as head of the business Shill, excuse me, Shinn made the most of all. There was a Rutledge near Euclid and Morehead for a time which is how I became aware of them. Some private professional schools have value. Rutledge, at least in its final stage had little.