Charlotte Off Topic

[monsoon]

Who designed the park in Uptown with all the Masonic imagery / text / scupltures?

The Masonic imagery is there because the Masonic Temple, one of Charlotte's signature 20th century buildings, used to stand near there but was destroyed during a bank urban renewal project.

[Charlotte_native]

The Masonic imagery is there because the Masonic Temple, one of Charlotte's signature 20th century buildings, used to stand near there but was destroyed during a bank urban renewal project.

One of the buildings I REALLY wish were still around.

Edited November 6, 2007 by metro.m

[Matthew.Brendan]

Yes, I guess it is called The Green, I wasn't sure.

There are some rather interesting painted murals in the BOA lobby (you can see from the street) and also in the atrium next to Therapy. Very reminiscent of the murals in DIA. (Denver Airport)

I'm very surprised that that old Lodge was demolished. Does anyone know the exact location of where it stood? And/or when it was built?

[Justadude]

While I generally roll my eyes when people start moaning about all the "great" architecture that was lost uptown (warehouses and shotgun shacks, in large part), the Masonic Temple is one that should never have been touched.

[ontap]

Yes, I guess it is called The Green, I wasn't sure.

There are some rather interesting painted murals in the BOA lobby (you can see from the street) and also in the atrium next to Therapy. Very reminiscent of the murals in DIA. (Denver Airport)

I'm very surprised that that old Lodge was demolished. Does anyone know the exact location of where it stood? And/or when it was built?

The temple stood at 329 S. Tryon Street. For history try: http://landmarkcommission.org/surveys&masonic.htm

This building should have never been torn down. It was a treasure. The columns and spheres survived and are in Rock Hill.

[Justadude]

Wouldn't it be cool if a new tower was built with this design at the bottom floors? It doesn't look terribly expensive or difficult to produce, especially if the columns could be retrieved (don't know how possible that would be), and it would be reasonably authentic since it would re-create a previously existing building (as opposed to faux-history). The old building was wide and imposing enough that it would look right at the bottom of a tower.

Just a thought.

[Raintree21]

Quite a few Masons here in Charlotte wish the building were never torn down and I know I'd like to have lodge in a grand structrure like this. In it's day, it was quite a majestic place but fell into disrepair and as said above, eventually demolished. It was originally finished in 1914 but was destroyed by fire in 1938 and rebuilt. It was demolished for good in 1987 I believe. Since the columns were moved to Rock Hill, I don't see any reason why they couldn't be moved back. Someone told me where in Rock Hill they were but I can't remember where.

[Raintree21]

While I generally roll my eyes when people start moaning about all the "great" architecture that was lost uptown (warehouses and shotgun shacks, in large part), the Masonic Temple is one that should never have been touched.

The artist that did those frescoes is Ben Long. His website is: http://www.benlongfineart.com/index.php where you can find some great close-ups of the frescoes. He doesn't explain any of the symbolism though. The titles of the three frescoes are: Making/Building, Chaos/Creativity, and Planning/Knowledge.

[burt]

There has to be a large number of Charlotte area people who travel to Manhattan to see plays.

IF YOU ARE AMONG THEM, READ THE FOLLOWING NEW YORK TIMES LINE BELOW AND LOG IN FOR THE FULL STORY:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/10/theater/...C+F4dDNAxyg7riQ

As of 3PM today, the strike had been approved and is underway. All but 8 shows will be closed (they do not share the same stagehands'union that is affecting most of Broadway.)

Edited November 10, 2007 by burt

[voyager12]

Well it seems that Charlotte has it very own sex ring scandal! I guess we have hit it big time now. There are many nervous husbands around town and lawyers are getting called... But gay people should not be able to get married since straights are doing such a great job "protecting the institution of marriage"

Edited November 11, 2007 by voyager12

[voyager12]

The Kyle Fleischmann case is really bizarre and sad. I am glad it's getting good media coverage and the searchers are not giving up. They have scoured much of McDowell over near Seigle and over near Alpha Mill Apts as that is where the last pings of cell phone originated from. The cops searched his condo this weekend and removed a few bags of something. A random mugging seemed plausible to me in the beginning, but weeks of no clues leads to worse speculation....

[Raintree21]

While certainly a tragedy, what about all the other people who have gone missing this year and in years past? Not anywhere near as large of a fuss has been made about them. The Observer has mentioned this in passing but no one has seemed to pick up on it.

[elvigy]

I don't mean to detract from the anxiety involved in the Fleischmann case, but in general attractive white women get top billing when they go missing, followed by attractive young white guys, with missing old white people in a distant third (usually because they have some form of dementia and have wandered off). Missing middle aged white people and black, Hispanic or other varieties of brown get only a passing mention or none at all. Nancy Grace in particular seems to specialize in the Cute Young Missing White Woman news category.

[Justadude]

The cynical part of me wonders why missing persons cause widespread anxiety, but confirmed murders are glossed over with a brief headline.

[Charlotte_native]

The cynical part of me wonders why missing persons cause widespread anxiety, but confirmed murders are glossed over with a brief headline.

1) We are more scared by the unknown than the known, and 2) most murders are done by people who know each other at least loosely. The random act of cruelty or murder makes us realize we are all vulnerable.

[voyager12]

Could someone tell me why Mecklenburg Democratic precinct leaders get to decide who our new Sheriff is? It's seems totally bizarre to me.

[elvigy]

Could someone tell me why Mecklenburg Democratic precinct leaders get to decide who our new Sheriff is? It's seems totally bizarre to me.

I've been wondering the same exact thing. Not that I could ever be accused of being sympathetic to Republicans , but this does seem, on the surface, just a tad unfair.

[Charlotte_native]

Could someone tell me why Mecklenburg Democratic precinct leaders get to decide who our new Sheriff is? It's seems totally bizarre to me.

I could be wrong, but I think it is just until the next election at which time the Sherriffs office is up for grabs, kinda like when a Senator leaves office mid-term and the Governor of thier state replaces them until the next election.

Anyone know -- is this correct?

[elvigy]

I could be wrong, but I think it is just until the next election at which time the Sherriffs office is up for grabs, kinda like when a Senator leaves office mid-term and the Governor of thier state replaces them until the next election.

Anyone know -- is this correct?

Turns out you are correct. And infuriatingly, Democrats have shot themselves in the foot on this one. They selected Mackey by a large margin.

He's the one who resigned the police dept so he wouldn't be fired for falsifying time records, and later declared bankruptcy. Now he's running a huge operation with many many millions of dollars in its budget. I don't understand why they'd pick this guy, even if he did have a great shmoozefest going on with the Democratic leaders.

[stadtguy]

The decision to appoint this Nikita guy is disappointing. The whackos at Meckdeck and elsewhere might be right on this one. This "decision" is rooted in race and patronage. If this is how Democrats in Mecklenburg County make decisions, I can't support them in the future with either money or votes. Sad.

It's events like this that further inflame suburban vs. urban conflicts that touch on issues of education (schools), taxes, etc.

[voyager12]

This decision does not reflect the wishes of all Mecklenburg Democrats. The Democratic county commissioners supported Bailey. Mackey knew how to schmooze and work individual precinct leaders. That goes a long way in politics. Having the first black sheriff in the modern era is a positive statement in and of itself. And as Tommy Tomlinson said today in his column in the O Mackey knows he will be watched like a hawk to make sure he runs a tight ship.

[elvigy]

And, er, just to clarify my own position, I don't personally believe this had anything to do with race. I just think he shmoozed his way into the job. And I would have preferred Bailey. It looks bad on Democrats because it looks to the public like they care more about rewarding sucking up than looking out for the best interests of the county. We'll see how he does and hopefully, as mentioned above, with all eyes on him he'll run a clean department. Though with his history of hiding things he doesn't want the public to see, I have my doubts.

[Justadude]

From what I have read about this guy it seems like a pretty serious error has been made. It's one thing to have an imperfect history (don't we all?), but it's another thing to be unwilling to disclose information about it. Politicians typically don't hide things that are harmless. It seems that Mackey is still refusing to answer questions to the press, including what his plans are now that he is in office. That's a foreboding sign indeed.

[stadtguy]

Modern day machine politics. I wonder how many of the precinct captains will be rewarded with patronage positions for friends and family members?

I'm not sure how having the first black sherriff is a good in and of itself. It's neither good nor bad. Putting a guy who went bankrupt to the tune of $300K+ in an office that demands public trust (and you and I picked up the tab in terms of fees, prices, etc. from retailers) is not prudent.

[PlazaMidwoodGuy]

I'm a die hard Democrat and I gotta tell ya - unless I'm missing some of the facts, this is a fiasco! I think the Democratic Party in Mecklenburg County has virtually guaranteed that a Republican sheriff will be elected once Mackey finishes his term and has done serious damage to its reputation. The candidate who CLEARLY was the more qualified and experienced of the two (Bailey) was thrown under the bus. I hope I'm wrong and I hope there's something I'm missing that hasn't come to light yet, but I think the Meck County Democratic Party has just inflicted a serious wound on itself.