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Charlotte, North Carolina

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Charlotte, North Carolina
Skyline of Charlotte at night
Skyline of Charlotte at night
Flag of Charlotte, North Carolina
Flag
Nickname(s): 
"The Queen City" or "The Q.C.","Hornet's Nest"
Location in Mecklenburg County in the state of North Carolina
Location in Mecklenburg County in the state of North Carolina
CountryUnited States United States
State North Carolina
CountiesFile:Mecklenburg County, North Carolina seal.png Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Government
 • MayorPat McCrory, (R)
Population
 (2006)[1][2]
 • City630,478
 • Metro
1,583,016
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Websitehttp://www.charmeck.org/

Charlotte is the largest city in the Carolinas and the 20th largest city in the United States. It has a population of approximately 630,478 (2006 estimate).[2] It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County,Template:GR and is located in the south-central part of the state in the Piedmont region, near the South Carolina border. The city's economy has matured in the 1990s and early 2000s to become dominated by financial services, as well as retail commerce. According to 2006 estimates, Charlotte is the 5th fastest growing among large U.S. cities.[3]

Nicknamed The Queen City (which it shares with Cincinnati, Ohio and Buffalo, New York), Charlotte (as well as the county containing it) was named in honor of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg, wife of King George III of the United Kingdom. During the American Revolution the British Commander in the Southern Colonies, General Cornwallis, occupied Charlotte but was driven out soon afterwards by the fierce opposition of the city's residents to British rule. Cornwallis famously wrote that Charlotte was "a hornet's nest of rebellion", leading to another city nickname: The Hornet's Nest.

The Charlotte metropolitan area (MSA) had a census estimated population of 1,583,016 in 2006. As of 2006, the Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury combined statistical area (CSA) had a regional population of 2,191,604.[4] A resident of Charlotte is referred to as a Charlottean (IPA: [ˌʃaɹləˈtʰiːən).

History

Horse drawn carriage in uptown Charlotte

The area that is now Charlotte was first settled in 1755 when Thomas Polk (uncle of United States President James K. Polk), who was traveling with Thomas Spratt and his family, stopped and built his house of residence at the intersection of two Native American trading paths between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers.[5] One of the paths ran north-south and was part of the Great Wagon Road; the second path ran east-west along what is now modern-day Trade Street. In the early part of the 18th century, the Great Wagon Road led settlers of Scots-Irish and German descent from Pennsylvania into the Carolina foothills. Within the decades following Polk's settling, the area grew to become the community of "Charlotte Town," which officially incorporated as a town in 1768.[6] The crossroads, perched atop a long rise in the Piedmont landscape, became the heart of modern Uptown Charlotte.

In 1770, surveyors marked off the new town's streets in a grid pattern for future development. The east-west trading path became Trade Street, and the Great Wagon Road became Tryon Street, in honor of William Tryon, a royal governor of colonial North Carolina.[7] The intersection of Trade and Tryon is known as "Trade & Tryon" or simply "The Square".[5]

Both the town (now a city) and its county are named for Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the German-born wife of British King George III. The town name was chosen in hopes of winning favor with the crown,[8] but tensions between the United Kingdom and Charlotte Town began to grow as King George imposed unpopular laws on the citizens in response to the townspeople's desire for independence.[9] On May 20, 1775, the townsmen allegedly signed a proclamation later known as the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, a copy of which was sent, though never officially presented, to the Continental Congress a year later.[10] The date of the declaration appears on the North Carolina state flag. Eleven days later, the same townsmen met to create and endorse the Mecklenburg Resolves, a set of laws to govern the newly independent town.[11]

Charlotte was a site of encampment for both American and British armies during the Revolutionary War, and during a series of skirmishes between British troops and Charlotteans the village earned the lasting nickname "Hornet's Nest" from frustrated Lord General Charles Cornwallis.[12] An ideological hotbed of revolutionary sentiment during the Revolutionary War and for some time afterwards, the legacy endures today in the nomenclature of such landmarks as Independence Boulevard, Independence High School, Independence Center, Freedom Park, Freedom Drive, and the former NBA team Charlotte Hornets.

Churches, mainly of the Presbyterian faith, but also Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans and Catholics began to form in the early 1800s, eventually giving Charlotte its nickname "The City of Churches."[13]

In 1799, 12 year-old Conrad Reed brought home a rock weighing about 17 pounds, which the family used as a bulky doorstop for three years before it was recognized by a jeweler as near solid gold and bought for a paltry $3.50.[14] The first verified gold-find in the fledgling United States, young Reed's discovery became the genesis of the nation's first gold rush. Many veins of gold were found in the area throughout the 1800s and even into the early 1900s, thus the founding of the Charlotte Mint in 1837 for minting local gold. The state of North Carolina "led the nation in gold production until the California Gold Rush of 1848",[15] although the total volume of gold mined in the Charlotte area was dwarfed by subsequent rushes. Charlotte's city population at the 1880 Census grew to 7,084.[16] Some locally based groups still pan for gold occasionally in local (mostly rural) streams and creeks. The Reed Gold Mine operated until 1912. The Charlotte Mint was active until 1861, when Confederate forces seized the mint at the outbreak of the Civil War. The mint was not reopened at the end of the war, but the building survives today, albeit in a different location, now housing the Mint Museum of Art.

The city's first boom came after the Civil War, as a cotton processing center and a railroad hub. Population leapt again during World War I, when the U.S. government established Camp Greene north of present-day Wilkinson Boulevard. Many soldiers and suppliers stayed after the war, launching an ascent that eventually overtook older and more established rivals along the arc of the Carolina Piedmont.[17]

The city's modern-day banking industry achieved prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, largely under the leadership of financier Hugh McColl. McColl transformed North Carolina National Bank (NCNB) into a formidable national player that, through a series of aggressive acquisitions, eventually became Bank of America. Another bank, First Union, experienced similar growth, and is now known as Wachovia after a merger. Today, measured by control of assets, Charlotte is the second largest banking headquarters in the United States after New York City.[18]

Geography and climate

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 242.9 square miles (629 square kilometers). Out of that, 242.3 sq. mi. (627.5 km²) of it is land and 0.6 sq. mi. (1.6 km²) of it is water. The total area is 0.25% water.

Charlotte constitutes most of Mecklenburg County in the Carolina Piedmont. Uptown Charlotte, so named because it sits atop a long rise between two creeks, was built on the gunnies of the St. Catherine's and Rudisill gold mines.

Charlotte's elevation is 748 feet above sea level (at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport).

A 2007 American Lung Association report[19] ranks Charlotte as having the 16th highest levels of smog among U.S. cities.

Charlotte is located in North America's humid subtropical climate zone. The city has mild winters and hot, humid summers. In January, morning lows average around 0 °C (32 °F) and afternoon highs average 11 °C (51 °F). In July, lows average 22 °C (71 °F) and highs average 32 °C (90 °F). The highest recorded temperature was 40 °C (104 °F) on September 6, 1954.[20] The lowest recorded temperature was -21 °C (-5 °F) in January 1985. Charlotte's location puts it in the direct path of subtropical moisture from the Gulf as it heads up the eastern seaboard along the jet stream, thus the city receives ample precipitation throughout the year but also a very large number of clear, sunny, and pleasantly warm days. On average, Charlotte receives about 1105.3 mm (43.52 in) of precipitation annually, including some Winter snow and more frequent ice-storms due to its inland location.

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Avg high [°C](°F) 12 (54) 13 (56) 18 (64) 23 (73) 27 (80) 31 (87) 32 (90) 31 (88) 28 (82) 23 (73) 17 (63) 12 (54) 22 (72)
Avg low temperature [°C](°F) 0 (32) 1 (34) 6 (42) 9 (49) 14 (58) 19 (66) 22 (71) 21 (69) 17 (63) 11(51) 6 (42) 2 (35) 11 (51)
Rainfall (millimeters)(inches) 101.6 (4.00) 90.2 (3.55) 111.5 (4.39) 74.9 (2.95) 93.0 (2.66) 86.9 (3.42) 96.3 (3.79) 94.5 (3.72) 97.3 (3.83) 93.0 (3.66) 85.3 (3.36) 80.8 (3.18) 1105.3 (43.52)

Major storms

In 1989, the city took a direct hit from Hurricane Hugo. Passing through Charlotte with wind gusts over 160 km/h (100 mph), Hugo caused massive property damage and knocked out power to 98% of the population. Many residents were without power for several weeks and cleanup took months to complete. Being a city far inland, residents, city government and the utilities were not prepared to handle such a powerful hurricane. Over 80,000 trees were destroyed in Charlotte.

In December 2002, Charlotte (and much of central North Carolina) was hit by a massive ice storm that knocked out power to over 1.2 million Duke Power customers. According to a Duke Energy representative: "This ice storm surpasses the damage from Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which had 696,000 outages." During an abnormally cold December, many were without power for more than two weeks.

Neighborhoods

Economy

Bank of America Corporate Center, the tallest skyscraper between Philadelphia and Atlanta.

Charlotte has become a major U.S. financial center, and, based on assets, both the nation's second largest and fourth largest financial institutions call the city home (Bank of America and Wachovia, respectively). Bank of America' headquarters, along with other regional banking and financial services companies, are located primarily in the uptown financial district. Thanks in large part to the expansion of the city's banking industry, the Charlotte skyline has mushroomed in the past two decades and boasts the Bank of America Corporate Center, the tallest skyscraper between Philadelphia and Atlanta. The 60-story postmodern gothic tower, designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli, stands 871 feet tall and was completed in 1992.

The following Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in the Charlotte metropolitan area:

Other major companies headquartered in the Metro Charlotte include Time Warner Cable (a business unit of Fortune 500 company Time Warner), Muzak, Belk, Harris Teeter, Meineke Car Care Centers, Lance, Inc, Bojangles' , Carlisle Companies, LendingTree, Compass Group USA and Royal+SunAlliance and Food Lion in suburban Salisbury. Also, neighboring Gastonia is home to Choice Beverage, Inc., makers of SunDrop and Cheerwine, and Parkdale Mills world headquarters.

Charlotte is also a major center in the US motorsports industry, with NASCAR having multiple offices in and around Charlotte. Approximately 75% of the industry's employees and drivers are based within two hours of downtown Charlotte. Charlotte is also the future home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, expected to be completed in 2009. The center city/uptown area of Charlotte has seen remarkable growth over the last decade. Numerous residential units continue to be built uptown, including over 20 skyscapers either under construction, recently completed, or in the planning stage. Many new restaurants, bars and clubs now operate in the uptown area.

See also: List of foreign consulates in Charlotte.

Education

Colleges and Universities

For-profit universities

Public schools

Education is also first rate in Mecklenburg County with four of the nation’s top 100 high schools located here.Charlotte Regional Partnership

Private schools

Library

Law, government and politics

See Also: List of mayors of Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte mayoral election, 2007

Charlotte has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every two years, with no term limits. The mayor is ex officio chairman of the city council, and only votes in case of a tie. Unlike other mayors in council-manager systems, Charlotte's mayor has the power to veto ordinances passed by the council; vetoes can be overridden by a two-thirds majority of the council. The council appoints a city manager to serve as chief administrative officer.

Unlike other cities and towns in North Carolina, elections are held on a partisan basis. The current mayor of Charlotte is Pat McCrory, of the Republican Party. McCrory has served as mayor since his election in 1995. Charlotte holds elections for mayor every two years, with the next election in 2007; there is no term limit.

The city council is comprised of 11 members (7 from districts and 4 at-large). The Democrats currently control the council with an advantage of 7-to-4. Historically, Charlotte has been a stronghold of North Carolina's Republican Party. However, the city's rapidly changing demographics is steadily increasing the strength of the Democratic Party; in 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry carried the city by a narrow margin.[21] This follows the pattern of other large North Carolina cities such as Raleigh and Greensboro, where out-of-state immigration has also caused an upsurge in Democratic voting strength. However, this increasing liberalism has placed Charlotte at odds with much of the rest of North Carolina, where traditional conservative social values and Republican voting strength remain dominant.

Charlotte City Council

At-Large

Districts

While the city council is responsible for passing ordinances, many policy decisions must be approved by the North Carolina General Assembly as well, since North Carolina municipalities do not have home rule. Since the 1960s, however, municipal powers have been broadly construed.

Although it has elected Republican mayors since 1987, Charlotte tends to lean Democratic. However, voters are friendly to moderates of both parties.

Federally, Charlotte is split between three congressional districts--the 8th, represented by Republican Robin Hayes; the 9th, represented by Republican Sue Myrick; and the 12th, represented by Democrat Mel Watt.

Law enforcement

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) is a combined jurisdiction agency. The CMPD has law enforcement jurisdiction in both the City of Charlotte and the unincorporated areas of the County of Mecklenburg; however, several smaller towns, such as Matthews, maintain their own law enforcement agencies for their own jurisdictions.

The Department is comprised of approximately 1600 sworn, armed, law enforcement officers, and several hundred civilian support personnel.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department divides the city into 13 geographic areas, which vary in size both geographically and by the number of officers assigned to each division.

People and culture

Demographics

Historical populations[22][23][24]
Census
year		 Population
1880 7094
1890 12,000
1900 19,000
1910 34,000
1920 <70,983[25]
1930 <85,864[25]
1940 100,899
1950 134,042
1960 201,564
1970 241,178
1980 315,473
1990 395,934
2000 540,828

As of 2005, census estimates show there are 610,949 people living within Charlotte's city limits, and 896,372 in Mecklenburg County. The county's population is projected to break 1 million in 2010.[citation needed] The Combined Statistical Area of Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC had a population of 2,191,604 in 2006.[4]

Figures from the more comprehensive 2000 census show Charlotte's population density to be 861.9/km² (2,232.4/mi²). There are 230,434 housing units at an average density of 367.2/km² (951.2/mi²).

The city's breakdown by race is as follows:

The median income for a household in the city is $46,975, and the median income for a family is $56,517. Males have a median income of $38,767 versus $29,218 for females. The per capita income for the city is $26,823. 10.6% of the population and 7.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.8% of those under the age of 18 and 9.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Religion

The birthplace of Billy Graham, Charlotte was and still is locally known as the "The City of Churches." Of those who practice a religion, most Charlotteans are Christians of various Protestant denominations. Throughout much of its history Presbyterian churches were the most prominent in Charlotte (Charlotte is the historic seat of Southern Presbyterianism), but the changing demographics of the city's rapidly increasing population have brought scores of new denominations and faiths to the city. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Wycliffe Bible Translators' JAARS Center, and SIM Missions Organization also make their homes in Charlotte. In total, Charlotte proper lays claim to more than 700 places of worship.

The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America is headquartered in Charlotte, and both Reformed Theological Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary have campuses there; more recently, the Religious Studies academic departments of Charlotte's local colleges and universities have also grown considerably.

Charlotte is the seat of the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. The largest Christian congregation within Charlotte is that of St. Matthew Catholic Church. The Traditional Latin Mass is offered by the Society of St. Pius X at St. Anthony Catholic Church in nearby Mount Holly.

The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (AME Zion) is headquartered in Charlotte.

Jewish synagogues (Temple Beth El: Reform Judaism, Temple Israel: Conservative Judaism, Ohr HaTorah: Lubavitch, Havurat Tikvah: Reconstructionist Judaism, and a Charlotte Torah Center congregation) are located in or adjacent to Shalom Park on Providence Road.[26] In recent decades, Judaism has thrived in Charlotte and the Carolinas,[27][28] with local Jews such as Leon Levine and Herman Blumenthal making huge charitable and philanthropic contributions to the city and surrounding regions.[29]

The Charlotte area has five mosques: The Islamic Society of Greater Charlotte, Islamic Center of Charlotte, Masjid Ash-Shaheed, South Musallah, and the Islamic Society of Gastonia.

Hindus meet at the Hindu Center or the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) temple.

There are also several other religious institutions in the Charlotte area, including two Unitarian Universalist Churches and the Eidolon Foundation.[30]

Media

Main article: Media in Charlotte, North Carolina

Sites of interest

Main article: List of sites of interest in Charlotte

Sports

Club Sport Founded League Venue
Charlotte RFC Rugby Union 1971 USA Super League Skillbeck Athletic Grounds
Charlotte Knights Baseball 1976 International League Knights Stadium, Fort Mill, SC
Carolina Panthers Football 1993 National Football League Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte Checkers Ice Hockey 1993 East Coast Hockey League Charlotte Bobcats Arena
Charlotte Eagles Soccer 1993 USL-2 Waddell Stadium
Charlotte Lady Eagles Soccer 1993 W-League Waddell Stadium
Charlotte Bobcats Basketball 2004 National Basketball Association Charlotte Bobcats Arena

Charlotte is home to the NFL's Carolina Panthers, which debuted in 1995. The Panthers play in Bank of America Stadium, located in Uptown. The team won the 2004 NFC Championship when it beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia by a score of 14-3. In Super Bowl XXXVIII on Feb. 1, 2004, the Panthers were defeated by the New England Patriots, 32-29. The Panthers have been in three NFC Championship games: in 1996, 2004 and 2006.

From 1988 to 2002, Charlotte hosted an NBA franchise named the Charlotte Hornets. The franchise relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana in 2002 after bitter animosity between the team's fans and principal owner George Shinn led to slumping attendance and ill feelings towards the Hornets. In 2004, Charlotte was awarded its second NBA expansion team named the Charlotte Bobcats. The team plays in the Charlotte Bobcats Arena, which opened in fall 2005 in downtown Charlotte.

Charlotte was home to the World Football League's Charlotte Hornets during 1974 and 1975. The city has also been home to two Arena Football League teams, the Charlotte Rage and Carolina Cobras. Charlotte briefly had a Major Indoor Lacrosse League team in 1996, the Charlotte Cobras. The team did not fare well, however, and after a single 0-10 season, the Cobras folded. The WNBA Charlotte Sting played in Charlotte between 1997 and 2006.

Charlotte is home to the Charlotte Eagles of the United Soccer Leagues and plays host to the annual Wachovia Championship, an increasingly prestigious stop on the PGA Tour. The NCAA football Meineke Car Care Bowl is played annually in December at Bank of America Stadium.

Charlotte is the hub of stock car racing, with major races being held at nearby Lowe's Motor Speedway, considered by most fans and participants in the sport to be NASCAR's 'home track'. A vast majority of NASCAR teams and race shops are located within 40 miles of Charlotte, and most NASCAR drivers maintain a residence in or near the city. Seventy-three percent of American motorsports employees are based within two hours of downtown Charlotte. The NASCAR Hall of Fame is set to open in Charlotte in early 2009.

Baseball has a long, rich history in the Queen City, dating back to 1901 when the Charlotte Hornets were formed. The Triple-A Charlotte Knights, the top minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, currently call the Charlotte area home (the team's stadium is located in nearby Fort Mill, South Carolina).

Charlotte is on the list of cities that the Florida Marlins are considering for relocation; team officials are visited the city in early 2006 to discuss a move with city leaders and consider a plan to build a privately-funded stadium downtown. But city leaders stated as of April that they would not fund or support any attempt to bring the Florida Marlins to Charlotte. In May 2007, Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus, after an exhaustive analysis of major league attendance and media markets in North America, concluded, "There is, to my mind, exactly one place that would clearly be viable for the 31st major league franchise, and that place is Charlotte, North Carolina. The South as a whole is underrepresented in the major leagues. . . . Charlotte is no metropolis, but it is conveniently located at the center of several mid-size markets, including the Winston-Salem/Greensboro/Raleigh-Durham corridor along I-40, and Columbia, South Carolina. What’s more, the area is growing rapidly, and would give both the Braves and the Nationals a natural rival in the NL East."[31]

Via the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL are a farm team for the NHL's New York Rangers respectively. The Charlotte Checkers now play at the new Charlotte Bobcats Arena. Additionally, Charlotte is also home to a professional inline hockey team, the The Charlotte Outlawz.

Charlotte is the hometown of 16-time World Heavyweight Champion, the legendary "Nature Boy", Ric Flair. Flair defeated then WCW World Champion Big Van Vader for his first WCW title in Charlotte (His 11th in the NWA/WCW title lineage and his thirteenth overall at that time, counting his two WWF championship reigns) at the Independance Arena in Charlotte in December of 1993 at Starrcade.

Charlotte is home to the headquarters of the Big South Conference despite having no schools playing in the Big South (although near-by schools Winthrop University, from Rock Hill, South Carolina (full), and Gardner-Webb University, from Boiling Springs, North Carolina (football only) are members).

Golf is a popular activity, both as a participation and spectator sport. The Wachovia Championship debuted in 2003 on the men's PGA Tour, and is held each year in early May at Quail Hollow Club. Tiger Woods is the defending champion of the Wachovia Championship. The US Open has been held at the Pinehurst course, which is about 2 hours east of Charlotte in the Sand Hills region in the middle of North Carolina.

Brooklandwood in the nearby Union County town of Mineral Springs is the site of the Queens Cup Steeplechase, one of steeplechase horse racing's major annual events. The program consists of several races, and is held the last Saturday of April. The schedule of events also features a Jack Russell Terrier judging contest. Over 10,000 people descend on Mineral Springs from all parts of the country to take part in this day long event of races and other activities.

Independence High School in near-by Mint Hill, North Carolina has gained a degree of national fame due to its impressive winning streak in football which currently sits at 108 including 7 state title games. Chris Leak, a future national champion with the Florida Gators turned out for the Patriots during the early part of this run. Independence also has state championships in softball and volleyball. Garinger won the 1989 state championship in boy's basketball.

Crime

In general, the occurrence of crime in Charlotte has been decreasing in recent years, as has crime nationally. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, violent crimes have dropped from a rate of 1630 occurrences per 100,000 population in 1997 to 1099 occurrences per 100,000 population in 2004.[citation needed] The violent crime rate has decreased steadily from 1997 to 2004, though the 2004 rate was slightly higher than the 2003 rate (1099 compared to 1077).[citation needed] From 1997 to 2002 property crime dropped from 7,779 occurrences per 100,000 population to 6,340 occurrences per 100,000 population.[citation needed] However, since then the rate has risen to 7090 occurrences per 100,000 population as of 2004, a trend not seen in the national statistics.[citation needed]

In 2005, Charlotte had 85 homicides.[citation needed] The highest peak in murders came in at 129 slayings in 1993, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, while the lowest amount of murders in years is at 60 in 2004.[citation needed]

Direct comparisons to national crime rates are difficult as many different urbanization levels are present across the country. Compared to other cities with populations from 500,000 to 999,999 for 2005, Charlotte's crime is higher than average.[citation needed] The average for cities in this category was 927 violent crimes per 100,000 population and 5968 property crimes per 100,000 population.[citation needed]

Transportation

Mass transit

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) operates historical trolleys, express shuttles and bus service serving Charlotte and its immediate suburbs. The 2025 Corridor System Plan looks to supplement its established bus service with light rail & commuter rail lines called the LYNX. Designed to carry passengers along five key corridors, the project is estimated to cost $1.7 billion, recently revised upwards to $6 billion. CATS has begun work on the $426.8 million light rail line which will run from downtown to suburban Pineville with service scheduled to begin in 2007. Plans for the Lynx and commuter rail network will link uptown Charlotte with its immediate suburbs along four additional key corridors.

Air

Air Force One takes off from Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, with the Charlotte skyline in the background.

Charlotte/Douglas International Airport is the 11th busiest airport in the world, as measured by traffic movements..[32] It is served by many international and domestic airlines, and is the largest hub of US Airways. American Airlines, Air Canada, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, AirTran Airways, JetBlue and Lufthansa are some of the major carriers that serve the airport. Nonstop flights are available to many destinations across the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America and Canada.

Highways

File:Catsbswy.jpg
Charlotte commuters on the heavily-travelled Independence Blvd (U.S. Highway 74) in rush hour traffic.

Charlotte's central location between the population centers of the northeast and southeast has made it a transportation focal point and primary distribution center, with two major interstate highways, I-85 and I-77, intersecting near the city's center. Charlotte's beltway, designated I-485 and simply called "485" by locals, is partially completed but stalled for funding. The new projection has it slated for completion by 2013.[33] Upon completion, 485 will have a total circumference of approximately 67 miles (108 km). Within the city, the I-277 loop freeway encircles Charlotte's downtown (usually referred to by its two separate sections, the John Belk Freeway and the Brookshire Freeway) while Charlotte Route 4 links major roads in a loop between I-277 and I-485.

Intercity rail

Amtrak's Crescent and Carolinian and Piedmont trains connect Charlotte with New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, and Raleigh to the north, and Atlanta, Birmingham and New Orleans to the south. The Amtrak station is located at 1914 North Tryon Street.

Notable people

Main article: Notable people associated with Charlotte
  • In the episode 13 of the CBS post-apocalyptic drama Jericho entitled "Black Jack", Charlotte is revealed as one of the U.S. cities destroyed by a terrorist nuclear bomb attack. Skeet Ulrich, star of the show, grew up and graduated from High School in the Charlotte area.
  • In The Simpsons episode "Bart-Mangled Banner", Mayor Quimby compares the national hatred of Springfield caused by Bart's mooning of the U.S. flag to that of "Hitler City, North Carolina" before it changed its name to Charlotte.
  • Many scenes in the 1990 movie Days of Thunder were filmed in and around Charlotte.
  • Many scenes in the 1994 movie Nell starring Jodie Foster were filmed in and around Charlotte. In the script, Liam Neeson refers to a hotel in which he stayed that is on Tryon Street.

Sister cities

Charlotte has seven sister cities[34]:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.charlottechamber.com/content.cfm?category_level_id=134&content_id=186
  2. ^ a b "Population Estimates for the 25 Largest U.S. Cities based on July 1, 2006 Population Estimates" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Retrieved 2007-6-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/27/real_estate/fastest_growing_cities/
  4. ^ a b U.S. Census Bureau 2005 population estimates of Combined Statistical Areas
  5. ^ a b One of the main attractions in Charlotte is NASCAR and visting the great statue of the hossly beast Sam Farson he is knowen as one of the beat hockey players of all time. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: History Timeline: Founding a New City Cite error: The named reference "Story1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ Mecklenburg County, North Carolina USGenWeb Project
  7. ^ The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: History Timeline: Designing a New City
  8. ^ The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: History Timeline: Charlotte Incorporated
  9. ^ The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: History Timeline: King's Power
  10. ^ The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: History Timeline: Mecklenburg Declaration
  11. ^ The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: History Timeline: Mecklenburg Resolves
  12. ^ The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: History Timeline: Revolutionary War
  13. ^ The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: History Timeline: The City of Churches
  14. ^ Blanchard Online: American Rarities (Retrieved on 05-22-07)
  15. ^ http://www.blanchardonline.com/AmericanRarities/archive-08/char.html
  16. ^ The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story (Accessed May 22, 2007)
  17. ^ The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: History Timeline: Antebellum Days
  18. ^ The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: History Timeline: 80s Charlotte
  19. ^ American Lung Association, Annual Air Quality Report Card (2007)
  20. ^ http://weather.charlotte.com/auto/charlotte/history/airport/KCLT/2006/9/6/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA
  21. ^ http://www.meckboe.org/pages/Election/e_info/general04/off1.html
  22. ^ Gibson, Campbell (June 1998). Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990. U.S. Bureau of the Census - Population Division.
  23. ^ http://www.cmstory.org/
  24. ^ http://www.publicpurpose.com/dm-uscty.htm
  25. ^ a b Charlotte does not appear in the largest 100 cities prior to 1940. Figure is inferred from 100th ranking in this year.
  26. ^ http://www.jewishcharlotte.org/section_display.html?id=5
  27. ^ http://www.jewishtourofthecarolinas.org/charlotte.html
  28. ^ http://www.jewishcharlotte.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=27748
  29. ^ http://www.blumenthalfoundation.org/index.htm
  30. ^ http://www.eidolonfoundation.org
  31. ^ Nate Silver, "Moving the Marlins," Baseball Prospectus.com (May 17, 2007).
  32. ^ http://www.aci.aero/cda/aci/display/main/aci_content.jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-5-54-57_9_2__
  33. ^ http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=126265
  34. ^ http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Sister+Cities/Home.htm

Further reading

  • Hanchett, Thomas W. Sorting Out the New South City: Race, Class, and Urban Development in Charlotte, 1875-1975. 380 pages. University of North Carolina Press. August 1, 1998. ISBN 0-8078-2376-7.
  • Kratt, Mary Norton. Charlotte: Spirit of the New South. 293 pages. John F. Blair, Publisher. September 1, 1992. ISBN 0-89587-095-9.
  • Kratt, Mary Norton and Mary Manning Boyer. Remembering Charlotte: Postcards from a New South City, 1905-1950. 176 pages. University of North Carolina Press. October 1, 2000. ISBN 0-8078-4871-9.
  • Kratt, Mary Norton. New South Women: Twentieth Century Women of Charlotte, North Carolina. Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in Association with John F. Blair, Publisher. August 1, 2001. ISBN 0-89587-250-1.

Maps and aerial photos

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