Charlotte,

 

city (1990 pop. 395,934), seat of Mecklenburg co., S N.C.; inc. 1768. The largest city in the state and the commercial and industrial leader of the Piedmont region, Charlotte is the third-ranking U.S. banking center as well as an air, transportation, and distribution hub for the Carolina manufacturing belt. Hydroelectricity from the Catawba River powers industries producing textiles, chemicals, clothing, machinery, food, metals, and printed materials.

The Univ. of North Carolina at Charlotte, Queens College, and Johnson C. Smith Univ. are in the city. The Mint Museum of Art is a reproduction of the U.S. Mint located in Charlotte from 1837 until 1913. The city is home to professional football (the Panthers) and basketball (the Hornets) teams. The huge Charlotte Coliseum and high-rise office buildings have transformed the city's skyline since the 1980s. Lowe's (formerly Charlotte) Motor Speedway is in nearby Concord.

The city (settled c.1750) was named for Queen Charlotte, wife of George III of England. Its citizens were among the most outspoken in opposition to the British government, and it was at Charlotte that the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was signed in May, 1775. In his brief occupation of the city (Sept.–Oct., 1780), British General Cornwallis called it a “hornet's nest of rebellion.” In 1971, Charlotte and Mecklenburg co. became the scene of the first major court-ordered busing program (ended 1999) to eliminate school segregation.

Charlotte, North Carolina
Skyline of Charlotte at night
Flag
Nickname: "The Queen City"
Location in Mecklenburg County in the state of North Carolina
Coordinates: 35°13′37″N 80°50′36″W / 35.22694, -80.84333
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Government
- Mayor	Pat McCrory, (R)
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (Population (estimate Jan.1,2007) .)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
- Metro
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	704, 980
FIPS code	37-120002
GNIS feature ID	10196103
Website: http://www.charmeck.org/

Charlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the 20th largest city in the United States. It has a 2006 estimated population of approximately 664,342^[1] as of January 1, 2007. It is the county seat of Mecklenburg County,⁶ 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 and is continuing to mature starting in the 1990s and continuing through the 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 as well as the fastest growing city on the East Coast.^[2]

Nicknamed The Queen City, 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.^[3] A resident of Charlotte is referred to as a Charlottean (IPA: [ˌʃaɹləˈtʰiːən).

History

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.^[4] 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 first decades following Polk's settling, the area grew to become the community of "Charlotte Town," which officially incorporated as a town in 1768.^[5] 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.^[6] The intersection of Trade and Tryon is known as "Trade & Tryon" or simply "The Square".^[4]

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,^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11] 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."^[12]

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.^[13] 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,"^[14] 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.^[15] 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.^[16]

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.^[17]

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^[18] ranks Charlotte as having the 16th highest levels of smog among U.S. cities; however, the region's air quality has improved significantly in recent years, and is expected to continue to do so, even with increasing travel. ^[19]

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 and during the August 2007 Southeastern heat wave.^[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 very little snow and more frequent ice-storms.

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

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Uptown: central business district composed of first four wards Cotswold: intersection of Randolph and Sharon Amity roads South End: directly south of Uptown Dilworth: southwest of Uptown Elizabeth: along Elizabeth Avenue Myers Park: south of South End Plaza-Midwood: east of Uptown and along The Plaza North Charlotte: northeast of Uptown NoDa: Arts District, around North Davidson Street SouthPark: intersection of Sharon Road and Fairview Road (Includes Morrocroft and Foxcroft)

University City: extreme northeast around UNC Charlotte Eastland: large portion of eastern Charlotte Starmount: South Boulevard area Ballantyne: Upscale Area, along the NC/SC border The Arboretum: along Pineville-Matthews Road Steele Creek: southwestern Mecklenburg, including Charlotte Biddleville: western Charlotte along Beatties Ford Road Derita: north of I-85 along West Sugar Creek Road Nations Ford: southwestern Charlotte, near Steele Creek Sedgefield: south of Dilworth3 Quail Hollow: South of Dilworth, in between SouthPark and Pineville.

Economy

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:

• Bank of America
• Duke Energy
• Family Dollar
• Goodrich Corporation
• Lowe's
• Nucor
• Sonic Automotive
• SPX Corporation
• Wachovia

Other major companies headquartered in the Metro Charlotte include Time Warner Cable (a business unit of Fortune 500 company Time Warner), Continental Tire North America (formerly Continental/General Tire), Muzak, Belk, Harris Teeter, Meineke Car Care Centers, Lance, Inc, Bojangles' , Carlisle Companies, LendingTree, Compass Group USA 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

Law, government and politics

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.

Although it has elected Republican mayors since 1987, Charlotte tends to lean Democratic. However, voters are friendly to moderates of both parties. Republican strength is concentrated in the southeastern portion of the city, while Democratic strength is concentrated in the south-central, eastern and northern areas.

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. 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.

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

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.

See also: List of mayors of Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte mayoral election, 2007, and List of city council members in Charlotte

Education

The city's public school system, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, is the second largest in North Carolina and 20th largest in the nation.[1] About 132,000 students are taught in 161 separate elementary, middle and high schools. Secular and religious private schools are prominent, from well-established schools with large campuses to others that are small and new. The relatively recent phenomenon of charter schools, independently operated public schools, are another education option.

Charlotte's largest higher education institution, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, is located in University City, as the northeastern portion of Charlotte is called. At 22,000 students and counting, it is the fastest-growing university in the state system. The area is also home to University Research Park, a 3,200 acre (13 km²) research and corporate park. Central Piedmont Community College has multiple campuses, all in the Charlotte metro area, and is the largest community college in North Carolina or South Carolina.^[21] Charlotte is home to a number of notable private universities and colleges such as Queens University of Charlotte and Davidson College; the latter being 20 miles north of Charlotte.

The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County serves the Charlotte area with a large collection of books, CDs and DVDs in 20 branches. Most of its locations provide free access to Internet-enabled computers and WiFi.

See also: List of schools in Charlotte

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.^[3]

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:

• 58.26% Caucasian - mostly of British and Irish ancestry.
• 32.72% African American
• 9.16% Hispanic or Latino of any race
• 3.41% Asian (majorly Gujarati Indian, Chinese, and Vietnamese)
• 0.34% Native American
• 0.05% Pacific Islander
• 3.56% from other races
• 1.66% from two or more races.

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 Knights	Baseball	1976	International League	Knights Stadium, Fort Mill, SC
Carolina Panthers	Football	1995	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 also the home of the new US National Whitewater Center, located in west Charlotte. It was created and opened for the general public in late summer of 2006. Many whitewater teams from around the world are scheduled to train here.^[31] The Center also has 17 miles of trails for hikers and bikers at the park.

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