Charlotte is a fast growing
city in the US Southeast, a major financial center - second largest in the
United States after New York – and sports venue for the NFL Carolina
Panthers, the NBA Bobcats, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and the U.S. National Whitewater Center.
Named in honor of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz,
queen consort
of British
King George III, it is a
city with many nicknames, including the famed Hornet’s Nest derived from the American Revolutionary War, when British
commander General Cornwallis
occupied the city but was driven out by hostile residents, prompting him to
write that Charlotte was "a hornet's nest of rebellion." Others include: The QC, Crown Town, Home of NASCAR, the
Gem of the South, The CLT, Bank Town, Char-Town and City of Trees.
A city with 199 neighborhoods radiating in all directions from Uptown,
the eastbound Central Avenue corridor is known for its international
population, including East Europeans, Greeks, Middle-Easterners, and Hispanics.
North Tryon and the Sugar Creek area include several Asian-American
communities. NoDa (North Davidson) and Dilworth, along South Boulevard and East
Boulevard, are emerging and established enclaves of urban professionals. Myers
Park, Dilworth and Eastover are home to some of Charlotte's oldest and largest
houses, on tree-lined boulevards, with Freedom Park, arguably the
city's favorite, nearby.
Park Road and South Park’s 120 acre park
area have an extensive array of shopping and dining. Many students,
researchers, and affiliated professionals live near UNC Charlotte
in the northeast area known as University City.
Uptown
Charlotte has undergone massive construction of buildings housing Bank of
America, Wells Fargo, Hearst Corporation, Duke Energy,
several hotels, and multiple condominium developments. 'Il Grande Disco', a bronze sculpture by Italian sculptor Arnaldo
Pomodoro, is called 'the disco wheel' by the locals; a sister
sculpture is in Milan Italy’s Piazza
Filippo Meda.
Arts and Culture Charlotte is home to
several fine museums and performing arts centers:
Museums the Harvey B.
Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture; Bechtler
Museum of Modern Art; The Billy Graham
Library; Carolinas Aviation
Museum; Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Fire Education Center and Museum; Charlotte Nature Museum in Freedom Park; Charlotte Trolley Museum in Historic
South End
Discovery Place; Discovery Place KIDS-Huntersville Historic
Rosedale Plantation; Levine Museum
of the New South; the Light Factory; McColl
Center for Visual Art; Mint Museum of Art; Mint Museum
of Craft + Design;
NASCAR Hall
of Fame; Second Ward Alumni House
Museum.
The Performing Arts The Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte; Carolina Actors Studio Theatre (CAST);
Charlotte Symphony Orchestra; Children's Theatre of Charlotte;
ImaginOn; Opera
Carolina; The Robot Johnson Show; Theatre Charlotte;
Tremont Music Hall; The chop shop (NoDa).