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Charlotte, a city of action and historyVisiting the new south where racing and banks thriveBy Phyllis SteinbergIt’s hard to imagine that Charlotte, NC, a Southern town with a population of 18,000 in the l900’s and surrounded by hundreds of cotton farms and mills has grown into the nation’s second largest banking center in the United States.
Charlotte, is a city of history and the way to learn some of that history is to visit the Levine Museum of the New South which tells the history of the city from 1865 to tomorrow.
But perhaps the most poignant exhibit for me was sitting in an old school bus where you can sit down and watch vintage news coverage from a small television screen on the Supreme Court decision on busing and desegregation and its impact on Charlotte and the rest of the nation. Parents, grandparents and children should visit this museum together to experience the history of our nation. Charlotte played an important role in child labor laws, union organizing activities and strikes, strategies for all Americans to achieve equal rights, sit-ins and desegregation legislation.
The newest hotel in Charlotte is the Westin Charlotte, a 700-room convention style hotel that has comfy beds and bathrooms with awesome double-shower heads. The service is top-notch as well, for such a large hotel. The hotel is also on the free trolley line if you want to experience the downtown area without having to use a car.
The Mansion is now operated as a nonprofit with all proceeds being used to preserve the home.
Charlotte, now a thriving metropolis has left its cotton fields behind is a fun-place for multi-generation vacationing. Photos by Phyllis Steinberg and the Charlotte Convention and Visitors Bureau Levine Museum of the New South, 704-333-1887, www.museumofthenewsouth.org |
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Today, lofty, high-rise office buildings dot the city’s
skyline. The city has a population of 580,000 people and is home to 300 of the
Fortune 500. The downtown area is immaculate. There are no peddlers on street
corners or homeless people seen in this modern metropolis.
The centerpiece of the newly renovated Levine Museum of the
New South is the exhibit, Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers. This multi-media,
permanent exhibit features the stories of men, women and children, black and
white, rice and poor, who shaped the area since the Civil War. Here, you can dip
your hand in a basket of seed in front of an early cotton gin, step inside
re-created sections of a textile factory and walk down Main Street into an early
department store. There is also a theater where you can watch footage of the
early days in Charlotte.
Charlotte also has a free electric trolley system which has
been running in the city since 1880. The children will enjoy taking the trolley
around the downtown area and seeing the sights which includes the Discovery
Place, a hands-on science center for children of all ages. There is also a
Nature Museum and informative walking tours that include Charlotte Center City
and Historic Fourth Ward area. Save the Paramount Carowinds Park for an entire
day. There is the theme park and an adjacent water park.
If you are looking for an elegant historic inn to stay at
while in Charlotte, there is the Duke Mansion, built in 1915, by James Buchanan
Duke. Duke’s most lasting legacies include Duke University, Duke Energy and the
Duke Endowment. The Duke Mansion has been home to many celebrities and is
listed on National Register of Historic Places. 
You really can’t talk about Charlotte, NC without
mentioning the Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Built in 1960, the Speedway hosts three
NASCAR Nextel Cup events each year plus other races all during the year. The
Speedway also offers a daily guided tour which includes a ride around the track.
For those who love to shop for bargains, there is the
Concord Mills, located just 12 miles north of uptown Chalotte, near the Lowe’s
Speedway. A visit to both in one day is possible. The shops are Concord Mills
are outlet stores with plenty of discounts. There are 200 stores including Off
Fifth Avenue, Naturalizer, OshKosh B’Gosh, Nine West, Brooks Brothers plus
restaurants and a AMC multi-plex theater. 
If you would like to take a day trip, Winston-Salem is a
great place to visit. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue-Ridge Mountains,
Winston-Salem offers many opportunities for families to experience a diverse
culture and deep-rooted heritage of the Moravian settlers who came to the region
250 years ago. Here, actors in colorful costumes, portray the life of the early
settlers for visitors. They bake bread over a fire, churn their own butter and
grow their vegetables in gardens behind historic homes. There are many things to
see in Old Salem, as it is now called. There are more than 100 restored and
reconstructed buildings. Tour highlights include the Single Brothers House,
Salem Tavern, Winkler Bakery and The Old Salem Children’s Museum.