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Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
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Called the Queen City, the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County get
their names from King George III’s wife. It’s an energetic,
growing city with a convenient location just three hours from the ocean
and three hours from the Appalachian mountains.
Second only to New York, Charlotte is a thriving financial center with
a downtown area full of young professionals working for financial
institutions like Bank of America and Wachovia. This city
embodies the ideals of the New South, growth through commerce and
tourism.
Walking into History
Charlotte’s dedication to historic preservation is displayed in its
neighborhoods. Such revitalized areas as Childress with its
restored bungalows and tree lined streets will take you back to a
simpler time. Also, there are walking tours of the city’s Fourth
Ward with homes dating back to the Victorian period.
For a trip to the antebellum past, check out Latta Plantation.
Located just 12 miles north of Charlotte, this living history museum
will give you a look at not only life in the Federal-style plantation
house, but slave life as well. Guided tours are available
Tuesday through Sunday.
After looking at the economic forces of the plantation economy that
drove the south during the years before 1860, you might want to see how
the region rose from the ashes at the Levine Museum of the New
South. The permanent exhibit From Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers
examines this amazing transformation that is embodied in present day
Charlotte.
A trip to Charlotte can’t be complete without a visit to the Mint
Museums. The original museum, now know as the Mint Museum of Art,
is located in the first branch of the US mint. It operated until
the outbreak of the Civil War and remained abandoned until local
efforts saved the building and created North Carolina’s first art
museum. In addition to its permanent collection, the Museum
hosts many touring exhibits during the year.
Bank of America’s donation of Montaldo’s department store paved the way
for the creation of the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in 1999.
This museum is dedicated to preservation of North Carolina’s rich
tradition of furniture, glass and ceramic design. Both museums
provide educational outreach programs for families and children known
as The Junior Mint.
Dinner, anybody?
You can wash down all this history and culture at Brixx Pizza in Uptown
Charlotte. In additional to wood-fired pizza, Brixx offers an
impressive array of microbrews. You can even earn your MBA
here—Master of Beer Appreciation that is.
Another great place in Uptown is Zink’s American Grill that offers a
fusion of Asian and American food. You can get anything from
sushi to the Zink signature steak. You can even sign up for a one
evening cooking class.
Soak in the Great
Outdoors
For the outdoorsman, Charlotte really delivers. Mecklenburg
County Parks and Recreation maintains 210 parks throughout the
area. Outdoor activities include: biking, camping, fishing,
boating and horseback riding, among others. Charlotte’s greenway
system currently includes 23 miles of developed trails and 158 miles of
undeveloped greenway.
The US National Whitewater Center just outside the city features
whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, hiking and mountain
biking. The center also provides community environmental
education.
The area also boasts not one, not two, but three large lakes—Lake
Norman, Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake. These lakes provide
drinking water for the area as well as boating and swimming.
In a city where you see “Dale Earnhardt Blvd” signs in every other
driveways, I would be remise if I didn’t mention that Charlotte and the
surrounding area is home to many NASCAR events. In fact, each
October Charlotte hosts the Bank of America 500, one of the biggest
NASCAR races of the season. Add this to the many other
professional teams in the area and sports fans will think they are in
heaven.
Written by Brenda
Dreesbach
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