EXPLORE CHARLOTTE

Charlotte N.C is the sparkling Queen City, filled with thriving businesses, exciting nightlife and eye-catching historic as well as modern architecture. Founded in the 1700’s by a group of British Loyalist, the city was named “Charlotte Town” after the new wife of King George – Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The Queen city first encountered substantial suburban residential expansion during the first four decades of the 20th century. The expansion was extensive and multi-faceted, reflecting the city’s enormous growth and rapidly increasing wealth. The year 1891 started an unprecedented year of growth, as Charlotte’s population spikes from 12,000 to 100,000 in merely half a century. The fifty years of growth reformed the middle class and created tremendous demands on city services and the building industry, as well as the financial sector, in turn pushing Charlotte into the role of major center for trading and the textile industry.

Charlotte is now the second-largest city in the SouthEastern United States. It ranks 2nd among the 25 largest cities for “Most Desirable Place to Buy a Home” and features the Charlotte-Douglas Airport, which serves more then 39 million passengers annually. Charlotte’s center city area is referred to as Uptown, named for its geographical location on an incline as well as after Billy Joel’s hit single, “Uptown Girl.” In 1980, the city officials launched a massive campaign to revamp the image of the downtown area, introducing the term “Uptown” in all public references to the center city. On Valentine’s Day of 1987, the Charlotte Observer began to implement “Uptown” in order to promote a more upbeat and positive image of the center the term to promote a more positive, upbeat image of Charlotte, NC. On September 23, 1974, Mayor John Belk designating the central shopping and business district of the Queen City, “Uptown Charlotte.”