Charlotte

Charlotte, North Carolina LYNX Blue Line, the first rapid transit line in North Carolina.

The LYNX Blue Line is the Charlotte region's first light rail service. It is 9.6 miles long and operates from I-485 at South Boulevard to Uptown Charlotte. CATS LYNX Blue Line operates 20 light rail vehicles, with 15 stations including seven park and ride locations, the LYNX Blue Line provides a congestion free commute with a consistent travel time. LYNX operates seven days a week. Weekday service operates from 5:26 a.m. to 1:26 a.m. and service is available every 10 minutes during weekday rush hour and every 15 minutes during non-peak hours. Weekend service operates every 20 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes during late night hours.

Charlotte Area Transis System (CATS) also operates 323 buses with 73 bus routes.

Since we arrived about 10 p.m. in Charlotte, we went directly to our DoubleTree Hotel (photo taken the next morning).

Our room at the Doubletree by Hilton Charlotte

Doubletree Hotel bar and restaurant

Doubletree front desk and waiting area inside the restaurant.

View from our Doubletree Hotel room.

The Charlotte Panthers, with Cam Newton as quarterback, lost in the 2015 Superbowl to the Denver Broncos.

Bank of America Stadium is a 75,412-seat football stadium located on 33 acres in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is the home facility and headquarters of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. The stadium opened in 1996. In addition to the Panthers, the stadium hosts the annual Belk Bowl, which features teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The largest crowd to ever attend a football game at the stadium was on December 5, 2015 when 74,514 fans watched the Clemson Tigers defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels 45-37 in the 2015 ACC Championship Game. It has been called "[A] classic American stadium," by Panthers president Danny Morrison due to its bowl design and other features. The stadium will celebrate its 20th anniversary during the 2016-17 NFL season.

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_America_Stadium

Johnson & Wales University is next door to the Doubletree.
Over 2,200 students from across the US and 20 countries are enrolled in the School of Business, School of Hospitality, and College of Culinary Arts.

Liquid Amber trees on campus and around the south were in bloom during our July trip.

I took an excellent C-Charlotte Tours trip around Charlotte 704-517-6844. Their van was only 3 weeks old.

We picked up other tour members at the Omni hotel at which a Hoshicon convention was being held. Photos of attendees on the city streets.

Hoshicon is a three – day Japanese Culture, Animation, and Video Game event located at the Westin Charlotte Hotel in Charlotte, NC. There is a wide – range of events catering to this cultural event including shopping, panels, a game room, cosplay contest, and much more! Our goal is to provide people of all ages with entertainment and to educate our community about Southeast Asian culture. Last year, our convention ended up attracting 4,000+ attendees to the Charlotte, NC area. Please join us as we host 2016’s Hoshicon here in Charlotte, NC! We hope to see you there! See: http://hoshicon.org/

From: http://www.upcomingcons.com/upcomingcons/24073-Hoshicon

Downtown Charlotte

Charlotte is a banking center. Plenty of Michael Jordan references on the tour.

As the nation’s second-largest financial hub, it’s also home to multiple Fortune 500 companies, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Lowe’s — creating a business-friendly environment with a wealth of internship and career opportunities.

From: https://www.jwu.edu/content.aspx?id=818

Statue of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg, the namesake of Charlotte, NC aka "Queen City". The statue is located in a part of town that is called "Uptown" by some, "Downtown" by others and "Center City" by the rest.

From: http://www.360cities.net/image/queen-charlotte-statue-in-charlotte-nc

The Sculptures on The Square at Trade & Tryon in Uptown Charlotte represent: Commerce, Transportation, Industry and The Future.

This alley with a glass ceiling was originally for grading cotton.

Charlotte Art League Gallery

Evidently a favorite in Charlotte.

Greek Orthodox Church, not far from the church where Billy Graham attended as a boy.

Bathroom and snack break at Dean & Deluca's at South Park, an upscale mall.

Beautiful homes in Charlotte's Dilworth Neighborhood

The streets of Dilworth feature stately, mature oak trees, sidewalks, and houses with front porches. The homes are primarily bungalows — with the occasional Queen Anne — and some larger, two-story Colonial Revivals lining Dilworth Road East and West.

Queens University of Charlotte excellent virtual tour of the campus: http://www.youvisit.com/tour/queens/96044?pl=v

Statue to a person who used to pretend to direct traffic here in the past.

The Duke Mansion

Built in 1915 and tripled by its most famous owner James Buchanan Duke, The Duke Mansion has been home and host to leaders of the 20th century. Duke’s most lasting legacies, including Duke University, Duke Energy and the Duke Endowment, took shape at the home. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The Mansion is operated as a nonprofit with all proceeds being used to preserve and protect this community treasure.

From: http://www.dukemansion.com/about/our-services.htm

History of the mansion: http://www.dukemansion.com/about/documentary-us-in-the-news.htm

Duke Mansion was built in the new Myers Park Neighborhood formerly a long cotton farm south of Charlotte.

Following the light rail toward south downtown Charlotte

Charlotte only has 1 day below 32 degrees. Blued ridge Mountains and Parkway are 2 hrs. west. Biltmore House , largest home in America with 8,000 acres especially impressive at Christmas is in Ashville. Charlotte is close to South Carolina beaches, 3 hours from Charleston. Quail Hollow Golf course is in Pinehurst 2 hrs. east. Carowinds Amusement park has a new roller coaster. Charolette Motor Speedway holds its race on Memorial Day. 75% of the NASCAR teams are in Charlotte. The NBA star, Curry, is from Charlotte.

During the Summer of 1775, John Walker was the existing Colonel over the Tryon County Regiment of Militia, and shown here the delivering the Tryon County Declaration of Independence (aka the "Tryon Resolves") on 8/14/1775.

Duke Energy Building in far center has its lights changing each hour.

Elmwood Cemetery

Our guide mentioned the 4th Ward Christmas Tour and this house is on the tour.

One of many "Treasure Trees" in town.

Affectionately known as "Disco Chicken" by area residents, the shimmering Firebird sculpture was installed in 2009, and stands at the entrance of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art on Tryon Street. The statue stands over 17 feet tall and weighs over 1,400 pounds. The entire statue is covered from top to bottom in over 7,500 pieces of of mirrored and colored glass. The piece was created in 1991 by French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle, and purchased by Andreas Bechtler specifically for placement at the front of the museum. It has traveled from city to city on display, but Charlotte is its first permanent home. When Bechtler purchased the piece, he said that he wanted art he wanted, "not just an iconic piece, but also one people would enjoy."

Most people at first glance think that the statue is of a bird with incredibly large legs and what appears to be flowing pants (hence the Disco Chicken nickname) or even bowed legs.

From: http://charlotte.about.com/od/Public-Art-in-Charlotte/fl/Firebird-Sculpture.htm

Downtown Charlotte

Trains serving Charlotte, NC. Notice that the Crescent leaves at 2:45 AM!

Charlotte, North Carolina Amtrak Station, about 4 hrs. before my train arrived. I did get a nap on these long, hard benches.

Nice 50s era Crescent photo on the Charlotte, NC station wall.