Sunday, June 12, 2011

A Walking Tour of Charlotte

I went with the Newcomer's Garden Club for a walking tour of the 4th Ward area in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago.  This is a really neat area in Charlotte's Uptown.  It was resurrected in the mid-1800s as one of the more prosperous areas of town providing homes to local merchants, physicians and ministers.  By the 1900s, Charlotte residents has moved out to areas away from the downtown area.  By 1970, Fourth Ward had fallen into a state of neglect with many homes vandalized or burned.  But in the late 20th century, Fourth Ward saw a restoration and is now a thriving part of Uptown.  There are many original Victorian homes along with condos, modern architectural houses as well as the home of Charlotte's first black mayor, Harvey Gantt (serving from 1982-87.)  Mr Gantt is an architect and is responsible for a lot of the restoration in the 4th Ward area.

Here are a few of the pictures that I took on my walk.

St Peter's Episcopal Church - from the mid 1800s - downtown Charlotte

Love this round window.  We didn't go inside but I bet it is beautiful.

This is a mural in a courtyard.  It is hidden away uptown.  If you don't know where to look, you will miss it.  Supposedly, the characters in the mural represent important people in Charlotte's history.

This is one of the Victorian homes. I just love this wrap around porch!

This is Mr. Gantt's home.  It doesn't do much for me but I'd be interested in seeing what the inside looks like.

Another Victorian home.  Isn't is something to find a house like this a couple blocks from the main street of uptown?

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