Host City Information
In Charlotte, you will be able to experience the Southern hospitality that they are so well known for. Experience the exciting possibilities that add character to the city, from cultural institutions and attractions to world-class dining and nightlife to shopping and sporting events unique to the Charlotte region. With the excitement of a cosmopolitan city and the ease of Southern charm, Charlotte presents a unique atmosphere where big city style meets down-home appeal. Other cities may boast must-see attractions, but Charlotte offers things to see and do unlike any destination in the country.
The Consortium encourages conference participants to get out and enjoy what this exciting city has to offer.
Here is just a small sampling of local attractions.
General Information
Arts & Culture
Dining
Entertainment Areas
Sights & Attractions
Shopping
Sports
Diversity in Charlotte
Charlotte embraces and celebrates an ever-changing mosaic of cultures, faiths and races in its growing landscape. Individuals from all corners of the globe, metropolitan and remote, rugged and sublime, have chosen to make their home in Charlotte.
A Brief History of Charlotte
From cotton fields to a financial hub, Charlotte has certainly come a long way. Founded in 1769 and named for Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III of England, the city has a rich heritage steeped in its Scots-Irish settlers, the discovery of gold and a range of industries. Now the nation’s second leading financial center, the city was fittingly built upon the crossroads of two affluent native American trading paths.
The discovery of a 17-pound nugget in 1799 drew many immigrants to the area to follow the nation’s first gold rush. The area was so affluent it was tapped by the U.S. Treasury to open a branch of the mint which coined nearly $5 million in gold pieces in its time. However, the boom was short-lived. The many Charlotte opportunists ready to strike it rich flocked to California in 1848. Agriculture, primarily tobacco and cotton, was the major revenue provider for the region up until the Civil War. After the War, textile industries sprang to life when the city became a cotton processing center and a major railroad hub.
Through the success of the railroads, Charlotte became the Carolinas’ largest city and a Southeastern textile and distribution hub. As businesses continued to flock to Charlotte, the city’s banking industry gained real momentum in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Charlotte is now the second largest U.S. banking headquarters, second only to New York City.
Charlotte Web Links
Charlotte Douglas International Airport
CATS: Charlotte Area Transit System
American Indian Chamber (Montgomery County)
Asian American Chamber (Carolinas)
Hispanic Chamber (North Carolina)
City Stats
Population
Charlotte is the largest city in North Carolina and the 19th largest in the United States. The current population breakdown:
City of Charlotte ... 671,588
Charlotte Metro County ... 2,277,074
Location
The Charlotte region is composed of 16 counties, including two counties in South Carolina, with the city of Charlotte serving as the hub. Located in the heart of the Southeast, Charlotte lies within the southern Piedmont of North Carolina along the state's border with South Carolina. Charlotte is the largest and most accessible city between Washington, D.C. and Dallas, TX. Owing to its mid-Atlantic location, getting to Charlotte is easy from anywhere in the country or world, garnering its nickname the "International Gateway to the South".
Charlotte is located in south-central North Carolina where Interstates 77 and 85 intersect. It is about nine miles from Pineville and about ten miles from Matthews. Other nearby communities include Mint Hill, Stallings, Huntersville, Mount Holly, Belmont and Weddington.
Topography
Area: 280.5 square miles
Elevation: 751 feet (229 m)
Fun Facts
Nicknamed the Queen City, Charlotte (as well as the county containing it) is named in honor of the German Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg, who had become queen consort of British King George III the year before the city's founding.
During the American Revolutionary War, British commander General Cornwallis occupied the city but was driven out soon afterwards by hostile residents, prompting him to write that Charlotte was "a hornet's nest of rebellion," leading to another city nickname: The Hornet's Nest. This is also reason for the city's former NBA team the Charlotte Hornets.
Charlotte has 199 neighborhoods.
Approximately 75 percent of the NASCAR industry's employees and drivers are based within two hours of downtown Charlotte. Charlotte is also the future home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, expected to be completed in 2009.
In 1905, the Brevard Street Library for Negroes, an independent library in Brooklyn, a historically black area of the city of Charlotte, opened on the corner of Brevard and East Second Street (now Martin Luther King Blvd.) The Brevard Street Library was the first library for free blacks in the state of North Carolina.
The Arts and Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg supports 27 cultural organizations, neighborhood festivals, arts education programs and much more that result in over 65,000 performances and events annually.
BET magazine named Charlotte the number one best city for black families in February, 2008.
Information and pictures provided by:
Visit Charlotte – Charlotte Convention & Visitors Bureau
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