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EDITOR'S NOTE: Doug Smith is retiring June 5. This is the 13th in a series of his most requested columns that will appear over the next three weeks. This encore column first ran in the Observer on Sunday, March 4, 2001. Bentley's on 27 has since replaced the private Tower Club, giving customers a bird’s eye view of the skyline. And if you have the money you can buy a view in a condo tower.
As uptown leaders ponder ways to attract more people to the center city, I wish they'd address one of the most-asked questions from visitors:
"How can I see the city from the top of one of the skyscrapers?" If you live in Charlotte you know the answer: You can't - unless you work on an upper floor of an office tower or belong to a private dining club with a panoramic view from the top.
Bank of America and First Union occupy the two tallest towers, 60 stories and 42 stories, respectively, and they, understandably, are nervous about the security risk of sightseers riding the elevators and roaming the halls.
The City Club occupies the top two floors of the 32-story Interstate Tower at The Square, and the Tower Club is atop the 27-story Charlotte Plaza building on College Street.
They are private dining establishments and are available only to members and their guests.
I remember 1993, the year after the Bank of America Corporate Center was completed at The Square. To promote the opening of the shops in Founders Hall, the bank opened the 52nd floor to guided tours on Saturdays.
It was a big hit. Seventy-five people showed up the first day, even though Founders Hall did little marketing or promotion.
Uptown had a public restaurant with a great view for 24 years at 32-story Two First Union Center. But the 30th Edition closed about three years ago. Special occasion diners lost out when the vacated space was converted to offices.
Slug Claiborne, who founded and later sold the restaurant, once described it as a landmark. "Anywhere I go in the city of Charlotte or the Carolinas and mention the 30th Edition," he said, "people will say, `Oh, I've been there.' "
In 1992, Charlottean Burt Gellman proposed building a 1,000-foot-tall space needle - nearly twice the height of Seattle's space needle - two blocks north of Discovery Place on North Tryon Street. He never raised enough money to finance the project, and the idea fizzled.
I'm not suggesting we revive the space needle, but I do wonder why no one seems interested in helping uptown visitors satisfy their curiosity.
Perhaps carefully monitored weekend tours of some of the towers would attract weekend visitors to restaurants, hotels and cultural facilities.
I lived in Wichita, Kan., in the mid-1980s. Any time my farming and ranching associates visited the city, they wanted to dine at the restaurant atop the tallest building - the 23-story Holiday Inn.
But if you want to get an elevated view of Charlotte, you'd better know your parking decks.
The 30-story IJL Financial Center's 10-level deck at 201 N. Tryon St. has a nice view of Old Settlers Cemetery on the west side and First Ward on the east side.
Gateway Village's 10-story deck on West Trade Street near Cedar Street has great views of the uptown towers and Elmwood Cemetery near Interstate 77.
My favorite is Bank of America's 10-story Seventh Street Station, off College Street, between Sixth and Seventh streets. From the top, you can see uptown and close-in neighborhoods as well.
In fact, the deck makes a nice field trip. You can listen to the fins play musical notes when you touch them on the ground level, pick up a picnic lunch at Reid's Fine Foods, and check out the view from the 10th floor.
It's not Seattle's space needle. Or New York's Empire State Building. But in Charlotte, we improvise. See you at the deck.
