Why is downtown Charlotte called ‘uptown’? What to know about its history
Most cities have an area called downtown where businesses and retail are located. But the heart of Charlotte goes by a different name.
If you ask any Charlotte native, or someone who has lived here long enough, they’ll tell you that the city’s financial hub — the second largest in the nation only behind New York — is located in “uptown.”
In fact, Charlotte is the only major city in the country where its central business district is referred to as “uptown,” according to Charlotte Center City Partners.
But what are the origins of “uptown” name? Here’s what to know.
Why is downtown Charlotte called ‘uptown’?
Tom Hanchett, a community historian in Charlotte, told The Charlotte Observer in 2015 that the name “Uptown” is, in part, due to the area’s elevation.
“In the mid-1700s, the nation’s trading path from the southeast to the Atlantic ran along a ridge top,” Hanchett said. “One of those Indian trading paths in Charlotte came to be Tryon Street and it crossed another that became Trade Street. This was the highest elevation point and the city grew around it. When people came to this point, they were going ‘up.’”
The name also comes from a declaration by the Charlotte City Council in an effort to draw people to the center city district, Hanchett said.
“On September 23, 1974, a city council proclamation declared that the shopping and business district in the center city be officially named ‘Uptown Charlotte,’” said Hanchett. “The push for this came from local merchant and booster, Jack Wood. Wood argued that Uptown name was in use in the 50s and needed to be restored.”
History of Trade & Tryon
The intersection of Trade Street, named for the site’s history, and Tryon Street, named for William Tryon, once a Colonial Governor of North Carolina, was the original crossroads that uptown was built around, according to Center City Partners.
The site was once home to Col. Thomas Polk, a former North Carolina legislator credited with leading efforts to sever ties with Britain in the late 18th century, resulting in the creation of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and the Mecklenburg Resolves.
Now known as Independence Square, the intersection features four bronze sculptures at each corner “to represent the enterprises that have contributed to Charlotte’s growth as a major economic center,” Center City Partners says. The statues include:
Commerce: A prospector panning for gold represents the discovery of gold near Charlotte and the opening of the first branch of the U.S. Mint in 1837.
Industry: A woman millworker and a child millworker represent Charlotte’s early textile factories.
Transportation: A railroad builder is a symbol for the city’s status as a railroad hub, the number “1401” commemorates a steam locomotive named “Charlotte” and an eagle represents the area’s major airport.
The Future: A mother holding up her child with the Dogwood, the state flower, and a hornet’s nest underneath represents the promise of the future. The three other statues all look toward this statue.
This story was originally published June 12, 2024 at 7:00 AM.
