N.C. City Has Intriguing Split Personality

10/19/2009

Charlotte, N.C., is a curious mix. Gleaming downtown skyscrapers rub elbows with quaint Victorian neighborhoods. The city is home to both the Billy Graham Library and the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Busy making sense of it each day are 7,100 federal employees. Some 3,300 work for the U.S. Postal Service, with the Federal Aviation Administration and IRS following as the biggest federal agencies in the area, according to Monica Robbs, communications coordinator for the Postal Service’s Mid-Carolinas District.

The seeming polarity of the city may be confusing at first, but one can always find a steady star by which to steer.

For example, beer.

Somewhere out there is a person who wants to choose from a selection of 50 canned beers, play a KISS pinball machine and eat a sloppy joe with a side of fried pickles and mac-n-cheese bites. That person’s heaven would be Cans of Charlotte, a watering hole that serves em up cold and glories in its quirkiness.

For something with a bit more shimmer, the end of a working day draws hip young professionals to TILT on Trade. With its glossy hardwood floors and chandelier lighting, this bar/nightclub oozes class. Eight flat-screen TVs serve up a healthy dose of televised sports. Either way, you get a killer martini and trendy new friends. A great place to be young and beautiful, if you happen to be.

Here on business? Probably better to save Cans and TILT for the end of the itinerary. A more sober starting point might be The Billy Graham Library. Photographs, historic exhibits and biographical information all pay tribute to an evangelist who counseled numerous presidents and whose radio and television broadcasts reached millions.

Too sober? Fair enough.

For a wilder time in the not-too-wild, The Lazy 5 Ranch is just the thing. This privately owned exotic animal drive-through park delivers a 3.5-mile safari through a pastoral landscape, populated by lemur and llama, rhino, giraffe and zebra. There are 750 animals in all, from six different continents, plus goats and sheep in the petting area.

Still too slow? Got a need for speed? Postpone your visit until spring, if you can, and you’ll be in Charlotte in time for the May opening of the 150,000-square-foot NASCAR Hall of Fame. The Hall will highlight the heritage and history of the sport with permanent exhibits, a 270-seat theater, historic artifacts and a racing simulator.

For an even more visceral asphalt experience, visitors to the Richard Petty Driving Experience can pilot their own NASCAR-style stock cars, or ride along with an experienced driver. Bring nerves of steel and your checkbook: Ride-alongs start at $109.

A more traditional cultural icon can be found in The Mint Museum. Founded in 1936 as North Carolina’s first art museum, the Mint is a hub of cultural interest, with strong collections of American art, American and European ceramics, African and Asian art, and contemporary art and photography. In addition to the usual round one might expect in a top-flight institution of this kind, the Mint Museum goes one better with its Historic Costume Collection, which highlights nearly 10,000 items spanning three centuries of fashion history.

So that’s what a Robe a la Francaise dressed a la Polonaise circa 1770-1790 looks like. We wondered.

Out in the fresh air, it is hard not to be struck once again by the city’s seeming split personality. Downtown Charlotte has defined itself well with its striking steel-and-glass skyline. But the city is stealthy. Just a few blocks from the downtown bustle, a visitor may saunter into Fourth Ward Historic District. Homes in this quiet residential district date back 100 years and more. These stately residences lend calm and dignity to this little enclave, so close on the heels of the city’s bustle.

Other neighborhoods make a different statement. There are those districts — the best cities have them — where the arts community finds or makes for itself a shared landscape, a place where ideas and tastes and creative energies seem to coalesce. In Charlotte, that would be the North Davidson Street Arts District, where eclectic galleries nestle up against performance spaces, quirky dining options and beyond-the-mall retail discoveries.

Eventually, though, it’s time to get out of town, and it’s easy to break out of Charlotte’s urban bounds in search of something more serene. It takes about half an hour to drive out to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, located on 450 acres along the banks of Lake Wylie. With its sculpted pathways, the garden draws visitors through nine themed areas, including the cottage garden, conifer garden and perennial gardens.

Another herbaceous option: The University of North Carolina-Charlotte Botanical Gardens & Sculpture Gardens. Set on a former estate, the garden’s holdings include a water garden, Asian garden, wildflowers and carnivorous plants. (Note: We think carnivorous plants are way cool. Seriously, think about it.)

If you’re in town long enough for a day trip, there is only one way to go — west, toward Asheville, less than two hours from Charlotte. An arts-minded city cradled snugly by hills, it’s home to the justly famous Biltmore Estate, a castle packed with history, encompassed by gardens and with its own winery and tasting room. (Note: We rank wineries right up there with carnivorous plants on the cool scale.)

Asheville also offers easy access to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which here winds through some of the most stunning landscapes one could hope to find. It’s a place to lose oneself in the dense green woods and discover hidden waterfalls, and gain perspective from majestic heights. It’s one more reminder of the Charlotte area’s ongoing ability to surprise and delight.

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