http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/05/18/v-print/4049394/the-making-of-modern-charlotte.html
Printed from the Charlotte Observer - www.CharlotteObserver.com Posted: Saturday, May. 18, 2013
PUBLISHED IN: LOCAL NEWS
Mayors during the following period: Philip Van Every 1953-57; James Saxon Related Stories Smith 1957-61; Stan Brookshire 1961-69
1955 The first Charlotte Coliseum (now Bojangles’ Coliseum) opens on Independence Boulevard. At the time it is the world’s largest freestanding domed arena. Related Images
1957 Duke Power, now Duke Energy, announces plans to dam the Catawba River and create 32,500-acre Lake Norman.
1961 City Council votes to raze buildings in uptown’s mostly black Brooklyn area in name of urban renewal.
• Charlotte College (later UNC Charlotte) moves to a facility amid farm fields to the far northeast of the city. The designers want to save money by not building dormitories and instead create a commuter campus.
1963 Mayor Stan Brookshire leads effort to peacefully integrate restaurants, hotels.
Mayor during the following period: John Belk 1969-77
1969 Judge James McMillan orders busing for school integration.
1970 SouthPark Mall opens.
1975 Eastland Mall opens.
• Charlotte banks, led by NCNB and First Union, offer low-interest loans to people willing to restore Fourth Ward’s older homes and develop new housing.
• Voters reject John Belk’s $55 million bond issue for a new airport terminal.
Mayor during the following period: Kenneth R. Harris 1977-79
1977 Voters approve changing City Council from seven members elected at-large to 11 members – four at-large and seven from single-member districts.
• Final phase of urban renewal project demolishing the Brooklyn neighborhood completed.
1978 An airport expansion bond referendum passes.
Mayor during the following period: Eddie Knox 1979 -83
1982 Third airport terminal opens; airport renamed Charlotte Douglas International.
Mayor during the following period: Harvey Gantt 1983-87
1984 Voters approve bonds for the Charlotte Coliseum.
1985 $225 million set aside to build the Outerbelt, a 63-mile loop around the city that would revamp development patterns. (The last leg is scheduled for completion in December 2014.).
1987 The city is awarded its first NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets.
Mayor during the following period: Sue Myrick 1987-91
1988 Charlotte Coliseum opens on Tyvola Road; Hornets play first game.
• City Council provides $500,000 to buy a building for the Uptown Men’s Shelter after Myrick leads private fund-raising efforts.
Mayor during the following period: Richard Vinroot 1991-95
1992 NationsBank dedicates its 60-story uptown tower.
1993 The NFL awards Charlotte a franchise, the Carolina Panthers.
1994 Charlotte hosts Final Four.
Mayor during the following period: Pat McCrory 1995-2009
1995 Charlotte Convention Center opens. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/05/18/v-print/4049394/the-making-of-modern-charlotte.html
• A new stretch of U.S. 521 and Ballantyne Commons Parkway opens, paving the way for the growth of Ballantyne.
1998 Charlotte-based NationsBank merges with San Francisco-based BankAmerica in a $66.6 billion deal to create Bank of America, with headquarters in Charlotte.
• Voters approve half-cent tax to fund transit projects.
1999 Plans for an uptown mall collapse in the face of competition from an expanding SouthPark Mall.
2001 Voters reject uptown arena.
2002 Hornets leave Charlotte for New Orleans.
2004 Charlotte Bobcats begin play.
2005 Time Warner Cable Arena opens.
2007 The Charlotte Coliseum on Tyvola Road is imploded.
• Lynx light rail line starts operating. Voters reject a grass-roots effort to repeal transit tax.
2008 Amid the financial crisis, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo agrees to buy Charlotte-based Wachovia.
Mayor during the following period: Anthony Foxx 2009-present
2009-10: New uptown attractions open: NASCAR Hall of Fame, Mint Museum, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, Harvey B. Gantt Center.
2012 Charlotte hosts Democratic National Convention.
2013 City announces plans to demolish Eastland Mall.
• Airport authority fight.
Sources: City of Charlotte, Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library, Observer files
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