Join the discussion on the following article:
Charlotte Streetcar testing begins
I am so looking forward to riding this phase 1 which will pass directly in front of Central High School which I attended. Charlotte College grew out of it. CC became UNC-Charlotte and Central became Garinger HS at another location. I can recall the existing streetcar tracks that were embedded in the middle of Elizabeth Avenue, on which the new streetcar will travel up to Presbyterian Hospital, from an earlier era in which Charlotte streetcars were popular. At the “top” of Elizabeth Avenue, where it meets Hawthorne Lane, stood the attractive mansion of John S. Belk, principal owner of Belk Bros. Department Store near The Square in updown Charlotte. That one store has flourished all over the Southeast. The Belk home is still intact, now incorporated into the hospital system. Charlotte’s grand design for a number of spokes added to its existing rail transit system (including light rail and streetcars) far outclasses many cities of its size. Congratulations to the Queen City!