Charlotte Then & Now

Charlotte, "The Queen City" of North Carolina, was named in honor of King George III's wife, Queen Charlotte, and continues to be an important player in American history. From her early days as a pre-revolutionary hotbed of ideology to her modern incarnation as the nation's second-largest financial center, Charlotte is fascinating. See this Southern belle in all of her past and present glory in Charlotte Then & Now. * Discover Charlotte's beloved landmarks, past and present, in this unique tour of the "Hornet's Nest," a nickname bestowed on the rambunctious city by British general Cornwallis. Sports fans take note: Charlotte's pre-revolutionary legacy lives on in the NBA's Hornets. * Stop by the corner of Trade and Tryon Streets, better known as "The Square." It was at this intersection--where the original East-West Trading path crossed with the Great Wagon Road--that modern Charlotte began to take shape. Compare The Square as it was in 1898 with its modern reflection, and you'll notice it's still an important crossroad. * Charlotte is now America's #2 financial center, second only to New York. Throughout the centuries, banks have figured prominently in the city's diverse architecture--see beautiful examples in the Merchants and Farmers National Bank, First National Bank, and Wachovia Building as they were then, and as they are now. * Spare any change? Before the California Gold Rush, Charlotte was a major gold town and even had its own mint. The Charlotte Mint was active until Confederate soldiers seized it; today the U.S. Mint building is one of Charlotte's most popular museums.