Charlotte: Kick Into High Gear in the Queen City

A crown jewel of the American South

In collaboration with

Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA)

Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture

Now

Zoom into Charlotte's Skyline

Discover which building has a nightly light show and why there's one called the Jukebox

Then

Postcards from the Past

Take a trip back in time and see how the city used to look

Charlotte for...

The Sports Culture

From NASCAR to the NBA

Art Lovers

Disco chickens and airport artworks

Foodies

Burgers, BBQ, and beer

Outdoorsy Types

Meet some unusual inhabitants

History Buffs

Charlotte's roots run deep

Music Enthusiasts

The sound of the symphony

Did you know? Over 85% of the world's NASCAR teams are located in the Charlotte region

Dive In

Get to Know Charlotte's Pro Sports

If there's one thing Charlotte loves, it's a good game

NASCAR: a Charlotte institution

The NASCAR Hall of Fame calls the city home

Glory Road Champions

Racecar curators introduce you to 18 legendary cars

The Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Past

Get a glimpse of the racetrack before it was paved

See the cars up close

From outlaw leagues to the big leagues

100 years of sports in Charlotte

A New Era of Sports

How Charlotte grew from mill town baseball leagues and stock car racing to hosting the NBA All-Star Game and landing an MLS team

Sports

Did you know? Charlotte is nicknamed the Hornet's Nest because General Cornwallis called it a “Hornet’s Nest of Rebellion” in 1780

The Queen City's artistic royalty...

Explore works from The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture

A Woman's Work

Artworks inspired by black women and their many roles, identities, and experiences

20 African American Artists You Should Know

Works in the John & Vivian Hewitt Collection from Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Henry O. Tanner, and more

The home of the firebird

Meet the family behind the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

The Architecture

Building the Bechtler

How the iconic building got its shape

The Icon

Party with the "Disco Chicken"

A shimmering 17-foot-5-inch-tall whimsical sculpture

The Community

The Bechtler In the Community

Sharing the joy of the collection with everyone

The Family

Meet the Bechtlers

The art-loving family who traversed the globe

Watch artists at work

Meet the creatives taking risks with their process

Video

Exploring the Relationship Between Art and Plastic

An interview with Aurora Robson

Video

How Comic Books Can Start a Conversation

An interview with Marcus Kiser and Jason Woodberry

Video

Art Made Through An Evolutionary Process

An interview with Mel Chin

Video

Discover the Experience of Yes

An interview with John W. Love, Jr.

Giving old buildings new life

Started in a tire store slated for demolition, Goodyear Arts is now a hub for creators and makers

Story

Year 1: Dancing and Sculpture

At the end of the year, the building was demolished

Story

Year 2: Photography and Tapestry

A second year of residencies in a former Sears building

Story

Year 3: Painting and Printmaking

A look back at our first year of residencies at Goodyear Art's third location

Story

Year 4: Woodcuts and Performance Art

And so much more...

Video

Year 1: Watch The Highlights

"Everyone wants to live in a city where art is happening..."

Video

Year 2: Watch The Highlights

"Take some chances, and see where they lead"

Video

Year 3: Watch The Highlights

It's about the space, but also about the community

Video

Year 4: Watch The Highlights

"Somebody's always working on something, at any hour of the day"

Making the Mint Museum

Dive into the enormous fashion, fine art, and decorative art collections

Classic Black: Wedgewood's Basalt Sculptures

Discover 18th century sculptures paired with 21st century murals

Under Construction: Collage from the Mint

Explore collage's ability to surprise, delight, and provoke

Portals to the Past: British Ceramics 1675-1825

Discover how household objects hold clues to history

Project Ten Ten Ten

Ten innovative craft and design artists create work especially for the Mint

The costumes, up close

Art in flight

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is home to one of the largest digital public artworks in the world

The Mural that Changes with Each New Arrival

Providing travelers with a sense of calm, wonder and contemplation.

Explore

Where food meets art

Artist Leah Rosenberg interprets Charlotte through taste and color

Installation art

Color For The People at the McColl Center

An installation reflecting on the relationships between experiences of color, flavor, and people.

Did you know? Krispy Kreme was invented in North Carolina. Doughnuts were cooked in the early morning so customers who wanted them hot had to arrive between the hours of midnight and 4am

Burgers, BBQ, and beer

Discover what makes the city's food so special

Get a Taste

Food Fit For a Queen

Get your mouth watering with this guide to Charlotte's fast-growing food scene

Get outside

Time for some fresh air

Where to Go for a Jog in Charlotte, N.C.

Take a lap around Charlotte with Street View

11 Places Any Charlottean Would Know

The must-visit places in the Queen City

Online Exhibit

You Know You're in Charlotte When...

Discover Charlotte's royal connection

Free as a bird

Get to know North Carolina's bird population with the Carolina Raptor Center

What is a Raptor?

Learn how to identify these extraordinary creatures

A Bald Eagle's Journey To Recovery

Discover "River's" path from injury to freedom

The 6 Superpowers of Raptors

Did you know hawks can spot a tiny animal from 100 feet away?

Did you know? In 1799, local Conrad Reed found a 17-pound gold nugget on his family’s property, starting the national gold rush

Take a stroll around Charlotte's public art

From the basketball court to the airport, you'll be surprised what you find

The Unique Character of Charlotte's Public Artworks

The Queen City’s personality is represented in various public artworks

Public Art By Artists of Color

Go on a walking tour to see if you can spot all these public installations

Sculptures in Neighborhoods

With each new neighborhood comes a new sculpture

The Uptown Arena

Where public art and basketball meet

Uptown's Public Art

Eye-catching work in Charlotte's Uptown

Public Art on the Flight Deck

If your flight is delayed, spend time with these artworks

Pre-Flight Art

Gigantic works celebrating Charlotte's culture

Hornet's nests and gold rushes

What made Charlotte the city it is today?

A Whistle-stop Tour of Charlotte's History

The ins and outs of the Queen City's story

Go back in time

Charlotte's past and present

As one of the oldest cities in the US, Charlotte's roots run deep

History

African American and Civil Rights History in Charlotte

From the archives at the UNC Charlotte J. Murrey Atkins Library

History

Celebrating Today's Brookhill Community

Learn from the Harvey B. Gantt Center's "Brookhill" installation

History

UNC Charlotte and its Female Founder

Meet Bonnie Cone and learn about her legacy

History

Charlotte's Presidential Past

Charlotte has played host to a plethora of the nation’s most powerful people

From cotton fields to skyscrapers

Dive into the history of the "New South"

How Farming was Transformed

After the Civil War, the South began to rebuild its economy and society which began to shape our New South

Bringing Mills to the Cotton

Explore how the Piedmont became the largest cotton manufacturing region in the US

The Growth of a Bustling Downtown

How money, vision and opportunity supports the growth of the Southern City

Charlotte and the Civil Rights Movement

African Americans and their allies organize to force change in the South

Becoming a Banking Boomtown

The Carolina Piedmont experiences tremendous growth due to the banking industry

Welcome to Charlotte's Brooklyn

Once the most thriving and vibrant black community in the Carolinas

A City Within a City

The rise and demise of Charlotte’s Brooklyn neighborhood

Explore

Listen to local stories

An oral history of Charlotte's Brooklyn neighborhood, from the Levine Museum of the New South

Video

Charlotte's Brooklyn: The Storytellers

Latinos and the New South

Over the past 30 years the South has emerged as a vibrant Latino community

Culture

The Population that's Growing and Moving

Exploring the Latino experience in the South

Did you know? Locals referred to Downtown Charlotte as Uptown for years until 1974 when it was officially renamed

Step on stage

The story of the Charlotte Symphony

Strengthening Community Through Music

If you think the Charlotte Symphony sounds good on stage, listen to all they're doing off stage...

Explore

The CLT Symphony Today

Their mission is to connect and strengthen our community through exceptional musical experiences

The 2020/21 Season

From symphonic masterworks by Beethoven and Mahler to the entertaining Pops Series

Flourishing Beyond The Walls

The different ways you can enjoy the Symphony from home

Watch the Charlotte Symphony perform

Video

Charlotte Symphony Violinist Plays Bach

Jenny Topilow plays part of the Bach's Partita No. 2 "Allemande"

Video

Charlotte Principal Bassoonist & Principal Clarinetist Play Beethoven

Olivia Oh and Taylor Marino play Beethoven's Three Duets, No. 1 (I. Allegro comodo).

Video

Charlotte Symphony On Tap Performance

The Charlotte Symphony Perform at NoDa Brewing Company

Video

Trio of Charlotte Symphony Musicians Healing Hands Performance

A trio of Charlotte Symphony musicians perform at Methodist Home Recreation Center

Video