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Why is downtown called uptown? Why does Charlotte have to be different...If I continue to call it downtown (I'm new to Charlotte) will people think I'm crazy?
Why is downtown called uptown? Why does Charlotte have to be different...If I continue to call it downtown (I'm new to Charlotte) will people think I'm crazy?
Since Charlotte basically spread to the south . . . people had to go "uptown" to get to the commercial district. Hence, "uptown."
Whatever the reason, I have always found it curious that people have insisted on referring to "uptown" when saying "uptown" implies there is a "downtown" . . . and I have no clue where "downtown" would be these days, LOL.
It was clearly nothing more than a cheesy PR move by the city leaders and Chamber of Commerce back around 1988 when in one day downtown became uptown. How silly.
It was clearly nothing more than a cheesy PR move by the city leaders and Chamber of Commerce back around 1988 when in one day downtown became uptown. How silly.
That is very accurate. People rarely said "uptown" until the Charlotte Observer picked up on what I remember as a concerted effort by some group promoting Charlotte's image. Don't know if it was the Chamber or maybe the Economics Council but you are totally correct. It was literally like a campaign to "upscale" the city's identity.
Now, I heard people say that they were going "up to town" when they lived in south CLT. But you are so right . . . if you look at archives of the newspaper, for example, I am sure you would find articles prior to the late 80s stating that some activity was going on in downtown Charlotte, not "uptown" Charlotte, LOL.
I like the name uptown, I think it's kind of hip! Anyway, I remember growing up as a youngster back in the 80's, l would listen to WPEG-FM 98, and they would often refer to downtown Charlotte as Uptown in their advertisements, so it's nothing new, it is kind of a historical reference.
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