Charlotte

Charlotte is an ambitious and fast rising metropolis in North Carolina’s Piedmont region. It is the state’s biggest city, with a population of 809,856 persons (2014 estimate). Charlotte is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. As of 2006, the Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury combined statistical area (CSA) has a regional population of 2,589,763. It is the region’s financial, industrial, technological, and entertainment hub. It is a recognized financial powerhouse and banking center, with Bank of America’s corporate offices and Wells Fargo’s East Coast operations headquartered in Uptown, and is considered as the country’s second largest financial hub, behind New York City. Historically regarded as a premier textile and industrial hub in the South, Charlotte has modernized and diversified its thriving economy via effective implementation of urban and economic planning techniques dubbed “Vision Plans.” It is also growing its embryonic tourism economy; at the moment, its central business center is one of the most visitor-friendly in the Carolinas.

VISITOR INFORMATION

• Charlotte Info Center, 330 S Tryon St and 200 E Seventh St in Uptown, plus a third location inside the airport,   +1 704 333-1887 ext 235, toll-free: +1-800-231-4636. For both first-time tourists and long-term inhabitants, brochures, souvenirs, and advice are offered. Along with the public library, this is the greatest location for a concentrated supply of municipal information. Brochures offering self-guided walking and driving trips are also worth perusing.

Charlotte, like most of the Piedmont region of the southern United States, has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) with four distinct seasons; the city proper is in USDA hardiness zone 8a, with suburban areas shifting to USDA hardiness zone 7b in all directions except the south. Winters are brief and typically mild, with an average daily temperature of 40.1 °F (4.5 °C) in January. On average, there are 59 nights each year when the temperature drops to or below zero, and only 1.5 days where the temperature does not rise above zero. April is the driest month, with an average precipitation of 3.04 inches (7.7 cm). Summers are hot and humid, with an average daily temperature of 78.5 °F (25.8 °C) in July. There are 44 days on average every year with temperatures reaching or above 90 °F (32 °C). Official records range from 104 °F (40 °C) on six occasions, most recently on July 1, 2012, to 5 °F (21 °C) on three occasions as recently as January 21, 1985; the record cold daily maximum is 14 °F (10 °C) on February 12 and 13, 1899, while the record warm daily minimum is 82 °F (28 °C) on August 13, 1881. The typical window of freezing temperatures is between November 5 and March 30, providing for a 220-day growth season.

Charlotte sits directly in the path of subtropical moisture moving up the eastern shore from the Gulf of Mexico; as a result, the city gets an abundance of precipitation throughout the year but also many bright, sunny days; precipitation is often less common in fall than in spring. Charlotte gets an average of 41.6 inches (1,060 mm) of precipitation each year, which is spread fairly equally throughout the year, but summer is significantly wetter; annual precipitation has historically varied from 26.23 in (666 mm) in 2001 to 68.44 in (1,738 mm) in 1884. Additionally, there is an average of 4.3 inches (10.9 cm) of snow, mostly in January and February and seldom in December or March, with more frequent ice storms and sleet mixed in with rain; historically, seasonal snowfall has varied from minimal quantities in 2011–12 to 22.6 in (57 cm) in 1959–60. These storms have a significant influence on the region, as they often bring down tree branches on power lines and make driving dangerous.

The city has a total area of 297.68 square miles (771.0 km2), of which 297.08 square miles (769.4 km2) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) is water, according to the United States Census Bureau. Charlotte is 748 feet (228 meters) above sea level, as measured at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.

Charlotte encompasses the majority of Mecklenburg County in North Carolina’s Piedmont region.

Charlotte’s central business district is located on a long rise between two creeks, Sugar Creek and Irwin Creek, and was developed on the gunnies of the St. Catherine’s and Rudisill goldmines.

Though the Catawba River and its lakes are located several miles west, the city core is devoid of substantial bodies of water or other natural features. As a result, growth has been neither hindered nor aided by rivers or ports, which have led to the establishment of several cities of comparable size. The absence of these impediments has aided Charlotte’s development as a roadway, rail, and air transportation center.

Charlotte has developed into a significant financial hub in the United States, ranking as the country’s second biggest banking center (after New York City). Bank of America, the nation’s second biggest financial institution by assets, is headquartered in the city. Additionally, the city served as the corporate headquarters for Wachovia until its 2008 acquisition by Wells Fargo in San Francisco, CA; Wells Fargo integrated legacy Wachovia, with the two banks fully merging at the end of 2011, which included the transition of all Wachovia branches in the Carolinas to Wells Fargo branches by October 2011. Charlotte has now become the regional headquarters for Wells Fargo’s East Coast Operations, which is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Additionally, Charlotte is home to Wells Fargo’s capital markets businesses, which include sales and trading, stock research, and investment banking. The headquarters of Bank of America, as well as other area banking and financial services organizations, are predominantly situated in the Uptown core business district.

Charlotte’s metropolitan region is home to nine Fortune 500 firms, as follows: Bank of America, Lowe’s in suburban Mooresville, Nucor (steel maker), Duke Energy, Sealed Air Corporation, Sonic Automotive, Family Dollar, SPX Corporation (industrial technology), and Domtar (in suburban Fort Mill). The Charlotte metropolitan area is home to a diverse range of businesses, including food companies such as Chiquita Brands International, Harris Teeter, Snyder’s-Lance, Carolina Foods Inc, Bojangles’, Food Lion, Compass Group USA, and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (Charlotte is the country’s second largest Coca-Cola bottler), motor and transportation companies such as RSC Brands, Continental Tire the Americas, LLC., Meineke Car Care Center, and

Charlotte is a prominent racing hub in the United States, including various NASCAR headquarters, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and the Charlotte Motor Speedway near Concord. Around 75% of NASCAR’s racing teams, personnel, and drivers are situated nearby. The industry’s strong presence in Charlotte, along with the recently constructed NHRA dragstrip, zMAX Dragway in Concord, is influencing other top professional drag racers to relocate their shops as well.

The US National Whitewater Center is located in western Mecklenburg County and has man-made rapids of varying degrees that are available to the public year round.

The Charlotte Region is home to a sizable number of energy-related businesses and has earned the moniker “Charlotte USA – The New Energy Capital.” There are around 240 enterprises in the area that are directly related to the energy industry, together employing over 26,400 people. Since 2007, almost 4,000 energy industry employment announcements have been made. AREVA, Babcock & Wilcox, Duke Energy, Electric Power Research Institute, Fluor, Metso Power, Piedmont Natural Gas, Siemens Energy, Shaw Group, Toshiba, URS Corp., and Westinghouse are among the major energy companies in Charlotte. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is well-known for its energy teaching and research, and its Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) educates and conducts research on energy engineering.

The region is rapidly emerging as an East Coast trucker and freight transportation center. Over the past decade, the Charlotte Center city has grown at a breakneck pace. Numerous residential units are being constructed uptown, including approximately 20 towers that are now under construction, have just been finished, or are in the planning stages. Numerous new restaurants, pubs, and clubs have opened in the Uptown neighborhood. Numerous initiatives are reshaping the Midtown Charlotte/Elizabeth neighborhood.

Charlotte was nominated to Forbes’ 2013 list of the Best Places for Business and Careers. Between 2000 and 2008, Charlotte was ranked as the #20 biggest city in the United States and the #60 fastest expanding metropolis.

Because Charlotte requires 10-digit dialing, even local calls must include the area code. Charlotte is served by two different area codes: 704 and 980.

There are a few public pay phones spread around the city, but they are becoming more scarce as mobile phones become more prevalent. It is dangerous to believe that you will always be able to locate a pay phone.

Charlotte’s ZIP codes all begin with 282. The center district is designated with the zip code 28202.