Uptown or Downtown?

Archives illuminate how long we’ve argued over the perennial question

- TOM HANCHETT

NEWCOMERS FIND IT ODD that Charlotteans refer to their city center as “uptown.” Other cities have uptowns, but usually as a counterpoint to a separate area called “downtown.” How and why did Charlotte decide on just “uptown”? Was it some marketing campaign from the 1950s, when suburban plazas like Park Road Shopping Center started eating downtown’s lunch? Or is it older?

The name does reflect a geographical truth. Tryon Street runs along a ridgeline—a route that began as part of the Great Trading Path of Catawba Indian times. To reach the intersection of Tryon and Trade streets from any direction, you have to walk uphill. Uptown really is up.

Battles over the uptown/downtown label pop up often on Facebook pages like “Charlotte N.C. The Past and Present.” Even native Charlotteans disagree, often heatedly. Some say: We always called it uptown, far back as I remember! Others insist: No one called it uptown—until new arrivals misnamed it!