Plaza-Midwood, Charlotte, North Carolina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Central Avenue as it passes through Plaza-Midwood

Plaza-Midwood, is a neighborhood located approximately one mile to the northeast of Uptown in Charlotte, North Carolina. The neighborhood is roughly bound by Hawthorne Lane to the west, The Plaza to the north, Briar Creek Road and the Charlotte Country Club to the east and Central Avenue to the south. Locally known as one of Charlottes most diverse and eclectic neighborhoods, it is filled with art galleries, funky stores, and restaurants.

As of 2006, the neighborhood had a population of 3,552 residents and 1,852 housing units with residents having a median household income of $56,650.

The neighborhood is serviced by the Charlotte Area Transit System bus routes 3, 4, 9, 17 & 39. Additionally, future development of a streetcar line along Central Avenue at its southern boundary will provide service between Eastland Mall and Uptown.

[edit] History

Plaza-Midwood was first established in 1910 as a streetcar suburb of Charlotte. The Oakland Land Company was responsible for the layout of the roads within the neighborhood. Through the Great Depression, Plaza-Midwood would thrive, before its decline commenced in the 1950s.

By 1975, the Plaza Midwood Neighborhood Association was established to protect and preserve the neighborhood.

Since the mid-1990s, the area has seen a dramatic comeback as reinvestment has transformed once dilapidated homes into funky urban dwellings. It continued redevelopment has spilled over into other surrounding neighborhoods, and resulted in the overall renaissance of the former inner-ring suburbs of old Charlotte.

[edit] References

Plaza-Midwood History neighborhood web site, accessed 18 October 2006
Charlotte Neighborhood Quality Of Life Study for Plaza-Midwood from CharMeck.org, accessed 18 October 2006