First Ward, Charlotte

Downtown Charlotte
Neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina
Aerial of Downtown in May 2009
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
County	Mecklenburg
City	Charlotte
Council Districts	1, 2
Neighborhood Profile Areas	340, 341, 342, 384
Government
• City Council	Patsey Kinsey, Alvin Austin (D)
Area
• Total	2.14 sq mi (5.5 km2)
Population (2016)
• Total	16,500
• Density	7,700/sq mi (3,000/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Zip Code	28202, 28204, 28206, 28208
Area code(s)	704, 980
Website	www.CharlotteCenterCity.org
Quality of Life Dashboard

Charlotte Center City (sometimes called Uptown) is the central area of Charlotte, North Carolina within the bounds of I-277. The area is split into four neighborhoods (Wards) by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets.

Several Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters here, including Bank of America, Duke Energy, and the East Coast operations of Wells Fargo. Athletic and event facilities located in Center City include Bank of America Stadium – home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers, Spectrum Center – home of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, BB&T Ballpark – home of the International League's Charlotte Knights, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Museums, theaters, hotels, high-density residential developments, restaurants, and bars are heavily concentrated in the Center City, with over 214 restaurants and 50 nightspots.

Charlotte's Center City (including South End) employs 113,800 people, hosts more than 18 million visitors a year, and 25,970 people call the area home.

Charlotte Center City is referred to as "Uptown" by some locals, although the term "Downtown" is understood and used by native Charlotteans since it references the same area of the city.

There is much confusion brought about by the use of the terms "Uptown" and "Downtown" for Charlotte's center city area, yet prior to the mid-late 1980s, the term "Downtown" was used by residents, media and city leaders for the Center City. During the 1980s, a massive campaign was launched to revamp the image of the downtown area and the term "Uptown" was introduced to the general public. On February 14, 1987, the Charlotte Observer began using the term "Uptown" as a way to promote a more positive upbeat image of the Center City area. School teachers were provided with "historical" documents justifying use of the term to teach to students. (Proclamation designating central shopping and business district as Uptown Charlotte by City of Charlotte Mayor John M. Belk on September 23, 1974)