Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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History Timeline

1980 - Spirit Square

The old First Baptist Church on Tryon Street is re-born as the Spirit Square Center for the Performing Arts. Although the first phase of renovations was begun in 1976, recent improvements have given the facility more classroom space, plus display halls, galleries and theaters.

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1997 - One Man's Vision

March 6, 1997  - NationsBank executive Joe Martin has an idea. It's called Race Day, but it has nothing to do with cars. He urges all Charlotteans to have lunch once each week with a person of a different race. Although Martin struggles with Lou Gehrig's disease, he remains a passionate advocate for civil rights and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community.

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1980 - An Artist Comes Home

October 12, 1980 - The man born at his great-grandfather's home near 2nd and Graham streets returns to the Queen City. Romare Bearden is now a nationally acclaimed artist who creates works of art from small pieces of glass, ceramic or paper in a method called collage. Bearden's works have hung in New York's finest museums and galleries. Today, Bearden's one-man show opens at Charlotte's Mint Museum of Art. 

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1993 - Catawba Nation

November, 1993 - President Bill Clinton signs legislation that expands the Catawba Indian reservation to 4,200 acres. The tribe that lived so closely with Charlotte's early settlers more than 200 years ago must now promise to drop its legal actions against private individuals who own disputed property. The Catawbas will receive $50 million in cash, and the right to purchase available land to expand their reservation.

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1992 - Magnet Schools

 March 31, 1992 - It's been more than 20 years since court-ordered busing integrated the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. Now, the school board votes unanimously in favor of magnet schools, which will create special programs to attract students from different neighborhoods, races and economic backgrounds. Magnet schools offer added resources that help make integration voluntary. The school board votes to create magnet schools.

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1981 - Discovery Place

October 31, 1981 - Discovery Place, Charlotte's hands-on museum opens. It has grown out of the Nature Museum, which has taught young children about the world around them since 1947. With its modern building on North Tryon Street, Discovery Place is the urban counterpart to the Nature Museum's 30 acres of lush woods near Freedom Park.

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1994 - USAir 1016 Crash

July 2, 1994 - As the busy July 4th weekend begins, travelers in Columbia, South Carolina, board US Air flight 1016. On the approach to Charlotte, something goes terribly wrong. The plane crashes in a residential neighborhood near the airport and 37 people are killed. An investigation will determine that unstable air, called wind shear, caused the DC-9 to crash.

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1992 - Night Racing

May 1992 - Light floods the Charlotte Motor Speedway and night racing begins. In the gripping race around the super-speedway track, the lead changes hands three times in the last lap. Driver Davey Allison is knocked unconscious, unaware until he wakes that he has won. Charlotte Speedway

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1982 - Harvey Gantt

The man who was the first black student at South Carolina's Clemson College becomes the first black mayor in Charlotte.Mayor Gantt

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1990 - Changing Faces

The number of Asian residents in Charlotte has tripled in just the last 10 years. As the region's population becomes more diverse, the changes are reflected in the variety of ethnic stores, restaurants and shops that spring up.

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