A Morning Walk

When I arrived in Charlotte in the middle of the night on Monday, the taxi drove past a statue that I could only see in silhouette given the late night lighting. It reminded me of the illustrations of Fairy Godmothers based on 18th Century costume. When I went for my walk Tuesday morning I found that the statue stands a block from the hotel. It is a statue of Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, for whom the City of Charlotte is named. Which of course, explains the 18th Century dress.

By most accounts, North America's last English Queen was not an attractive woman, and the sculptor has not tried to pretty her up. The plaque with the statue talks about her good qualities and her benevolence. What little local history I've read over the past couple of days says that while King George was not popular, Queen Charlotte was beloved.

A little further from the hotel is the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets, which is the heart of the city. On each of the four corners stands a statue representing an aspect of Charlotte's history.

When arriving at the square, visitors will notice the four giant sculptures standing on each corner of Trade and Tryon by artist Raymond Kaskey of Washington State. The statues are titled "Transportation," "Future," "Commerce," and "Industry."

Transportation is represented by a railroad worker holding a hammer in his hand.

The figure of a woman holding a child represents the Future of the city of Charlotte.

Commerce is symbolized by a gold miner spilling money on the head of a banker. The face of the banker is modeled after Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Industry is represented by a woman in a bonnet, symbolizing the mills and early industry of the area. The child peeking from her skirt suggests past child labor.(Quoted text from the 101 Independence Center web site.  Photos by me.)

There are many more sculptures, statues, and murals scattered throughout the downtown area. These are the ones that drew my eyes during my walk this morning.

This morning's walk was much pleasanter than yesterday's. The sun was out, and it was much warmer, even with the wind. Today was also the last day I will be able to take a leisurely morning walk.

The Tapestry Conference begins tomorrow afternoon. For those of us on the NAECED board, we begin tomorrow morning with breakfast with the board of the National Association of Episcopal Resource Centers. After breakfast the conference planning team and members of both boards will do the remaining set up we need to complete before the conference. I have a very full schedule for the next three days.