Many people, when asked, think that Charlotte, NC was named after the first famous "Charlotte" that pops into their head. For example, we initially thought it was named after
Charlotte Rae who played Mrs. Garrett on the "Facts of Life." No so apparently. Meet the real Charlotte:
Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was married to
King George III and was grandmother to the notoriously unamused
Queen Victoria (founder of Torchwood). Historically Americans have had issues with royalty ranging from rebellion against Charlotte's husband King George to delight at the performances of Queen Latifah.
The founders of Charlotte, NC thought they might score some brownie points with the King by naming their town after his main squeeze. This likeness of her "Easy, Genteel and Agreeable" highness was created by sculptor Graham Weathers and stands outside the The Wake Forest School of Business (and a Holiday Inn):
In addition to studying botany and tending her gardens, she was a dog lover and two of her dogs (one of whom was named Presto but don't ask me which) are with immortalized with her:
And while we're on the topic of statues that caught our eye, we would be remiss if we didn't mention the city's beloved "Disco Chicken":
Behold the Disco Chicken in all its glory! His (or her) official name is the
Firebird and he stands watch outside the
Bechtler Museum of Modern Art which is pretty close to
The Green we mentioned yesterday. Chicky is about 17 and a half feet tall and was created by artist Niki de Saint Phalle.
Come back tomorrow for more Charlotte stuff!
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