UPTOWN

In the 16th-century, Native American traders - from decades of trading goods- succeeded in blazing two trails through the wilderness that would ultimately be known as Mecklenburg County. One traveled east-west and the other north-south.

FIRST WARD

Perhaps the most notable element of this neighborhood today is First Ward Place, a gleaming community of apartments and single-family homes, which is an easy stroll from the Center City office towers. What is not evident from the streets is that this is truly a mixed-income community, with nearly half its residents receiving housing assistance, living alongside folks who pay market rates for their residences.

SECOND WARD

Known as "the government district", the Second Ward quadrant is home to city and county office buildings, county courthouse, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools administration, the Law Enforcement Center and the Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank. It also houses the city's new convention center, several hotels, the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center, and Marshall Park. Planners also anticipate the construction of a new federal courthouse in Second Ward.

THIRD WARD

Third Ward today is the most diverse of the city's four original quadrants. It includes a sports and entertainment area is focused on Bank of America Stadium and its environs. North and west of the stadium is a residential neighborhood of single-family homes, apartments and condominiums, reinvigorated in the early 1980s with new investment and construction.

FOURTH WARD

Charming. Quaint. Delightful. These reactions are typical of a first-time visitor's stroll through Fourth Ward. This predominantly residential neighborhood artfully blends restored 100-plus-year-old homes with newer construction designed to be compatible with its surroundings.

Information from Center City Partners  www.charlottecentercity.org