NRHP Reference # 79003344 Built by J.A. Jones Added to NRHP 2 July 1979 | Opened 1924 Demolished 6 November 1988 Architect William Lee Stoddart | |
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Location 327 W. Trade St., Charlotte, North Carolina Similar The Westin Charlotte, SpringHill Suites Charlotte, Residence Inn Charlotte, Courtyard Charlotte Arrowood, Courtyard Charlotte SouthPark | ||
Hotel Charlotte was a 13-story hotel in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, which opened in 1924. It was on the corner of Trade Street and Poplar Street in the Uptown area of Charlotte.
While primarily known by the name "Hotel Charlotte", it also operated under the names "Queen Charlotte Hotel" and "White House Inn". It closed for business on December 31, 1973. It was designed by William Lee Stoddart and was a steel-fframe building sheathed with sections of gray granite and a buff-colored brick. It housed 250 guest rooms.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 2, 1979.
In the years following its closure, attempts were made to find developers who could rehabilitate and preserve the structure. However as the building languished, it was severely vandalized and much of its interior plumbing and wiring stolen by looters. Hotel Charlotte was imploded on November 6, 1988. David Copperfield used the implosion as the setting for his escape in the TV special The Explosive Encounter. Demolition of the building has been cited by critics as symbolic of the city's disinterest in preserving its past.
A restaurant of the same name was created in its honor and reused many interior pieces from the original hotel. The restaurant ceased operations on January 29, 2011.