Wait, where am I? The Charlotte Neighborhood Geography Quiz

Can you identify the correct neighborhood for the following businesses? (Answers below.)

The Charlotte Neighborhood Geography Quiz

(1) NoDa Brewing

2229 N. Davidson Street

(2) Amelie’s French Bakery (original location)

2424 N. Davidson Street

(3) Heist Brewery

2909 N. Davidson Street

(4) Hattie’s Tap & Tavern

2918 The Plaza

(5) Intermezzo

1427 E. 10th Street

(6) Central Coffee

719 Louise Avenue

(7) Pinky’s Westside Grill

1600 W. Morehead Street

(8) SouthPark Mall

4400 Sharon Road

(9) Angry Ale’s

1518 Montford Drive

(10) Price’s Chicken Coop

1614 Camden Road

(11) Sycamore Brewing

2161 Hawkins Street

(12) Stonecrest

7832 Rea Road

(13) Laurel Market

114 Cherokee Road

(14) Mama Ricotta’s

601 S. Kings Drive

(15) Bojangles’ Midtown

1407 E. 3rd Street

(16) Axios Charlotte HQ

623 S. Cedar Street

Answers

(1) NoDa Brewing: Optimist Park
(2) Amelie’s French Bakery: Villa Heights
(3) Heist: NoDa
(4) Hattie’s: Plaza Hills
(5) Intermezzo: Belmont
(6) Central Coffee: Elizabeth
(7) Pinky’s: Ashley Park
(8) SouthPark Mall: Barclay Downs
(9) Angry Ale’s: Madison Park
(10) Price’s Chicken Coop: Willmore
(11) Sycamore Brewing: Brookhill
(12) Stonecrest: Piper Glen Estates
(13) Laurel Market: Eastover
(14) Mama Ricotta’s: Cherry
(15) Bojangles’ Midtown: Cherry
(16) CA HQ: Third Ward

Want to fact check my boundaries? Head to Google Maps and enter “[Neighborhood] Charlotte” and it’ll show you a red line around the official neighborhood. Central Coffee technically landing in Elizabeth was one of the most surprising for me. You can see where I marked Central Coffee with a red star below. Surprise!

Watch Ted fail my quiz

Wait, where am I? The Charlotte Neighborhood Geography QuizWatch Ted miserably fail Katie’s 16-question quiz about where well-known Charlotte businesses are located.

Posted by Axios Charlotte on Friday, March 4, 2016

So why does it matter?

I tend to use the bigger, more recognizable neighborhoods–like NoDa, Plaza Midwood, South End, Ballantyne, etc.–as umbrella names to identify businesses and landmarks located in smaller surrounding fringe neighborhoods. To me, this makes it easier to give people a geographic point of reference. If I tell you to go to Ashley Park, do you have any idea what I’m talking about? Probably not. But you probably know where Wesley Village (AKA Freemore West) is located.

But there are legitimate economic, historic, social and political reasons a smaller neighborhood would want to be recognized as its own entity rather than be engulfed by a bigger neighborhood.

Cherry, for example, has a rich history as one of Charlotte oldest surviving historically black neighborhoods at risk of total annihilation in the face of rapid redevelopment. Cherry was originally built as a servants’ quarters for the adjacent upscale Myers Park neighborhood back in the early 1900s. If we generalize Cherry as part of Myers Park we ignore and erase that history.

On the other hand, I think it’s wishful thinking to assume all of these names will become mainstream.

So what’s your take? Do we need to identify every little neighborhood in town? Or do you just use the bigger neighborhoods to encompass everything around them?