FAQ City

There's something awfully suspicious about that pine tree off the side of Interstate 485. You know, the one with the perfectly smooth trunk and the oddly sparse branches. Seems strange that it would grow so much taller than the other trees. Oh, and the giant panels on the top are interesting. Perhaps they're a type of fruit?

So you've finally binged all of "The Great British Baking Show" on Netflix and now you're left wondering how to get some of those scrumptious-looking baked goods. But what bakery in Charlotte carries hazelnut dacquoise or kouign-amann?

Many Charlotte residents have long heard tales of abandoned gold mines left buried beneath uptown Charlotte. Aaron Hopping, a WFAE listener, wanted to know more. Like, where are they? What happened to them? And are any still accessible?

A version of this story was originally published on May 8, 2018.

Orlando has tourism, Nashville has music — it seems like Charlotte has always been defined by its banks. But have you ever wondered why?

Google Fiber's internet speed may be lightning fast, but its rollout has been painfully slow around the United States, including in Charlotte – where the company has requested no new construction permits so far in 2019.

A version of this story was originally published Feb. 13, 2018.

Imagine two roads in Charlotte — one in the north, one in the south. Both have four lanes and plenty of rush hour traffic, but one has streetlights while the other doesn't. Seem weird?

Twelve weeks after the 2018 election, residents of North Carolina's 9th Congressional District still don't know who officially won their race for Congress.

Maybe you've seen one in a parking lot at Wal-Mart, or outside the mall during the holidays. A keen-eyed television viewer might spot them among the crowd at the Superbowl, or in Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Editor's note: A version of this story was originally published March 27, 2018.

It's the end of the workday in Charlotte, and a crowd of bankers and business people is heading home for the day, striding down a plain, ordinary sidewalk next to a nondescript brown building on Trade Street.

What these business people perhaps don't know is that just below their feet, about a story or two down, is a bustling underground operation and a steel-encased vault containing billions of dollars in cash.

Mooresville resident Lauren Sullivan has a boat she takes out on Lake Norman from time to time. She and her husband will cruise across the water, sometimes towing a wakeboard from behind. Like most people, she knew the lake was man-made, and that got her wondering: what might have been swallowed up by all the water, and what happened to the people who once called the area home?

WFAE listener Chappy Garner has been mountain biking for about five years, and one of his favorite spots in Charlotte is the Backyard Trails — a 12-mile network of twisty, turvey paths winding through 140 acres of woods in south Charlotte.

Have you taken a stroll in uptown lately? If so, you've likely heard the voice of Sam Bethea, 47, bellowing across the traffic and sirens and construction, proclaiming his message: "Jesus saves!" and "Jesus loves you guys!"

WFAE listener Chris Broughton and his family wrote in wondering why Charlotte seems to have so many abandoned cars left on the side of the highway.

Not long ago, two of our listeners wrote in wondering about paranormal hotspots in the Charlotte area. Does Charlotte have local ghosts? Is the city haunted by the supernatural? According to some students and longtime faculty at Queens University, the answer might be yes.

Few Charlotteans may remember Earle Village, the public housing community built in First Ward just outside uptown. It was a bustling community that stretched from 6th street to 10th street, roughly bordered by Myers Street and Caldwell Street. It was the place where 400 of the city's poorest families resided — until the village was condemned to demolition in the 1990s.

Charlotte has never been a Nashville or even an Atlanta when it comes to live music, but that's not to say a local scene doesn't exist here. It's just a little tougher to find, especially after a string of live music venues shut down in the last few years.

Here's a question that comes to us from WFAE listener Summer Cook. She wrote to FAQ City wondering where all of Charlotte's neighborhood names came from.

For example, who is Elizabeth? Or Cherry? What about Dilworth?

The FAQ City team is on vacation this weekend. Since we have so many new listeners joining us, we want to share with you one of the most popular questions we've answered on the podcast....  

Ever wondered why Charlotte celebrates Pride in August, and not in June, like most other major cities? WFAE listener Jennifer Lange did.