News
Elizabeth Progressive Dinner
Recipes
Guacamole
| King Ranch
Chicken | Mexican
Salad w/ Hearts of Palm & Mango
Small Area Plan - For those who are
interested in finding out more about transit planning in Elizabeth and elsewhere,
as a follow-up to Danny Rogers’ presentation at our last meeting, the following
link will take you to the transit planning section of the CATS web site. There,
you can learn more about the Southeast Transit Corridor, the proposed streetcar
alignment, and all other proposed transit projects in the city and county.
Transit Planning Section
CAG
Comments and Staff Responses
Parks
and Greenways
Your opinion is important on proposed changes to upper Independence Park Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department is looking at potential changes to Upper Independence Park. Please click on this link to see the presentation on some of the proposed concepts. To complete the survey click here and send your thoughts for Independence Park to Brian Conroy, Central Region Park Planner 704.336.7694 or by e-mailing here. More information can be seen at charmeck.org
Elizabeth Book Club - Love to read? Love to
read and share your thoughts on a great book? Frances D'Amato (2214-C E. 7th St,
704-379-7923 or francesdamato@bellsouth.net) has started an ECA Book Club. They
have been meeting for two years monthly on Monday evening from 7-9 p.m. Currently
they are reading about different cultures. All are welcome to join. We will take
the summer off and restart in September.
Sign up for an ECA Membership today. Membership dues are $20 per household annually and are based on a calendar year. If you are a new member, we'll send you a welcome package with area restaurant menus, local business brochures, ECA stickers and other information on historic Elizabeth.
Your membership contributions are appreciated and could go to any
of the following:
- Newsletter and website
- Beautification in common
areas
- Our Big E race which is the oldest running race in Charlotte
-
Tree Replacement Program
- Annual events like the Progressive Dinner, Holiday
Party, Halloween Truck or Treat, Easter Egg Hunt, Elizabeth Homes Tour, Annual
Dinner, Block Party and more
Fill out the attached form and mail with your check to:
Elizabeth Community Association
PO
Box 33696
Charlotte, NC 28233-3696
Oh, don't forget to volunteer and
be a part of this historic community.
A grand and somewhat controversial addition to the Elizabeth neiborhood, Central Piedmont Community College's Christa and Reece A. Overcash Performing Arts Center is located on King's Drive between between Fourth and Elizabeth Streets. The intent of the college was that the facility become a signature building, providing a magnificent entry to the College's Central Campus and gateway to the Elizabeth district. CPCC, an institute of higher education known primarily for its contribution to workforce development, took a great leap toward arts and communication training with this new 130,000-square-foot facility which was designed by architect Jeffery Dalzell of Little Diversified Architectural Consulting. The 1,020 seat Halton Theater, named in honor of Dale F. Halton in recognition of her contribution to the College, is located in the Overcash Center. CPCC has produced performing arts events for over three decades. Now, with this new venue, built in the style of a 19th Century opera house, the college's theater, music and dance productions have a state of the arts performance space. The Overcash endowment will support the operations of the Center and provide scholarships and books to students with financial needs. Using these new facilities CPCC hopes educate generations of arts professionals.
The facility has a 2,500 square foot stage, a full fly house, an orchestra pit that holds up to forty instrumentalists and an acoustical orchestra shell. The stage sports an 18' by 24' projection screen and a surround sound system for film and video presentations. The building has scenery and costume shops and a 2000 square foot rehearsal hall. As well as the main theater, the facility contains a 140-seat Recital Hall featuring smart-classroom capabilities and the Elizabeth Ross Gallery, which displays exhibits by faculty and student artists as well as touring exhibits and works from the College's collection.
The Center, which serves as the home for the College's arts programs, including the visual arts, contains instructional studios, classrooms, and seminar rooms, as well as faculty offices. In addition, the Center houses the College's student life programs, meeting spaces for student organizations and clubs, campus ministry and counseling offices, and other student support services. A large student commons area provides food services, lounges, and meeting space.
When asked to provide
some background on the design of the theater architect Jeffery Danzell responded:
The design evolved from CPCC President Dr. Tony Zeiss's vision to transform
the face that CPCC was presenting to the city it served. We (Little) worked with
CPCC's administration on the Master Plan for the Central Campus and came to understand
that the transformation they were looking for was specifically 'collegiate,' in
the tradition of buildings of the academic Georgian style. From our own college
& university practice, we had come to feel that this architectural language
was only successfully used if it was not abstracted, or "interpreted" through
a filter of modernism, but done faithfully. So the building has an architecture
order, and classical ornament done correctly and fully.
When asked
about the working relationship between his firm and the college he replied:
Within the bounds of the master plan, good taste, requirements of the program, and budget, we were fully supported by CPCC. The final design looks very much like our earliest sketches of this building in the Master Plan. The front portico was conceived as a box with a proscenium opening, a box from which monumental columns step forward to greet and shelter those arriving for a night at the theater...or for an education.
The college conceived the Overcash Performing Arts Center as a community-friendly facility. Year-round programming includes musical theater productions, jazz and classical concerts, literary programs as well many events geared toward families such as children's theater and dance performances.
Nancy O. Albert
