This statue of Sam Mills stands on the East side of Bank of America stadium. It is inside the gates…read moreso you'll probably only be able to visit when there is a game on. It depicts Sam Mills in uniform and seeming to look across the field. At his feet, the caption reads "Sam Mills. Leader and Gentleman. Linebacker. Carolina Panthers 1995-1997". For the squad, Mills was more than simply a linebacker. During the franchise's early years, he was its lifeblood. At 5'9", Mills was deemed tiny, yet he brought unparalleled intensity, leadership, and tenacity to the field. After joining the Panthers in 1995, he immediately established himself as a vital member of their defense. His status as a player was solidified by his famous interception in the team's first-ever victory and his selection to the Pro Bowl at the age of 37. The team's enduring motto, "Keep Pounding" was inspired by his bravery off the field as he battled cancer while still coaching. His #51 jersey was the first retired by the team. In 2022, he was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [Review 517 of 2025 - 4117 in North Carolina - 24078 overall]

Dead-center Charlotte, where Trade Street meets Tryon Street. Where North meets South and East…read moremeets West. Independence Square is the "Uptown" of Uptown Charlotte. It is the very center, the core of the Queen City. The Sculpture on each of the four corners are dedicated to Transportation, Future, Commerce and Industry. Try and see if you can recognize the face of the banker in Commerce - it's supposedly retired Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, but I don't see it. It's worth a stop if you're exploring Charlotte.

This is one of Charlotte's most idiosyncratic spots. Charlotteans claim that Mecklenburg county…read moredeclared independence from Britain in 1775, one year before them Yanks at the Continental Congress stole the idea. This original and 100% not-made-up declaration was lost in a house fire 25 years later. Honest. And we commemorate this with The Sculptures at Independence Square, a quartet of vaguely bigoted statues, one of which bares its magnificent bosom to the bustling city below. I cannot explain how her breasts are related to the rampant historical revisionism capitalizing on the success of the American Revolution, but it does make me smile to see such a statue thrust upon our conservative city.

This marker alongside the road denotes a historic school that sadly no longer exists. This is a…read morecounty marker rather than a state one, so it's not in the state database. The marker reads, "Site of Plato Price School 1915-1966. Mecklenburg County school for African Americans, Greads 1-12. Notable attendees included Philip P. Berry, Chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, and U.S. Congressman Mel Watt. Erected September 2006." Congressman Watt was my Congressman for a period of time until he stepped down to take an administrative role in the Obama administration. [Review 12963 overall, 279 of 2020.]

This large park is located behind the City Hall of Mount Pleasant. The park features a large…read morelighted baseball field, a permanent structure with restrooms and picnic tables and a large playground with all sorts of climbing and playing equipment. The park is in excellent condition and there is plenty of parking. I enjoyed my time here. [Review 14392 overall, 1717 of 2020, number 2717 in North Carolina.]

This is the prettiest small park with this statue in the middle. Benches surround the area, with…read morelots of shady trees. We stopped here and had lunch and it was lovely. The entire area is relaxing and peaceful. There's a lot of history in the area and this is a nice place to stop and take a break.

We were in the Concord downtown area and this popped up on my Yelp. It was super close to where we…read morewere so we walked over. We are not Nascar fans, but Dale was an interesting guy. Good netflix documentary on him... anyway it was dark and there are no lights on the statue.. So that was a bit of a bummer. We were there a few minutes and moved on... maybe go back in the daylight if you really want to see it.

I never would've imagined Concord would have such a large, nice library tucked into the upcoming…read morehustle and bustle of their downtown. It meshes perfectly with the other shops and restaurants right along the main drag. Out front the shrubs and green spaces are nicely upkept and featured a sculpture or two. In the library you can find basically anything you'd find in a Charlotte library. The bottom floor features the fiction and nonfiction stacks, plenty of computers for public use and tables for board games, puzzles and Scrabble night. Upstairs is an entire theater where, on the day I visited, a duo was playing guitar, tambourine and singing for a group of kids. Just beside the theater entrance is the children's area for books and things. Both upstairs and downstairs you can find staff at the ready to help you find what you need. It's amazing to me that more people don't take full advantage of the service and resources libraries provide entirely for free in our communities. Though I think that's changing, as this location seems to prove.

I absolutely recommend!!! And I'm so glad we have a library back on the Southside…read more Ahem...Pineville!!! Just right across from my neighborhood. It's been a long time coming to see that area being put to great use. The library is huge, colorful and bright. It houses with the electric company as well. The library staff is nice and helpful; there's also monthly activities for the children. I did get me a new membership library card, there's also computers for us to use. This library was my tax dollars put to good use and I'm loving it!!!

I really enjoy the space here at the Pineville library not only is it convenient and in walking…read moredistance to downtown where you can explore different shops and restaurants but the Pineville library offers options for all ages. They have a great selection of books as well as enough private rooms that you can book. The people that work here are always so friendly and that goes a long way too.

This marker is located adjacent to the new Union County Courthouse building and is in very good…read morecondition. There is street parking nearby. The marker reads, "David F. Houston. Secretary of Agriculture and later of the Treasury under Wilson. College president and author. His birthplace stood 60 yards north." Online, there is more information. "Author, university administrator, U.S. cabinet official, and businessman David Franklin Houston had his beginnings in Union County. Houston was born in Monroe on February 17, 1866, the youngest child of William Henry and Cornelia Anne Stevens Houston. His family left North Carolina for Darlington, South Carolina, in 1872. He graduated from the College of South Carolina in 1887 and after a year of graduate school, served as superintendent of public schools in Spartanburg, South Carolina. From there he went on to receive a Masters of Arts from Harvard University in 1892." "Woodrow Wilson appointed Houston to the post of Secretary of Agriculture in 1913. The legacy he created while serving in that position derived from his work to change the department of agriculture's emphasis on bolstering production to one of improving marketing, prices, and distribution of products. He served as Secretary of the Treasury from February 1920 to March 1921 and then was elected chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. In 1924 he was mentioned as a potential Democratic candidate; however, Houston was ready to end his political career." "Out of politics Houston stayed involved in the corporate world and in education. He was president of Bell Telephone Securities Company and financial vice-president of American Telephone & Telegraph Company from 1921 to 1927. From 1927 to 1940 he was president of Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. Meanwhile he served as a member of the Board of Overseers of Harvard and as a trustee of Columbia University. David Franklin Houston died on September 2, 1940, and was buried in New York's Cold Spring Harbor Memorial Cemetery. [Review 15440 overall, 944 of 2021, number 2987 in North Carolina.]