Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

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Great Depression 1929-1939

1936 - Charlotte's First Airport

Mayor Ben Douglas' dream has come true. West of the city, Charlotte's airport opens. Fifty years later, Charlotte Douglas International Airport will grow into a hub that handles 500 flights each day and millions of passengers each year.Douglas Municipal Airport

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1936 - Father of Bluegrass

February 17, 1936 - The Father of Bluegrass music, Bill Monroe, makes his first recording in a Charlotte warehouse. By 1939, this country music legend will become a regular guest on WBT's radio programs. He will record nearly 60 songs in Charlotte.

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1936 - Mint Museum

October 22, 1936  - Although the nation is suffering an economic depression, North Carolina's first art museum opens. The old Charlotte Mint building, now vacant, has been dismantled and moved, brick by brick, from West Trade Street to suburban Randolph Road. Mary Myers Dwelle encouraged donations from Charlotteans to make the project possible. Mint Museum at its Eastover location

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1937 - Shrine Bowl

Fans fill the stands at Memorial Stadium. The first Shrine Bowl game pits the best high school players from North and South Carolina against each other in what will become an annual football rivalry. Charlotte's games will produce the largest annual contribution to any Shriners' Children's Hospital in the U.S.Shrine Bowl

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1938 - A Room of Her Own

In a boarding house on East Boulevard, author Carson McCullers is at work. She will win national acclaim when her novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, is published in 1940. McCullers is one of many writers who spend time in Charlotte during their careers.

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1938 - Trolley Service Ended

March 14, 1938  - Old #85 makes its last run as buses replace Charlotte's streetcars. The city continues to grow, and the streetcars that made turn-of-the-century suburban development possible are being replaced. In a poignant ceremony at the city's crossroads known as the Square, people bid goodbye to the beloved trolley. Charlotte Streetcar

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