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 Forklift Masts Charlotte - Called the "Queen City", Charlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the seat of Meckenburg County. It is the 18 largest city in the United States, with a population right around 700,000. During 2008, Charlotte city was selected the "Best Place to Live in America" by relocate-America.com. It was even the 8th among the 100 "Best Places to Live and Launch" by CNNMoney.com. Prevention also rated the city 4th best "Walking City" within the nation and the best in the state of North Carolina.
There is a strong base of arts and culture within the city. Every year there are approximately 70,000 performances and events, including arts education programs and festivals, which is supported by the Arts and Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and its twenty-seven cultural organizations underneath it. Charlotte is home to several museums, such as the Second Ward Alumni House Museum, NASCAR Hall of Fame, Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Mint Museum of Art and Bechtler Museum of Modern Art (guide tourists through ever-changing exhibits featuring amongst the world's best collections), Light factory, McColl Center for Visual Arts, Levine Museum of the New South (exhibits among the most fascinating collections of post-Civil War Southern history comprising its award-winning centerpiece exhibit, Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers), Harvey B. Grantt Center for African-American Arts & Culture, Historic Rosedale Plantation, Discovery Place (features over 300 exhibits consisting of a live rain forest), Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fire Education Center and Museum, Charlotte Trolley Museum, Charlotte Nature Museum, Carolinas Aviation Museum, and Billy Graham Library. For performance arts, Charlotte offers excellent ballet, opera and Broadway productions and shows at the Knight Theatre and NC Blumenthal Performing Arts Center's Belk Theatre.
There are several parks within and around the city for everybody to enjoy. Frazier Park is a place intended for dog owners to take their pets out for walks and has separate parts for small dogs and large dogs. The Frazier dog park has a supply of public water for the dogs to drink from. Swaney Pointe K-9 Park is situated at Ramsey Creek Park where there are two separate fenced-in secure areas for large and small dogs. Barkingham Park is located at Reedy Creek Park. It is a fenced-in, four-acre, off-leash place for dogs. Furthermore, Charlotte likewise has Davie Dog park and Ray's Fetching Meadow. For those who like to see Mother Nature at its best, they can visit Latta Plantation, Mecklenburg County Nature Preserves, Reedy Creek, McDowell and Cooper Head Island, Evergreen, Cowan's Ford, RibbonWalk, Flat Branch, Auten, Rural Hill, Gar Creek, Stephen's Road, Shuffletown Prairie and Bracket Bluff.
Charlotte is the second largest center for banking in the US, next to New York City. Bank of America is the largest of the financial institutions situated within the city. Within the city of Charlotte, there are a lot of fortune 500 companies headquartered in its metropolitan area: Lowe's in suburban Mooresville, Bank of America, Nucor (steel producer), Duke Energy, Family Dollar, Sonic Automotive, SPX Corporation (industrial technology) and Goodrich Corporation. The city is also the hub of the U.S. motorsports business, like NASCAR. During the year 2007, more than 3,500 new energy sector jobs were announced in the city, which made Charlotte the base of energy-oriented groups. These days, it is called "Charlotte USA - The New Energy Capital."
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