NEWS
It’s a Time Machine: No Really, This Isn’t a Joke
This screenshot from the Time Machine is the latest image, captured on January 22, 2024.
Admittedly, I originally thought the recent news about the Red Line was an April Fool’s joke. It wasn’t, and News of Davidson has published several articles to provide Davidson residents with as much information about the Red Line as possible.
So, when it came to telling our readers about a Time Machine, I figured that we should wait a day or two before we published it to clear up any confusion.
How many times have you wondered what things in Davidson used to look like decades ago? Of course, some of us can use our mind’s eye to recall sights from years gone by.
We also have still photos and some videos to envision Davidson’s history. News of Davidson readers are further spoiled with the opportunity to read the well-researched writings of Nancy Griffith.
But what if I told you there is an actual Time Machine? A time machine that could give you a bird’s eye view of changes in our town, over time. Well, I’m here to tell you about Mecklenburg County’s Time Machine. It allows you to zoom in on aerial images dating back to 1938.
The link to the Time Machine is right here.
For those readers who are still reading, and didn’t immediately start playing with the time machine, let me report about some of the things I did in playing with it.
The first thing I did was to look for Catawba Avenue in Davidson. In every stop along the timeline except the two oldest images (1938 &1951), Catawba Avenue dead ends into Lake Norman. But those two older images confirm the story I had heard. Before there was Lake Norman, Catawba Avenue was a main route out of town.
We modified this screenshot of the 1938 aerial view. Main roads are highlighted in green, the railroad is in red, and a couple of landmarks in white print.
Those two earlier views provide glimpses into Davidson, not only pre-Lake Norman, but also pre-I77. Griffith Street didn’t really go anywhere until it became the exit off I-77. NC 73 is there, as is US21.
It is also useful to use the Davidson College campus to get your bearings. The “D” is visible, with Main Street (Hwy 21) as the backbone of “the D.” Richardson Stadium is there, having been completed in 1924. The 1951 image is clear enough to see the baseball diamond inside the track within the Stadium.
Another point of interest is the new Town Hall and Community Center. The old gymnasium is visible in both the 1938 and 1951 images, but the main building is first visible in the 1951 image.
And to end where we started, another thing that is a constant from 1938 to 2024 is the railroad track that runs through our community. Will the conversations and actions regarding the Red Line bring the railroad back to life in Davidson? No telling, unless we can find a futuristic “Back to the Future” model time machine.
In the meantime, enjoy playing with this Time Machine that allows you to look back in time.
Original Mecklenburg County Press Release:
The Mecklenburg County GIS Time Machine is a Historical Aerial Photo Viewer that allows the user to zoom into a location of interest and view land use changes over time through the display of historical aerial photography on file. The map or application is just one of several provided by GIS. GIS oversees a variety of mapping and data resources available for residents.
“We’ve improved the performance of the GIS Time Machine. Residents can take a step back in time as we enter the new year,” said Jia Wei, GIS director.
In 2024, Mecklenburg County GIS Time Machine users will notice an upgrade. Users have two options when reviewing a location. They can use single view or split view. A user can see one location as it was in 1938 or 2023 side by side or one year at a time. The year control is a slider tool at the bottom of the screen. There are also layers for the map showing roads and the tree canopy in 2023, 2016, 2012, 2008, and 2001.
Mecklenburg County’s Tree Canopy Analysis of 2023 indicates that the tree canopy is declining, but it may not be declining as quickly as previous analyses have shown. In 2023, 50.24% of county land area is covered with tree canopy. See attached analysis for more information. An annual tree canopy analysis will be conducted, for the next four years, to further analyze tree canopy loss in the County.