About Fourth Ward

Where Fourth Ward is, how it came to be, and who to call

Historic Fourth Ward is the residential quarter of Uptown Charlotte: Victorian houses, condominiums and apartment buildings north of Trade Street and west of Tryon, with parks, historic churches, and the oldest burial ground in the city. This page covers the practical side of living here or visiting. For the buildings and their stories, start with the walking tour and the buildings directory.

Where Fourth Ward is

Friends of Fourth Ward, the neighborhood association, draws Fourth Ward this way in its bylaws: Interstate 277 on the north, Tryon Street on the east, Trade Street on the south and the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks on the west. The historic Elmwood and Pinewood cemeteries lie just across the tracks, on the west side.

The City of Charlotte draws a smaller line. Its Fourth Ward local historic district covers the residential core and leaves out the office buildings along Tryon and Trade. You can see the exact line on the city's interactive historic district map, and every story, building and tour stop on our own Fourth Ward map.

Living in a historic district

Fourth Ward is one of eight local historic districts in Charlotte. That designation comes with a rule every owner should know before picking up a hammer: exterior work on a property inside the district needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Charlotte Historic District Commission before it starts.

What needs approval: exterior alterations, restoration, new construction, moving a building, and demolition. Landscaping, site work and tree removal may need approval too.
What usually does not: the city says normal repair and maintenance, "such as re-roofing with in-kind materials or planting flowers," generally does not, but asks owners to check with staff first.
Small projects and large ones: fences, driveways and modest additions go through a shorter review. New construction, additions of more than 50 percent, accessory dwelling units and painting previously unpainted brick go before the full commission.
When it meets: the commission meets the second Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. Fourth St. Applications for a full-commission hearing are due the first Wednesday of the month before.
Who to ask: Charlotte Historic District Commission, 704-336-2205, charlottehdc@charlottenc.gov. Applications and design standards are on the city's Certificate of Appropriateness page.

The commission is taking public comment on proposed changes to its design standards at a hearing on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 12:30 p.m., in Room 280 of the Government Center.

Fourth Ward is a local district, not a National Register district. Three buildings in and around it are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Liddell-McNinch House (listed in 1976), First Presbyterian Church (1982) and the Frederick Apartments (2001).

A short history

Friends of Fourth Ward dates the ward to the mid-1830s, when Charlotte was divided into four political wards and the northwest quarter became Fourth Ward. It was a prosperous neighborhood, home to merchants, ministers and physicians and to numerous churches. Some local historians place the division later in the century; we laid out that question in Fourth Ward's own history page begins with a question.

By the early 1900s the trolley had expanded beyond uptown, new suburbs drew families away, and Fourth Ward entered a long decline.

The turnaround began in the mid-1970s. The Junior League of Charlotte bought and restored the 1884 Berryhill House on West 9th Street, and with UNC Charlotte, the bank now known as Bank of America and a group of early "urban pioneers," set out to bring the neighborhood back. Houses were moved in from elsewhere in the city, too: several stops on the walking tour, on North Pine, West 9th, North Poplar and West 10th Streets, are houses that arrived that way. Friends of Fourth Ward was founded in 1976 by those same pioneers. Our story on the Berryhill House tells how that first restoration worked.

The 48 stops on our walking tour carry the rest of the story house by house, from the 1820 Sloan-Davidson House to the 1926 church that is now the McColl Center.

Getting around

On foot. Friends of Fourth Ward puts it simply: "The best way to see and appreciate the Fourth Ward is on foot." Nearly everything in the neighborhood is within a few blocks.

Light rail and streetcar. The CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar runs along Trade Street at the neighborhood's southern edge, with stops at Tryon Street, Mint Street and Charlotte Gateway Station. The LYNX Blue Line stations closest to Fourth Ward are 7th Street, 9th Street and the Charlotte Transportation Center, all a few blocks east across Tryon.

Bus. CATS local routes run along Graham Street (22 Graham Street and 26 Oaklawn Avenue) and Church Street (11 North Tryon and 21 Statesville Ave), with more routes stopping at Trade and Graham. Schedules: CATS bus routes, or call CATS customer service at 704-336-7433.

Parking. The residential streets of Fourth Ward are in the city's residential permit parking program. In the main Fourth Ward zone, a permit is required 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. Thursday through Saturday nights. Visitors may park for two hours without a permit; after that a temporary permit is needed. A smaller "4th Ward West" zone around the 500 blocks of West 7th, 8th and 9th Streets and North Smith Street requires a permit at all times, with the same two-hour visitor allowance.

Residents apply online through Passport, the city's permit portal, with a current vehicle registration at an address in the zone and a proof of residence. The first permit costs $35 plus a $3.50 processing fee. Street lists, hours and fees are on the city's parking page; questions go to Park It at 704-432-7275.

Schools

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools assigns students by home address. For addresses in the historic district and along Tryon and Trade, the county's school boundary map assigns:

Elementary: Bruns Avenue Elementary, 501 S. Bruns Ave.
Middle: Sedgefield Middle School
High: Myers Park High School

The blocks north of 10th Street are assigned differently. Check any address on the county map that CMS links from its "Find My School" button: Mecklenburg County GeoPortal.

Fourth Ward is in CMS Board of Education District 2. For school-year dates and changes, see our back-to-school guide.

Safety

Emergency: 911.
Non-emergency police reports: 311, or the division office.
Police division: Fourth Ward is patrolled by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Central Division, 700 W. 5th St., 704-336-5729, a short walk west of Graham Street.

Who represents Fourth Ward

Most of Fourth Ward falls in the same set of districts. Near 11th Street, at the northern edge, the state House district can differ, so check your address with the lookup at the end of this section. Names are current as of October 3, 2026.

City of Charlotte

Mayor: Rob Harrington, appointed by City Council in June 2026.
City Council, District 2: Malcolm Graham, 704-336-6105. The city describes District 2 as including "the central business district and neighborhoods such as Third and Fourth Wards."
City Council, at large: Dimple Ajmera, LaWana Mayfield, James Mitchell Jr. (Mayor Pro Tem) and Victoria Watlington.

Mecklenburg County

Board of County Commissioners, District 4: Mark Jerrell, chair, 980-314-2872.
At large: Leigh Altman (vice chair), Yvette Townsend-Ingram and Arthur Griffin.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education

District 2: Shamaiye Haynes.
At large: Liz Monterrey Duvall (vice chair), Lenora Shipp and Monty Witherspoon.

North Carolina General Assembly

House District 102: Rep. Becky Carney, 919-733-5827.
Senate District 41: Sen. Caleb Theodros, 919-715-3050.

U.S. House of Representatives

North Carolina's 12th District: Rep. Alma Adams. Charlotte office: 10815 David Taylor Dr., Suite 100, 704-344-9950.

To check any address, use the Board of Elections lookup, or tap Fourth Ward on The Charlotte Mercury's district map.

The neighborhood association

Friends of Fourth Ward is the neighborhood's civic organization. It is two groups working as one: the Fourth Ward Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit founded in 1976, and the Fourth Ward Neighborhood Association. It started as a preservation effort; today it raises money for social, cultural and educational activities for neighbors and visitors, including the Secret Gardens of Fourth Ward Tour in spring and the Holiday Home Tour in December. Upcoming dates are on our events board.

Membership is open to residents (individual, household, or condo and multi-family memberships), to people who own property in Fourth Ward but live elsewhere, and to businesses. You do not have to live in Fourth Ward to support the group. Join at fourthwardclt.org/membership.

Contact: Friends of Fourth Ward, PO Box 220072, Charlotte, NC 28222; events@fourthwardclt.org for the home and garden tours; or the form at fourthwardclt.org/contact-us.

City services

311: CharMeck 311 handles trash, recycling, streets, water, stormwater and non-emergency police questions. Call 311 (704-336-7600 from outside the city), Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., or use the CLT+ app.
Trash and recycling: for homes on city curbside service in the historic district, garbage and yard waste go out on Wednesday, and recycling goes out every other Wednesday on the city's "green" weeks. Condominium and apartment buildings may use their own service. Confirm your day with the city's My Charlotte Lookup, and report a missed pickup to 311 within 48 hours.

Keep exploring

Sources: Friends of Fourth Ward, bylaws, About, History, Membership and Contact pages, fourthwardclt.org, read October 3, 2026. City of Charlotte Historic District, Certificate of Appropriateness, City Council, Mayor, CharMeck 311, Trash and Recycling, Parking and CATS pages, read October 3, 2026. Mecklenburg County GIS district, school, police, solid waste and transit layers, queried October 3, 2026. NC State Historic Preservation Office, NC listings in the National Register of Historic Places, read October 3, 2026. Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education, NC General Assembly and U.S. House member pages, read October 3, 2026. CMPD Patrol Area Divisions page, read October 3, 2026.