Charlotte Skyline Buildings Guide: What's Actually on the Model
A building-by-building guide to the Charlotte skyline — the Bank of America Corporate Center, One Wells Fargo Center — the real history behind our 3D sculpture.
Charlotte Skyline Buildings Guide: What's Actually on the Model
Our Charlotte skyline sculpture is built from the real Uptown silhouette. Here is what is actually on the model and why.
Bank of America Corporate Center
At 871 feet and 60 stories, the Bank of America Corporate Center has been the tallest building in Charlotte since it topped out in 1991 and opened in 1992, and it remains the tallest building in the entire state of North Carolina. Designed by the renowned architect César Pelli — the same architect behind Minneapolis's Wells Fargo Center and Denver's Republic Plaza — the tower was, at the time it topped out, the world's third-tallest concrete-frame building. Its signature feature is a 100-foot metal crown of silver rods at the top, a direct symbolic reference to Charlotte's nickname, "The Queen City." It anchors the top of our model as the tallest and most symbolically loaded structure on the real skyline.
One Wells Fargo Center
Completed in 1988 at 588 feet and 42 floors, One Wells Fargo Center was Uptown Charlotte's major financial-district tower before the Bank of America Corporate Center surpassed it. Its inclusion on the model rounds out the silhouette with the building most Charlotte residents pictured as "downtown" for years before the skyline's most significant addition.
Why These Two, Together
The Bank of America Corporate Center represents Charlotte's emergence as a genuine national banking center in the early 1990s, with a tower literally crowned to symbolize the city's own nickname. One Wells Fargo Center represents the financial-district growth that preceded it in the 1980s. Together they show the two-decade arc that turned Charlotte's Uptown from a regional business district into one of the country's most significant banking hubs.
How the Model Is Built
Each Charlotte skyline sculpture is 3D-printed in matte black with brushed gold lettering reading CHARLOTTE on the base, hand-finished, and shipped within three to five business days. Three sizes: a 6-inch Small at $34.99, a 7.5-inch Medium at $54.99, and a 9-inch Large at $74.99. Bank of America Corporate Center and One Wells Fargo Center are scaled to their real relative heights — 871 feet against 588 — preserving the actual silhouette.
For gift-specific guidance, see our Charlotte skyline gift ideas piece.