How to Experience Uptown via Dragon, Unicorn, or Elephant
By: Taylor Bowler
Maybe you’ve spotted them: the herd of motorized stuffed animals buzzing down a Tryon Street sidewalk. That’s Charlotte Rydables, the sightseeing experience that allows people to ride around Uptown on electric scooters designed to look like unicorns, dragons, elephants, and giraffes.
At the front of the pack is John Crunk in his wide-brim sun hat, leading the 90-minute tours from Victoria Yards through Fourth Ward, Romare Bearden Park, and Levine Avenue of the Arts. Groups range from a single rider to a dozen. Most are visitors who want to learn about Uptown, but many groups have one or two Charlotte natives along for the ride as well. John says locals frequently book the tour for their out-of-town guests, but they tend to have the best time of all, finally experiencing their city the way visitors do.
John was a paramedic with Mecklenburg Emergency Medical Services Agency for 32 years until he retired last December. He wasn’t content to sit still, so the avid reader and history buff decided to put his encyclopedic knowledge to use and become a tour guide with Charlotte Rydables. On any given weekday, you can see him pointing out architecture, public art, and local stories to grown adults on motorized unicorns.
“Queen Charlotte thought we were a bunch of scoundrels,” he explains to our group, which includes visitors from St. Petersburg, Florida. “When the American colonies declared independence from Britain in 1776 and fought Britain for it, the royal family saw us as a rebellious lot.”
Riders drive the four-wheeled scooters around sidewalks at slow speeds (about 4 to 7 mph) and pause in front of historic landmarks while John shares the story behind it. The brick, former WFAE building next to First Ward Park? It was built in 1908 and originally housed the Philip Carey Company, which manufactured roofing and building materials. The construction beside Spirit Square? That’s the site of the new Charlotte Mecklenburg Main Library, which will open in 2027. The small, Victorian-era cottage on Poplar Street? That’s the Liddell House, the oldest home in Uptown’s Fourth Ward.
“Charlotte was the capital of the Confederacy for about eight days,” John tells us as we come to a stop in front of the McNinch House. “Locals sometimes claim (this house) is haunted by former residents,” he says of the Queen Anne-style home. “Some say you can hear footsteps in empty rooms.”
As we round Romare Bearden Park and scoot up Levine Avenue of the Arts toward the Bechtler Museum, John points out Niki de Saint Phalle’s Firebird sculpture, “or the Disco Chicken, as locals call it,” he says. In front of the Trade Center on College Street, he shows us the bronze statue of Queen Charlotte with her dog, Presto.
On our way back to Victoria Yards, we scuttle down Luminous Lane, a once-neglected alley between 3rd and 4th Streets that’s been transformed by muralists and street artists. Everyone hops off their scooters for a photo op in front of the vibrant murals.
By the end of our tour, at least three people have stopped John to ask how they can book a ride through Uptown on a stuffed elephant. “That happens every time,” he says with a laugh.
After decades spent racing through these neighborhoods answering emergency calls, John is happy to trade sirens for unicorns. Now he leads up to four tours a day, and no two are the same. He’s constantly digging into Uptown history, hunting for the little surprises that keep his riders engaged—and making sure no question ever leaves him stumped.
When someone inevitably asks, “Why the motorized animals?” he just grins. “Why not?”
Charlotte Rydables is operated by Charlotte NC Tours, a longtime Uptown small business. There are three different tours offered regularly plus a holiday lights tour during the season. Learn more.
Credit: Taylor Bowler
Credit: Taylor Bowler