To locals the Arts District is simply NODA – short for North Davidson Street,
the main artery running through the area. With its wonderful location and its eclectic personality, it’s easy to understand the appeal. You could almost even swear that its distinctly charismatic feel gives you the sensation of being in a city like San Francisco! (Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration.)
You won’t find any national chains in the North Davidson Historic Arts District. Locally owned and operated restaurants can be found all throughout the Arts District. The wonderfully original tastes of Cabo Fish Taco and Boudreaux’s Bayou Cuisine, along with the colorful atmosphere of Smelly Cat coffeehouse draw people to the area time and time again. The Neighborhood Theatre brings in bands from across the country, with musical styles from rockabilly to gospel.
Take a walk up and down North Davidson, and you will see a few of the art galleries that gave The Historic North Davidson Arts District its name. The first Friday of every month, the streets and restaurants fill with art lovers for the popular Gallery Crawl.
Originally a village of little mill houses built around a couple of large textile mills, 
NoDa was run down before it came back. Many of the houses were built in the early 1900s and put up in just a few days by the mill workers themselves. When you tour these homes, you will see the standard three or four room mill house floor plan behind many of the remodels. Built without indoor plumbing, many of the baths are still stuck on what was a back porch. Residents have done many ingenious renovations to these old homes. Meanwhile, new retail spaces are going up, along with new condos and lofts. A run-down industrial plot is being razed for new townhomes and single-family homes, and historic mills are being converted to lofts and apartments.
With its close proximity to center city Charlotte, this area is hot. If you love homes and neighborhoods with their own distinctive flair, check out the Arts District Homes run from $130,000 for a condo to over $500,000 for a unique renovated home. Here is a video of the neighborhood to give you the true flavor of Noda!
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