On March 31, 1973, Carowinds, near Charlotte, opened to the public.
Miss North Carolina and Miss South Carolina cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony. Young Charlotte resident, Jimmy Henderson, waving a giant ticket, led about 3,000 visitors into the park in a parade reminiscent of the opening of Disneyland in California.
Many had waited since before dawn to be among the first ones admitted at 10 a.m. Drenching rain fell on the park that straddles the state line between North and South Carolina that first day, and despite the less than ideal conditions, more than 6,000 people came through the park’s main gates.
Carowinds, the dream of Charlotte developer E. Pat Hall, was spread over 73 acres and, at the time of its opening, was larger than Disneyland, Astroworld in Houston, and Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta. Construction cost more than $30 million and took about three years to complete.
A golden concrete state line runs through the park. Two weeks before the opening, the legislatures of both states met at the park in a joint session
Images from WSOC-TV.