Sommer Mathis lays the smack down on me for casting aspersions on the authenticity of the "MidCity" locution. Apparently, the name has a fairly lengthy lineage and referred to the broadish swathe of neighborhoods served by the Green Line which, during planning phases, was often called the "Mid-City Line."
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MidCity: The Truth Comes Out
31 Aug 2006 02:38 pm
Comments (13)
On the other hand, the name 'Golden Triangle' for a DC district is just wacko-- every time I see it I think of a heroin-producing region in SE Asia.
Wow MY, I had no idea you had your own site again. Does this mean you're waving goodbye to TPM Cafe?
OT, but I must complain about the font of your blog, assuming you want to be read. It's very difficult, even enlarged, for my poor old tired eyes.
I don't care, it still is a dumb name--it doesn't have anything to do with actual neighborhoods and actually refers to parts of a bunch of non-neighborhoods. The fact that it was apparently thought up by urban planner types of the 30s, 60s, etc (not exactly known for their respect of neighborhoods--witness my neighborhood in SW DC) does not support its use as a name for a chunk of the city. A name that was made up by planner/development types--regardless of whether they were government planners or shady real estate cabals--is still not a real name.
But I agree Golden Triangle is a much worse made-up name. There is a real Golden Triangle in Pittsburgh, and of course the SE Asian Gold Angle, but applying it to downtown DC is stupid.
And, yes, Mr. Durata, I strongly agree with you this is a FUGLY font.
About the font: I just posted a comment with hyperlinks to a Stylish script that makes the site a lot more readable, but I think it got moderated or junked for having links. I'll skip them this time.
If you're using Firefox, install the Stylish extension, then go to userstyles.org, find Matt's site in the list of "Site Styles" and install the script you find there.
I second mr. ogged's motion.
Wow, ogged, that actually works. Now do one for your site.
Given that in "working" it makes this site look more like my site, I'm sure I don't know what you mean, you butthead.
Yay! No more fugly, and I learned something new!
Again, Midcity is an organic neighborhood name created by the residents and small busniness owners of the 1930s. It refers to 7th/9th streets, from K Street to Rhode Island. It predates Metro, urban renewal and Shaw by 30-40 years. It means something to the people who have lived in that neighborhood for 2 or 3 generations.
Ok, Brendan, thanks. I didn't see your previous post, but if that's the case that's a different issue.
BUT, the area that Matthew is talking about that people now are trying to call Mid-City is not the same as the area you are describing (which actually is in the middle of the City, unlike the U Street/Columbia Heights/Logan area to which Matt is referring, which is North of the center of the District), so I still have a promblem with it, but now in different grounds of the annoying effort by stupid people who develop and write about real estate to move neighborhood boundaries where they do not go to serve their interests.
And Golden Triangle is still dumber than sh*t.
Thanks, ogged!
Comments closed September 14, 2006.
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Heads in the Sand
In New Orleans, I lived in an area called Central City, which lies between Jackson Ave. and Lee Circle. Unless you live in Central City, you don't know where it is, although lots of people go there all the time. I actually called it the "lower lower Garden District" until former mayor Marc Morial decided to emphasize the area as an alternative club and restaurant district. The strategy worked, and all the empty storefronts are now full. It was Times Picayune articles on that subject that alerted me to the proper way to refer to my own neighborhood.
Posted by Kiril | August 31, 2006 4:44 PM