HamCo Comm, D. Pepper is asking, Should we rename The Banks ?
I think it's kind of pointless.
Losantville/Porkopolis/Cincinnati's neighborhoods take on names and identities of their own over the years. Here & there neighborhoods want to change their names and I am semi ok with that.
Winton Place recently changed it's name to Spring Grove Village because they, apparently, wanted to sound like a retirement community. Over the Rhine was called The Northern Liberties at one time.
Cool ! Grandma Lives in HELLTOWN !
Up here in scenic Ludlow Station/Cumminsville/Northside there is currently an art exhibit at the Prairie Gallery called Happy Valley or Helltown" - both of which were nicknames for Ludlow Station/Cumminsville/Northside over the years.
COASTers have suggested selling the naming rights. A typically dumb idea from people who would probably just as soon sell their parents to glue factories, but, on the other hand, if Larry Flynt bought the rights - THAT could be pretty outrageous !
There used to be a "Shantytown" down there at one time but that's probably not a good choice today (From a marketing standpoint).
Might as well let whoever moves into the Banks project or it's neighbors pick a name for themselves in 2069 or so as confuse people nowadays, tho.
5 comments:
I think Northern Liberties was the name for OTR north of Liberty St., which was outside the city limits at the time [and therefore lawless, I guess].
The name options for The Banks are generic or self-explanatory, but I'll take self-explanatory [The Banks or Riverside District] over generic [Park District or Parkside].
Then there's phenomenon of the more-or-less random name, like Gateway Quarter. For whatever it's worth, it seems that the names that stick around for a while mean something with regards to a place, even if it's not something wholly positive [I think Mulberry Hill used to be called something like Poverty Hill].
So why is it a dumb idea to sell naming rights?
There's ample precedent for it. Duke Energy paid $12 million for 30 year naming rights to our Convention Center. Great American Insurance paid $75 million for 30 year naming rights to the new Reds Stadium. Clearly there's a significant value in it to these companies.
The Banks is changing some blocks of condos into hotel space. What's wrong with approaching Marriott about naming it "The Cincinnati Courtyard?"
The millions it would generate could provide a whole lot of public services without further impoverishing taxpayers. Why can't our politicians naturally gravitate toward this type of win/win thinking?
Visual, yeah, these names for areas just kind of evolve. Heck, The Banks didn't even start out with that name.
Mark, people are fine going out for an evening at a place with a corporate name but I don't think people want to live in a place with a corporate name.
"Barely Legal Port" does kind of have a ring to it, tho.
I do think selling corporate branding on streetcars makes perfect sense and should be pursued.
The residents of Trump World Tower don't seem to mind the corporate name. However, I'd guess not many people would feel comfortable including a return address from "Barely Legal" or "Hustler-something" on their resumes. Inviting Flynt would give quite a boost to the bidding though.
I agree, streetcar naming rights make all kinds of sense. So why isn't Mallory on top of this? OTR route could be the "Christian Moer Line." I guess bureaucrats just can't see anything beyond public money.
I love how the Banks Blog addressed this issue:
http://www.thebanksblog.com/2009/03/05/top-15-rejected-banks-name-suggestions/#comments
Perhaps we can call it "Cincinnati on the Levee"?
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