SYMBOLS OF CITIES
What is the icon representing your city to potential visitors?
Copenhagen has its classical mermaid statue sitting on a rock in the edge of the harbor welcomeing people to both the harbor and the city. Paris has its Eiffel Tower and a score or more of other famous structures which enable people to know they are in Paris. London has its Big Ben , as well as Buckingham Palace with all its ceremonial pomp; the stern, uniformed guards and the statue of Victoria in front of it at the end of The Mall. New York features it Twin Trade Towers in its newer skyline area and a number of other famous skyscrapers to mark it as the city it is and has long been, and the Statue of Liberty, on Governor's Island , is, of course, a symbol with great meaning for millions of people.
Wasnington, D.C. has a host of federal buildings to mark it as being our national capital including the Washington Monument on the Mall. San Francisco has its Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars. Seattle - it's Space Needle. The list becomes endless once you start writing down a list of them, doesn't it?.
Does your city or town have such an emblem which sets it aparrt from others and gives it a unique appeal to visitors? Does the visitor find a one-of-a- kind thing in your community which makes it truly unique?
No, it's not just for big cities. Smaller cities such as Roanoke with huge illuminated star on Mill Mountain and the nickname "The Star City of the South." is ,perhaps, typical. Staunton, Va. has the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace , a Town Clock Tower, and Suffolk, Virginia had its "Mr.Peanut" for many years as Harrisonburg had it's Bronze Turkey. Weyers Cave doesn't have such a thing unless you speak of the "cave" itself which is six miles away at Grottoes, Va. The whole of Williamsburg is the symbol of Colonial Williamsburg. ..and again we could go on-and-on....
I think cities and towns should develop such symbols to describe who and what they are. They can change, of course with the times and many do so. Remember when New York City was called "Gotham" or "Bagdad on fhe Hudson." That was before it became "The Big Apple." Roanoke was a called "The Magic City" when I first knew it ...and I can remember wondering what was so "magic" about it. Names can change with the times. New ones can be created or accented in a different manner.
Think for just a moment of towns or cities you would like to visit and be aware of the pictures which seem to flood into your mind's eye. It happens almost automatically, does it not? We have preconceived notions about such places and it is important they they be worthy ones. They will not be flawless. Think of Venice and its beautiful canals, but remember what might smell like when the tide is out. Egypt is not all pyramids and cloomping camels by any stretch of the imagination. Cities and towns. By their symbols thou shalt know them, before you go there.
A.L.M. April 18, 2005 [c531wds]
