I love the way they name some of the different neighbourhoods in Manhattan. I hadn't even realised they were acronyms until recently when a tour guide enlightened us. A bit of an ‘aaahhh’ moment I thought I'd share.
By way of background... in the 1960s, Chester Rapkin, a University of Pennsylvania professor and urban-planning expert, had the idea that in New York City you can essentially call a neighborhood into existence with sheer will, imagination, and a catchy acronym. And that idea went viral. It all started with SoHo, originally South Houston Industrial Area.
It’s very handy too - using this system the name of an area also tells you right where it’s located. In the massive metropolis of NYC that’s certainly very helpful. Here's some of the most common...
SoHo
South Houston - the area below, or south of, Houston St (pronounced House-ton). Hence NoHo is North and LoHo is Lower.
NoLIta
North of Little Italy - pretty self explanatory
TriBeCa
Triangle Below Canal - it’s a triangular shaped area below Canal St. Simple stuff.
DUMBO
Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass – a little neighbourhood in Brooklyn located as the name suggests. I read that Jerry Seinfeld once joked that they added the ‘O’ on the end so as not to have an area called DUMB.
And there’s a new acronym'd neighbourhood trying to catch on...
NoMad
North of Madison Square Park – a newly coined area, home to the Ace Hotel and not much else at present. If memory serves you from my blogging tales, the Ace hotel is where I found coffee perfection at Stumptown Coffee Roasters and ate breakfast at The Breslin.
SoHo
South Houston - the area below, or south of, Houston St (pronounced House-ton). Hence NoHo is North and LoHo is Lower.
NoLIta
North of Little Italy - pretty self explanatory
TriBeCa
Triangle Below Canal - it’s a triangular shaped area below Canal St. Simple stuff.
DUMBO
Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass – a little neighbourhood in Brooklyn located as the name suggests. I read that Jerry Seinfeld once joked that they added the ‘O’ on the end so as not to have an area called DUMB.
And there’s a new acronym'd neighbourhood trying to catch on...
NoMad
North of Madison Square Park – a newly coined area, home to the Ace Hotel and not much else at present. If memory serves you from my blogging tales, the Ace hotel is where I found coffee perfection at Stumptown Coffee Roasters and ate breakfast at The Breslin.
 |
| Ace Hotel... |
 |
| ...and it's witty charm |
