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Until some other city erects a massive national monument with the name "Gateway" that's recognized the world over.... St Louis will continue to be the only true " Gateway to the West". Hey, you don't just strip a city of it's well-established title just because you "think" the title should belong to another city. Geez, if that was acceptable, I would call Tokyo "The Big Apple" and Amsterdam "Sin City".
I think that Albuquerque/Denver/Cheyenne is the winning tier, with a bit of an extension into the most arid prairies (the terrain may be no coincidence).
I think St. Louis will always be the "Gateway to the West" but if we were to update it for the modern era I'd definitely go with Denver, sitting at the edge of the Midwestern-feeling plains as it does. And Albuquerque is quite happy being known as the "Crossroads of the Southwest" so I'll take my city out of the running.
The geographic/political west begins at the eastern borders of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. The exception includes far western Texas located directly under New Mexico. It is the only part of Texas that is in the west.
Topographically, the west begins at varying points, notably the mountains. It really depends on the vegetation of the area to an extent, as well as how far west the location is relative to the mountains. This would mean that places like eastern Colorado are midwestern. In some way, Denver is sometimes thought of as a midwestern city given its location on the plain.
St. Louis is in no way, shape, or form the beginning of the west. Of course, back when the U.S. was expanding, it was the gateway to the west of the smaller country that existed. Today, given America's increased land mass, it's closer to the east than west.
Texas, outside of the far western panhandle, is not western. It's mostly southern. Fort Worth is only like thirty miles from Dallas. Fort Worth plays up the cowboy west, which isn't necessarily the true west. Fort Worth is western, as in western-south. Do you really think that there's that big of a difference between Fort Worth and Dallas? Both are solidly located outside of the west.
St. Louis is in no way, shape, or form the beginning of the west. Of course, back when the U.S. was expanding, it was the gateway to the west of the smaller country that existed. Today, given America's increased land mass, it's closer to the east than west.
This discussion isn't about the geographic center of the continental United States. it's about what city joins east and west portions of the nation and has earned the moniker of "Gateway". That would be none other than St Lou.
No, the question was not "Which city has the nickname 'Gateway to The West,'" it was "Which city [the implication being other than St. Louis] is the 'Gateway to the West' today." Obviously St. Louis has had the nickname forever. No one is contesting that.
This really is not something to get so offended about.
The geographic/political west begins at the eastern borders of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. The exception includes far western Texas located directly under New Mexico. It is the only part of Texas that is in the west.
Topographically, the west begins at varying points, notably the mountains. It really depends on the vegetation of the area to an extent, as well as how far west the location is relative to the mountains. This would mean that places like eastern Colorado are midwestern. In some way, Denver is sometimes thought of as a midwestern city given its location on the plain.
St. Louis is in no way, shape, or form the beginning of the west. Of course, back when the U.S. was expanding, it was the gateway to the west of the smaller country that existed. Today, given America's increased land mass, it's closer to the east than west.
Texas, outside of the far western panhandle, is not western. It's mostly southern. Fort Worth is only like thirty miles from Dallas. Fort Worth plays up the cowboy west, which isn't necessarily the true west. Fort Worth is western, as in western-south. Do you really think that there's that big of a difference between Fort Worth and Dallas? Both are solidly located outside of the west.
I happen to agree. The front range of the Rockies is where the true west begins. That means Denver is really the gate way to the west.
No, the question was not "Which city has the nickname 'Gateway to The West,'" it was "Which city [the implication being other than St. Louis] is the 'Gateway to the West' today." Obviously St. Louis has had the nickname forever. No one is contesting that.
This really is not something to get so offended about.
Sorry if I come off offended. Perhaps I am a wee bit. You see, we St. Louisans who love our city are sometimes a little touchy. It comes from always having to be on the defensive about our STL, due to the crime rankings, headlines about population loss, etc. (We can certainly sympathize with Detroit!) When Anheuser-Busch was swallowed up by a European corporation, it took away something that was part of STL for ages, and that really smarted. When our airport lost its "hub status", that hurt too.
But--through all of this, one of the things that we could still boast proudly was "We're the Gateway to the West, home of the world-famous Gateway Arch!" And now comes a thread that explores stripping the Gateway City of its long-held moniker. What's next? Suggesting other cities where the Arch might look better?
To be honest, not many St. Louisans will find this thread very complimentary.
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