Gray's Ferry (Philadelphia, York, Drexel Hill: elementary schools, subdivisions, living in)

[Clark Park]

Can't you cross the bridge and find something in University City?

Okay, the houses tend to be a little more expensive here, but the fringes of UC might offer possibilities ... such as the strip of neighborhood on the western edge of USP at Woodland Ave and 46th. Or, how about West Powelton Village? I hear it is up and coming.

Also, are you gay? Grey's Ferry might be a rough area for a white gay male couple.

[pgm123]

Originally Posted by drive carephilly

lomophilly.org

Can I just say I'm not too big of a fan of the New York-style abbreviated names? I kind of get it, but it feels like Philly trying to be New York.

Anyway, a fairly cool article I read on Gray's Ferry a little while back.

A Prayer for Grays Ferry

[UDResident]

Originally Posted by pgm123

Can I just say I'm not too big of a fan of the New York-style abbreviated names? I kind of get it, but it feels like Philly trying to be New York.

Anyway, a fairly cool article I read on Gray's Ferry a little while back.

A Prayer for Grays Ferry

Definitely agree with you about trying to be New York. If people wanted this city to be New York, it would be more like New York and less like Philly. That's the same article I was trying to link earlier, by the way.

[pgm123]

Originally Posted by UDResident

Definitely agree with you about trying to be New York. If people wanted this city to be New York, it would be more like New York and less like Philly. That's the same article I was trying to link earlier, by the way.

Whoops. Skimmed right over that. Well, I'm glad someone else read it.

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by pgm123

Can I just say I'm not too big of a fan of the New York-style abbreviated names? I kind of get it, but it feels like Philly trying to be New York.

Sorry but that's just ridiculous - mostly b/c i know the people who coined the name and they were born & raised in that neighborhood.

1. I'm not typing out Lower Moyamensing or Northern Liberties every time I want to mention them. b/c, FWIW, I'm busy and i can do w/o it. Thanx. If I want to talk about East Passyunk Crossing you can be damn sure i'll be using EPX to describe it - just like QV or BV for those neighborhoods.


2. New York doesn't own shortened place names. That's like saying they own soft pretzels or taxis. No one in LoDo, SoMa, SoBe, K-Town, WeHo or any other neighborhood in any other big city is "trying to be New York". It's just convenience.

[UDResident]

First of all, of course New York doesn't own soft pretzels because we do. We invented them when it comes to pretzels in the US.

Secondly, more than a few of the examples you just gave of places "not trying to be New York" are often listed as deliberate examples of people trying to be New York. SoMa, WeHo, and LoDo especially. K-Town though is just a typical neighborhood abbreviation similar to B-More. Considering it's an ethnic neighborhood, I don't see how it could even be placed in the same category as the others. However, you're right when it comes to LoMo. "New York" style abbreviations tend to be for places that don't actually exist: DUMBO, SoHo, etc. LoMo is just an abbreviation for the neighborhood. A better example would be Newbold or especially South of South.

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by UDResident

First of all, of course New York doesn't own soft pretzels because we do. We invented them when it comes to pretzels in the US.

Yeah, I know that. Everyone from Philly knows that. Now try going anywhere else in the country and selling it. Point is, just because it's done in New York doesn't mean it's from New York.

Secondly, more than a few of the examples you just gave of places "not trying to be New York" are often listed as deliberate examples of people trying to be New York. SoMa, WeHo, and LoDo especially.

Who lists these places as deliberate examples?

However, you're right when it comes to LoMo. "New York" style abbreviations tend to be for places that don't actually exist: DUMBO, SoHo, etc. LoMo is just an abbreviation for the neighborhood. A better example would be Newbold or especially South of South.

The Manhattan Bridge Overpass certainly exists as I can attest to having been Down Under it. Manhattan also has a HOuston Street and a large swath of real estate that it is SOuth of it. Been there too so i'm not sure what you mean by places that don't actually exist.

I mean WEst HOllywood definitely exists. I was there last month. I was in San Francisco in the area SOuth of MArket back in January. I've never been to Denver but I've heard the LOwer DOwntown is the place to be from a few people who used to live there so I don't doubt its existence.

I don't understand how Newbold or South of South comes into it at all.

[UDResident]

In this case though, it is from New York. It was so successful there that other realtors copied it. As for who lists them as deliberate examples? People from those cities, people from other cities, pretty much anybody who can see why they came up with special abbreviations for those neighborhoods.

Not as a neighborhood it doesn't. It's just a part of Brooklyn, just like SoHo is a part of Manhattan. West Hollywood is probably named for West Hollywood Blvd. SoMa is a pretty obvious one, and it's because it's south of Market. LoDo is obviously for Lower Downtown.

Neighborhoods that don't exist is what I mean. It'd be like me naming a part of Upper Darby SoGar (South of Garret Rd). It makes no sense. South of South is because all it is, is a way to say that neighborhood is South of South Street. Newbold is named after a street, not a neighborhood, so it's another example. That's how they come into it.

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by UDResident

In this case though, it is from New York. It was so successful there that other realtors copied it. As for who lists them as deliberate examples? People from those cities, people from other cities, pretty much anybody who can see why they came up with special abbreviations for those neighborhoods.

I don't understand how you know this. Is it documented? Are you from those other cities? Were you around 60 years ago when the trend started?

I really don't understand your premise . . . the hot dog is from New York. I don't see people suggesting that we get them out of Citizen's Bank Park because it's too "New York".

Not as a neighborhood it doesn't. It's just a part of Brooklyn, just like SoHo is a part of Manhattan. West Hollywood is probably named for West Hollywood Blvd. SoMa is a pretty obvious one, and it's because it's south of Market. LoDo is obviously for Lower Downtown.

It's a part of a Brooklyn because it's a neighborhood in Brooklyn. Just like SoHo is a neighborhood in Manhattan. Ask anyone who lives there or used to live there.

West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County. Even the city website refers to it as WeHo. It's been around for 100 years. Just about everyone in LA uses NoHo as shorthand for North Hollywood.

Neighborhoods that don't exist is what I mean. It'd be like me naming a part of Upper Darby SoGar (South of Garret Rd). It makes no sense. South of South is because all it is, is a way to say that neighborhood is South of South Street. Newbold is named after a street, not a neighborhood, so it's another example. That's how they come into it.

How can a neighborhood not exist? It's either there or it isn't. If your area South of Garret has an identity distinct from the area north of Garret - and you start calling it SoGar - and the term catches on - then it's called South of Garret. That's how language works. Everyone agrees that an apple is called an apple and not a manzana or a pomme so you refer to it as an apple. Calling it a pomme doesn't mean the apple doesn't exist - it just means that no one south of Montreal is going to understand you.

South of South refers rather specifically to the area between South St. & Washington Ave. from Broad St. to the Schuylkill River. Some people might still call it "Graduate Hospital" but since that hospital no longer exists it's a misnomer at this point - a lot of people have stopped using it.

Likewise, Newbold refers to a very specific area between Washington Ave. & Snyder from Broad to 18th. The name comes from a street that runs the length of the area. Naming neighborhoods for local streets or parks is fairly common in this city. In any case, the place exists and, if you were trying to find it, you could do a wiki search for it, you could find it on google maps, on the city's website or in various other planning docs.

[rotodome]

It's no secret that realtors try to re-brand neighborhoods with new names during periods of gentrification. And often times, they DO become real neighborhoods. Neighborhood names and boundaries are things that are constantly changing and evolving

Like, as much as I do like to make fun of it, I'm not going to win an argument about Northern Liberties not being a "real" neighborhood today, even though I remember when it wasn't called that, and know it's a brand realtors made up for the area in the 80's (*Yes I know there was a Northern Liberties township once upon a time, but the neighborhood now known as that today is NOT within the old boundaries of that township).

And all those semi-abbreviated names like WeHo and LoDo (that yes, is a trend that originated in NY...and who cares) aren't "trying to be like New York", so much as it's just an unoriginal effort to make it sound "new" and "hip", in a way that everyone will generically understand.